Deviwo Projects

Global Kids Exhibit December 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:55:00 +0000

NEW YORK EXHIBITION DEC. 5, 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:57:00 +0000

Global Kids and Deviwo Projects invite you to an exhibition
of Youth Photography from Ghana, West Africa

When: December 5th, 2008 from 6-9 pm
Where: Global Kids Headquarters
137 E. 25th Street New York, New York 10010
Why: Come see photos from the Zongo Junction Youth Photo Program, made possible by the SNAP Foundation.
Prints and photo books for sale make
GREAT HOLIDAY GIFTS FOR A CAUSE

All proceeds benefit a high school scholarship fund for the photographers.

Why Everybody Was Sacked from Zone Ten

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 12:55:00 +0000

by Edward Chao
Draft #2

This picture in which I am standing portrays the crisis of Zone 10, the very land where we lived which was bought and developed. The developers visited each and everyone living around our neighborhood. They informed us of the land and how it has been bought to build a Shell petrol station. People were asked to move from the land. They were astonished and felt hopeless. Before then, many people were moving from far away to settle at our neighborhood. There were shops and houses and families here. But after this news, buildings and shops were brought down without warning. Now each and everyone was moving towards the bushy area to settle at anywhere they found safety to live. With the money from selling my book, my grandmother and I were lucky to move to Ashale Botwe near St. Peter's School, where we are living now. Now, the present Zone-ten is cleared and ready for building. The developers have constructed a foundation and are about to set up a structure. That's the Shell petrol station. In fact, the way some people suffered, especially those with no choice, was very miserable.

"I am the only one who saw" is a collection of Eddie's photos and essays taken from 2004-2006 that documents life in the community Eddie writes about above.

Female scholarship recipients speak about issues facing women in Ghana.

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:34:00 +0000

I am the only one who saw in Brooklyn Charter School

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:17:00 +0000

I recently spent a morning with some remarkable kids at Explore Charter school in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Using Eddie's book of photos and essays as a guide, we talked about similarities in the experiences of children around the world. I was extremely impressed with these kids, their thoughtful questions and comments and their genuine interest in Eddie's story. ABC DAY at Explore is an opportunity for students to meet and interact with authors, illustrators, filmmakers, and other artists. It was also another amazing opportunity for me to share Eddie's story. Interactive experiences like this are shaping the development of an educational supplement / teacher's guide that will soon be packaged for schools.

Here are some more pictures from the day...

Recording Ewe Storytellers

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Sun, 18 May 2008 16:32:00 +0000

Deviwo Co-founder and photo instructor Godwin Azameti has been commissioned to record storytellers in his hometown village of Klikor. The project, initiated by Anna Cottrell, is a follow-up to her acclaimed book Once Upon A Time in Ghana, a collection of traditional Ewe stories retold in English (Eastern Daily Press, 2007). All proceeds from the book are being distributed back into the communities where the storytellers live to support community generated projects. For instance, in Anyako, book profits helped buy new boats for fishermen. In Klikor, villagers are constructing a corn mill and cassava grater.

The storytellers project was born in 2006 when Anna, a retired teacher and former cross-cultural solutions volunteer, met Agbotadua Kumassah, retired head teacher and Agbotadua (Deputy Chief) in Dzelukope, who was then running a radio program on Jubilee FM in Keta. (Kumassah currently works alongside the newly enstooled Chief Togbi Tay Agbozo V). With Kumassah's knowledge of Ewe history and traditions, the two began meeting with elders in communities in the Volta Region of Ghana, home to the Ewe People. Once Upon A Time in Ghana is an English recreation of the stories they collected during this period and in Anna's subsequent visits.

This year, Anna has returned to Ghana and has commissioned Godwin to produce sound recordings of storytellers in Godwin's hometown village of Klikor. Anna says she hopes to make these latest recordings available to Ewe speakers in the Diaspora. "I believe its equally important that Ewe speakers can also hear these traditional stories," says Godwin who is collaborating with The SChool for International Training's Academic Director Gavin Webb to engineer the recordings. Godwin's passion for storytelling and the preservation of Ghanaian culture was at the heart of the Zongo Junction Youth Photo Program in 2006.

