Presenting Humanitas: Images of India by Fredric Roberts

The Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego, CA has announced a special exhibition of the work of Fredric Roberts (CameraArts September/October 2006). Titled "Humanitas: Images of India," the exhibition comprises scenes of everyday life in India, photographed by Roberts over five years. Roberts' photographic catalogue spans countries as diverse as India, Cambodia, Bhutan, Thailand, Myanmar, and China. The two books that have been released under the name of the series have received many honors, including Honorable Mentions in the Fine Art and People categories of the 2007 Lucie Awards.

Though Roberts' photographs are mostly simple portraits, the photographer's eye captures in these images the subtelties of human interaction, its cultural undertones, and real-life implications of globalization, with the small societies that still exist in resistance of the greater tide. The photographs possess a real sense of worldliness, most likely a benefit of Roberts' 30-year career as an investment banker (and one-time member of the Nasdaq Board of Directors), followed by a long list of contributions and service to various cultural organizations, such as President of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and Founding Chairman of the Spotlight Awards Scholarship Program.

The exhibition takes place from May 3 to September 7, 2008. Click here to visit the Museum of Photographic Arts' website.

Image ©Fredric Roberts.

WORKSHOP: David Wells' gateway to India

From February 17 to 27, 2007, veteran photographer and instructor David Wells will take a group of photographers on a tour of Southern India. Offered through the Strabo International Tour Company, the class, "A Photo & Cultural Tour to Southern India" will take students to some of India's most visually exotic and amazing places, the Palace of Mysore among them. Expect to see many places hidden away from the flow of mainstream tourism