When I recently spoke to Anna about why she began this project she spoke of wanting to help portray a different side of the Africa she had come to know in her travels--something that for western audiences could transcend the stereotypes of Africa as a land of people in need. "I was interested in looking at the other side of the coin."

Be sure to pick up a copy of Once Upon A Time in Ghana, available on Amazon.

Flood Crisis in N. Ghana: Children of afffected regions photograph their surroundings; SIT student Amanda Sperber reports.

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 18:21:00 +0000

Following six months of drought, intense rainfall over a frive day period in late august 2007 caused major flooding in the Northern Regions of Ghana (Brief by Upper East Regional Minister, Hon. Alhassan Samari 31 August 2007). Ghana's President John Kufour visited the sites on 11 September 2007, declaring the regions disaster zones and launching an appeal for international assistance (Ghanaian Times, 2007).

According to a bbc.com published on 15 September 2007, the flooding killed at least twenty people, and impacted over two hundred thousand. Former head of National Disaster Mobilization George Azi Amoo declared that entire villages had been washed away,

The impact on Ghana's Upper East Region has been tragic. In a statement by the Upper East Regional Minister Alhassan Samari, 12, 200.17 hectares of farmland were destroyed, as were fifty – eight bridges, twenty-nine highway roads, fifty-four feeder roads and 13, 800.55 metric tons of food stuff. The destruction of farmland, crops and the death of livestock presents a major problem for a region already plagued my malnutrition and a population dependent on their land. (Daily Graphic, 2007).

It was explained to me by a community member of Zorko in the Bongo district that until about March, the villagers would normally subsist on locally-produced foods, but because the flooding destroyed so many crops before they could be harvested, people are selling what little assets they have, and buying food from the local market at expensive prices. Citizens have taken up weaving baskets, a tedious craft that normally produces very little income, or have made the decision to send their children South to look for work. As the next harvest won't be until September 2009, the people of the Upper East will be facing food shortages for a long time. This has caused many relief workers including the Regional Secretary of the Ghana Red Cross Joseph Abarike to suggest that famine is imminent.

Reporting by Amanda Sperber
Photographs by Children of the Bongo and Zorko Villages

Deviwo Projects' aspiring journalist, published in Independent Youth Newspaper

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:35:00 +0000

Click the image to read Stella's essay.

Deviwo Projects Scholar Stella Apeke, who is currently enrolled at Adonten Senior High School, writes the 50th anniversary of her nation's independence. Apeke, who aspires to be a journalist, is featured here in Indy Kids Newspaper, whose distribution reaches children throughout the world. To read the entire paper, visit Indykids online.

Deviwo Projects Awards High School Scholarships to Eight Female Students from Madina

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 21:06:00 +0000

Bushiratu Abubakar

Memunatu Jumada

Victoria Adisenu

Selina Apeke

Stella Apeke

Aishatu Tijani

Dorcas Amatepe

Patricia Asantewaa

Exhibition at the E-Cong in Atlanta

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 19:08:00 +0000

September 29, 2007 6:00 to 9:00 pm
The event raised over $3,000 for the Deviwo Projects Scholarship Fund...
Prints and books were for sale...
Thanks to all who attended
Photos by Alex Cullen

Upcoming Events in Atlanta, GA

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 14:58:00 +0000

Click the image to view a flier detailing events coming to Atlanta at the end of september...

-- Thursday 9/27/07 --
Book Release @ Charis Books in L5P. 7:30-9 pm

---Saturday 9/28/07 --
Exhibition @ the Existentialist Congregation 470 Candler Park Dr. 3-6 pm

Deviwo Projects Scholarship Fund Application in Progress.

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 14:18:00 +0000

J.S.S. graduates of the Gina International School

This Scholarship, generated from book and photo sales, supports "brilliant but needy students" in Madina, Accra to attend Senior Secondary School. Scholarships are awarded as partial-assistance, whole-assistance, or in-kind support (books, materials, etc.) Graduating Junior Secondary School (J.S.S.) students from the Gina International School in Lybia Quarters are invited to apply in 2007.

The application proccess includes --
1. Review of students' academic history, teacher reports, and B.E.C.E exam scores.
2. In-class essay exam
3. Referrals
4. Meetings with families to assess financial need and committment continuing their child's education beyond J.S.S.

The essay exam was held at the Gina School on Friday August 28th from 8-10 am. This year's questions reflect Ghana's 50th year of independence from Colonial rule.

1. What does Ghana's independence mean? How do you understand independence and what is the impact on your generation?

2. What are some of the issues facing Ghana and what are some of the solutions you have to offer?

The scholarship committee is panel of five. It consists of Gina International Scool teachers and administrators as well as foreign and local representatives from Deviwo Projects. Scholarships may be renewed annually based on academic and social conduct reports.

Scholarships and certificates will be awarded on Friday September 14, 2007 at 10 am in the Gina International School compound.

Exhibition and Book Release at the Bogardus Mansion in New York

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 01:36:00 +0000

On July 25th, 2007, we held an exhibition of Ghanaian students' photography from the Zongo Junction Youth Photo Program in Madina, Accra 2005-2006. The event celebrated the world release of "I am the only one who saw", a book of photos and essays by a twelve year old boy in Ghana. Proceeds from book sales and prints in the silent auction went to the Deviwo Projects Scholarship fund in Madina, which supports dedicated students to continue their education.

We passed around disposable cameras, the same ones that the students used in Ghana, and guests documented the event.

The Bogardus hall was made available to us by the Aprile family. We hung the student's photos with their writing on clotheslines....

The silent auction was a huge success.

Thank you to all who attended and a special thank you to those who helped me remember what I wanted to say by yelling it out when I got stuck in a long pause during my speech.

My dad worked the bar while my mom , the daughter of a traveling sunglasses salesman, was in charge of selling the books.

Live music from "Living Traditions" cultural group, also known as "Grasscutter."

Special thanks to
the Andrew Aprile, George and Christiane Aprile, Will Swofford, Jesse and Richard Bathrick, Tiffany Iung, Sam Franklin, Marnie Andrews and Jeff Jacobson, Brian Mckenna, Brendan Bathrick, Lauren Gertzman, and Sheila Aminmadani for helping to make this event so wonderful. It was a room full of amazing people. And big thanks to all of you who took pics at the event and then sent them back to us...
-Sam B.

Student Photo Exhibition and Book Release

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 01:57:00 +0000

On July 25th, 2007, Deviwo Projects will hold an exhibition of Ghanaian children's photography at The Bogardus Mansion in Tribeca, NY. The event will be the official release of the book "I Am The Only One Who Saw", a collection of photographs and essays by Edward Chao, a twelve year old Ghanaian student living in Madina, Accra. All proceeds from print and book sales will benefit the Deviwo Projects Scholarship fund, which supports children in Madina to further their education.

When: July 25, 2007 from 6:00 to 9:00 pm

Where: The Bogardus Mansion: 75 Murray Street in Tribeca, New York

See you there!

Godwin Azameti, notes from Accra

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 16:28:00 +0000

I remember vividly in 1974 when a cousin of mine, for the first time, gave me a small Kodak 110 camera to shoot him. I remember him instructing me to go down on my left knee, hold the camera firmly—and my breath, of course—close one eye and look through the view-finder with the other, compose and frame my subject, and press the shutter release with my right fore-finger. In fact, the instructions became so confusing to me that while I was still holding my breath with one eye closed, I started shaking and before I realized it, I had already fallen flat on the ground with the camera still held firm on my face. What an interestingly overwhelming experience? Today all these instructions have become my second nature.

The role of a photographer is significantly broad based. His or her work is useful on the scientific, economic, political, cultural and spiritual fronts. A good photographer is the one who, with appropriate tools and skills, carves or reproduces his perception of an object, subject or situation. He tells a better story of an event, establishes factual substances of evidence and demonstrates different perspectives of an argument. The photographer, as a matter of fact, is not very appreciated in this country of ours, Ghana, though he contributes a lot to the politico-socio-economic development of the nation. People sometimes see him as a threat to their privacy and security. My personal experiences as a photographic documenter span from being chased away by market women, sustaining physical injuries while shooting on location, clients’ refusing to pay me in full, and event organizers closing gates in my face or demanding unreasonably high fees for accreditation.

Traditional beliefs about photography in Africa are diverse. Each ethnic group has its own beliefs. About four decades ago, in some parts of the country pregnant women in Ghana were not supposed to be photographed. The simple reason or belief was that the fetus could be seriously damaged by an imaginary vicious ray, which was believed to penetrate the human body, get hold of its soul, pull it out and place it on the film. Many presumed the element that formed the image on the film was a kind of laser beam that emanated from the camera. The aged, holding firm to this mentality, also normally refused to be photographed. For the more they were photographed, the more they believed their life span declined.
So, why should we Ghanaians take photographs at all? There is already an array of pictures of Ghana available for us to sample from. Veteran western researchers have been particularly concerned with showing us pictures of our ancestral treetop houses. Unfortunately, it is not only a misconception that we live in the trees, but one that has been duplicated far too many times. An American can only document Ghanaian culture in American sense; a European uses a distinctly European approach. But it is only an African that can write African history in an indigenously African sense. It is very important for Ghanaians or Africans to document their own culture with the tools they have at their disposal.

The rate at which Ghanaian youth are falling under the yoke of foreign cultures is quite
alarming and should be a major worry to us all. Western movies and advertisements, as a matter of fact, are vigorously penetrating and dismembering the once intact moral fiber of our society. If quick checks in terms of policies are not put in place by our opinion leaders and legislators, Africa will soon become culturally bankrupt. We have a big challenge now to go to work in documenting the rich cultural and traditional values of Ghanaian society in particular and Africa in general before the western cultural tsunami swallows us. It is a Ghanaian who has all the cultural and spiritual capability and understanding to present and preserve his culture authentically. If you are not born on a Thursday how can you consciously respond to when the name Yao is mentioned?

Africa has different ethnic traditions and cultural practices. In as much as it is a cultural belief in some parts of Ghana that pregnant women should not be photographed, so it is also an issue for children to take to photography. In our society, children are taught to be humble, obedient, trustworthy, hardworking and respectful both at home and in school. They are not to make decisions without first consulting parents. Their rights are controlled and monitored by their parents. It is a pride for every African parent when the child takes after him or her. The child plays an important role within the family. Domestic chores such as house cleaning, washing, fetching of water, and running errands are normally reserved for children. Children also help on the farms when the parents are farmers or by weaving if the parents are weavers. If the family can afford it, then the child will attend school.

But children have a special way of looking at things, especially when it comes to photography. Their perspective is quite unique and often adults see it as funny. But that is where the trick is. Children can see things that we as adults have forgotten to see. They are quite literally shooting from a different angle. African children need to be given opportunities to shine. Ways must be paved for them to ride on. Noble tools must be provided for them to work with. And that is what we have done here with this book.

The boy Eddie’s flare for art in general is overwhelming. Sam Bathrick never thought introducing the “poor, African, Ghanaian, Madina, Zongo boy Eddie” to photography could be so rewarding. He, I think, was just playing a big brother to the boy. Sam did not know he was turning the key to an engine of sporadic talent. If Eddie, trying his hands on the camera for just a couple of days, could come out with such wonderful pictures as exhibited in this book, then one can imagine the class of photographer he will grow to be. Remember that children’s talent can be shaped in many ways. What if Eddie, instead of a camera, was recruited as a child soldier, strapped with rifles, grenades, hard drugs and taught to shoot and kill humans? Flipping through the pages of this small but invaluable book, one breathes the air of love, peace, joy, solace and excitement. I hope the book touches many a heart and soul willing to support our young photographer through his formal and creative education.

Godwin Y. Azameti

20th March, 2007.

Edward Chao Featured in Firstride.com V. 2

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 20:42:00 +0000

Edward Chao, a 12 year old boy involved in the project in Ghana, is featured in volume 2 of the New York-based Online Mag Firstride.com

Pics from my first day as a teacher at the Gina School November 2004

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 05:59:00 +0000

I am the only one who saw : Photographs and Essays by Edward Chao, 2004-2006

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 06:38:00 +0000

Here are some sneak peaks at layouts for the book of Eddie's work, set to be released ASAP.

Edward's Family Photos...

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 03:56:00 +0000

I came across these pictures of Eddie, his sister, grandmother, and father taken in the mid nineties before his sister and father passed away. Eddie's grandmother wanted me to have the photos to keep them safe. Before I left Ghana I gave her back the originals but scanned them first. I never knew Eddie when he was this small...

Edward and his sister

Edward's Grandmother, Elizabeth

Edward's Father, Vadis Chao

Edward with his grandmother and sister

Deviwo.org is in orbit, Thanks to Saturnalia

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 23:52:00 +0000

This week our website was officially launched thanks to the ice cold web skills and fluffy warm generosity of my friend Will Swofford here in Brooklyn, NY.

Film on Students' Photo Exhibit at Univ. of Ghana

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 22:26:00 +0000

Shot by Godwin Azameti in January 2005, this two part series documents the event like only Godwin can. Includes speeches from parents, teachers, students and visitors, musical performances by Agorsor, student photos, and candid shots from throughout the day. You had to be there...now you are.

Part 1

Part 2

Why We Are...Where We Are

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 23:45:00 +0000

"The naked babies stare back at you, but does that mean they have consented?"
-Dale Massiasta. Founder of the Blakhud Cultural Research Center in Klikor, Ghana

Ghana Through a White Man's Lense

In 2004, when I moved back to Ghana, one of my favorite places to go in Madina was after social welfare Taxi Rank, on the edge of the community where the houses stopped and the bush began. It was the closest my little town of 50,000 came to feeling like a village. There was a bench looking out at at a distance on an area of razed land where people dumped and burned trash. The rising smoke always gave it this kind of eery other-worldliness. All the structures were piece-mealed together. Scraps of wood and tin were bound together to form houses, fences, chicken coups, gin shacks.
I often went and sat back there alone to watch the people coming in from their farms in the evenings. At dusk, the sounds of the pentecostal church choir floated through as children carried buckets of water to their homes.
No one ever questioned me as to why I was there. Sometimes I sat alone quietly and wrote. Other times, my Ghanaian friends in the area would pull out a bench and we would share a smoke and some conversation.
Once, I brought my camera out at dusk. The smoke was rising off the trash yard and the goats were milling around. Someone had thrown out this giant television and I loved seeing an instrument of technology, this living room centerpiece so out of context--no place to plug it in and even if there were one, you had this sense that the screen would display this very yard, the smoke rising up.

I started taking pictures. I wanted to capture the order and beauty of a place where pieces of things are discarded, found and re-formed. Old car tires lie buried in the soil to mark the beginning and end of perfectly swept clay back yards. Refrigerators run on car batteries. A television is a box of glass.
That evening, a man approached me and asked me why I was taking pictures of such a dirty place. I recognized him immediately as the pastor for the church adjacent to the palm farm.
"This is why the world believes we are uncivilized," he said. "Because this is the photograph that you white people always want to take. You don't snap us wearing our nice dress, sitting in church, building schools, in our congress halls. You don't want to see us that way."
My friends tried to defend me. I told the pastor that I had been snapping all kinds of pictures--street scenes, weddings, funerals--everything! And I was even teaching children how to take pictures and document their lives. I tried to explain that I actually lived in this neighborhood, that I had been there for over a year and that I came to this spot to sit because I loved being there.
The pastor insisted I put my camera away. To him, I was any white man in Africa, all that had come before me and all that would come after. Our pictures show up in magazines with the caption "crisis" and we never show up again.

What can I tell you of my time in Ghana? I have never been calmer, never slept deeper and dreamt more vividly. I have never felt so accepted into any community. And I have never been more frustrated, more restless, alone, confused and misunderstood. There were so many times I got caught up in the desire to put a finger on something I didn't understand. To say, "oh, this is this."
I lived and worked with Ghanaians who I loved and respected. They taught me how to walk, how to dress, how to eat, how to be a host of others in our home--the rules of a culture. As a giant white infant, they forgave me when I fell down and drooled on myself. I felt for the first time what it is like for people to assume things about who I am because of my skin color. Most people were convinced before even speaking with me that I was rich, smart and lazy.
I grew to trust certain people and led them to trust me. Sometimes we disapointed each other and sometimes we found a way to give and receive on equal ground. I learned to laugh at myself. I didn't want to be the only one not laughing. I began to see that what I wanted and what I needed were completely different things. And I learned over and over, as I crashed into the same walls, to be quiet, watch and listen.

The Story being told by us to us.

"If the photographer takes the picture, the person who looks at the picture will know the truth. And will know what he can say and what he will not say. A liar will come to you and say whatever he likes, but you know that the person is lying because of the picture...if the photographer shows the picture to you and says what he saw, you will believe him."
-Edward Chao, 12 years old. Accra, Ghana.

If only some of us are holding cameras, who's story gets told? If Only some of us can get a ticket and gain visa entry to "discover" a new part of the world, what do we explorers take with us and what do we leave behind? What moving image do we see in front of us that makes us want to--click--freeze time and say, "that." That was Africa.

I was--click-- there. That was my interesting life.

At our best, Our understanding of Africa falls into neat categories that help us to sleep at night. We're in love with the idea that there is magical wisdom buried in the deep dark jungle--only the Africans know which roots and how to dig them up--and its enough knowing that this is out there somewhere. It tickles us to think about the bushman who finds the Coca Cola bottle that fell from the sky. What purity of heart he must possess. What beautiful children he has, such innocence and strength in their small bodies. We are able to believe in this man because--as the script shows-- we are flying so high above him and have accidentally convinced him that we are his God.

"As i landed in the African night..."

Our optical zoom project false proximity to a culture in which we are only visitors and to our subjects who are subjected to our instruments, our own magical powers of mass duplication. We believe discovery is our duty. And we are not surprised when our photographs tell us what we already know: it's hopeless in Africa. Hopeless without us, our technology, our opinions, our God, and our AID.

"...There, with the calloused palms of poverty laid bare before me, I began my important research..."

And so we feel we must continue to land and brave the dark jungle, to live to tell the stories from the front lines: war, starvation, humans who live in filth, children who live without, mutilations.
In high definition all of this suffering is simply immaculate.

This is what the pastor was trying to tell me. He was saying, you've already taken that picture. And while he may have made a few of his own assumptions about me as an oboroni, a white man, I agree that there needs to be a shift in point of view, a transformation in the way the west sees Africa, the way Africa is allowed to see itself. Africa is a massive continent. It is not something to be conceieved of all at once. There is vast space between the neat categories we have come to rely on. There are people walking and talking and changing and staying the same. There are millions of stories and not one of them will fit into a three column spread.

A New Narrator

This project is the story of seventeen Ghanaian children who were given cameras by their North American English teacher and told to document their world. These were children who basically did what they were told but found a way to transform an odd assignment, a strange and foreign idea, into something that belonged to them. This was their discovery. It is not the story of Africa, West Africa, Ghana, a city called Accra, Madina, or Zongo Junction--though you will find them all there in pieces. Their assignment was never to dispel the myths of their region or enlighten the West by setting the record straight. These are fragments of a whole and should be taken as such. They snapped these pictures for themselves, for their friends and their families. They traded them in the school yard and laughed at the faces they got caught making. They bothered me daily for their next assignments.

I chose to make this site and develop this book and other ways to share their work with a larger audience because I adore these kids, and I believe that what they created together is important. I wanted them to have a record of what they did, something to hold. And I too wanted something to show for my work in Ghana, for this is also, of course, the story of my interesting life.

-SB December '06

Godwin Azameti Comments on Student Photos from Accra

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 22:19:00 +0000

Godwin Azameti is an exprienced photographer and videographer in Ghana. He is an ewe from Klikor, Agbozume in the Volta Region of Ghana. In addition to his role of co-director of the Blakhud Research Center in Klikor, he owns and runs a shop in Accra that specializes in photographic services. He is a passionate and keen documentarian who, besides being able to fix just about anything that you ever thought was broken, has been a tremendous help throughout this project as a teacher for the kids and as a consultant for the Accra exhibition in January 2006. He was kind enough to assist in the editing process by airmailing his comments overseas to me in Brooklyn.

Here are a few examples of the spreadsheets he creeated to give me and Brendan more perspective on what we are looking at as we create layouts for the book...

EDDIE

AISHATU

To contact Godwin in Accra, Ghana: Gazameti@yahoo.co.uk

Serafina Bathrick comments on student photos from Wisconsin

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 00:04:00 +0000

A lot of people have been helping out in the editing process. Among them is my Aunt and Brendan's mom, Serafina Bathrick. We sent her some rough proofs we made in June '06 and she's been writing back to us about certain images that stand out for her. She has all kinds of impressive credentials I could mention, but just read and see why I'm so glad that she is a part of this project.

B and S--This is so much fun and I find myself thinking all day about these images and about your task as you organize and present them....

SUMAIYA #2e01, roll 2--These two photos of the woman mashing somethng in a pot-lovely how the photographer stayed with her subject and got an animated gesture (and probably some words) and then got the perfectly composed shot next.

This refusal to let one image say it all is something I like very much and may be suggestive of what we do when we think about moving images and the need to see what went on before and after THE shot was taken. Communicates a greater sense of time, and close looking and listening. Granting full meaning to the shot that came before the shot seems like an expansive way of seeing.

THEO 15, Roll 1-Wonderful composition--playing with frames and rectangles. By using a high angle shot, he catches the boys lying on a mat and reading books that all refer to the picutre frame itself. The term for this is mise-en-abime, and its used constantly in classical cinema to emphasize the "picture-frame" as a "natural" entity, almost like the human eye. Great shadow play of light and the two pairs of shoes are just perfect--outside the mat as frame.

#15, Roll 2. Theo gets some of the same intensity by framing the figure on the bed (her head framed by the pillow-rectangle)
and by choosing the high angle shot he gets that play with frames. I am not trying to say he is conscious of this, but rather that when a person uses a camera and looks through a lens and sees a frame, there is an inclination to make that device obvious to selects and frames his subject. This is but one example of how a camera-consciousness emerges in the act of photographing and in the act of looking at a photograph--its all about re-presentation. I have been emphasizing this aspect of these images, because to me, its what makes for a specific "way of seeing".

PATRICIA
-#7,8,9,10, Roll 2. As usual I am drawn to these series images, where there is a sense of movement and, in this case dance and performance. The addition of a second figure in the last shot suggests the power of the camera to recruit new performers-- and suddenly, there is a fellow dancer. The visual interest of the empty clothesline and the empty space really gives this little dancer a fabulous stage. Patricia has a good eye for those things.

SELINA -1b03, Roll 1. The well-to-do -man of a certain age with his car, house and satellite set up is situated perfectly by this shot. He even stands to the side of these powerful symbols, as though to assume a somewhat humbler place (and we assume he likes leaning on the wall) Terrific composition and content too.

STELLA-#1, Roll 5. Another car tire shot. This time alittle boy who is almost the size of the tire he is rolling. Nive shadows and suggestion of adults present, but not interfering with this boy's mobility.

-#3, Roll 5 Woman in front of pink house with red bouganvillia. (spelled wrong) Fascinating composition, colors, and pose by the subject. Part of that series includes the next group of women with plants and flowers. #s 4,5,6.

NELLY
I like her short narrative about her sister Yaa and her son Ben. Its a fine photo--balanced and beautifully composed, with the mother and child holding their own in front of all that stuff-barrels and towels and coffee cans. I like the way the photo tells the sister's story too, how she holds the soapy baby so that he faces the camera and she faces him. (the vertical shot works better, it has no number) Added to what Nelly says about loving her and feeling loved by her, its a very complex portrait.

"Mother Cooking for Aunt" is a lovely two-part series on Roll 2. Great sense of the space and the work and the body of the working woman as she wrestles with that pot of something thick and white

VICTORIA
Victoria's shots with many people and lots going on are hard to read in this format. Some look really interesting, and she is one of the few who is willing to take on the levels of complexity involved in these compositions. She works carefully with camera angles and has a real sense for how to frame a shot. Daring and encompassing.

-#10, Roll 1-What a gorgeous shot! Camera angle is all encompassing, and look how much is going on with these two figures in this complex space. Table top and covered bowl, bucket, vertical line of light--shape of the slip on the woman in the foreground--just beautiful visually.

Joseph Teye

As I read Joseph Teye's narrative, I am struck by how he is very conscious of the camera as a presence, a force, even a personality in the situation that is unfolding. His sense of telling the story with the camera and with words that complement and position the camera is impressive. I am wondering about this as an organizing principle for your final cut--which of the students is able or interested in bringing the camera, as a character, into the story. How does that determine a camera style that might differ from the people who write about the camera as a hidden extension of themselves, not so much as a part of the social fabric.

-"the car tire pushers" #6 and #7, Roll 1 are both wonderful images, and the narration that accompanies them works so forcefully to show how Joseph experiences the camera as a an element or even a character that moves the story.

-pulling the vines is just plain a great shot # 17, Roll 1. The lighting, the movement of the figure, and of course it also goes along with the story that he tells about collecting goat feed. Is there a photo of the goats? Oh yes, I see one with a goat and a chicken just out and about. # 1, Roll 2. Nice positions of figures in this shot.

-I love the "God is King" (# 3, Roll 2) yams and rice shop! Wonderful sense of movement and action about the way she serves and poses as a server.

Farewell Ghana...But First, Party

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 19:25:00 +0000

I decided to throw a party at my house. I'm not sure how they found out, but some of my students showed up the afternoon of the event. Actually, it was Amevi who told them. It had to have been Amevi. They were all dressed up and I told them they were a little early and then I put them to work. We had to pick up 14 crates of beer and 6 crates of sodafrom the shop up the road. They carried them-- two kids to a crate--back to the house and stacked them in the living room. Then, they swept the compound, fetched water for cooking, and organized the coolers.

I realized I still had a dozen sunglasses left over from about 6 dozen my grandfather had given me before my trip over. I bought them sodas and let them pick which glasses they wanted.

The party was great. Everybody from the neighborhood came. Georgina (...The Gina School) showed up with her whole family and an enormous amount of really good food. Godwin showed up with my camera and hired floodlights so that he could videotape the entire event. Sorlem Agbesi and his Borborbor drumming and singing group performed for hours, as did Heawle Sounds. People danced until it hurt.

The kids found their own spot in the living room. At one point I broke out some extra Kodak disposable cameras and there was this wave of children running around snapping photos in people's faces. I didn't get many of those cameras back.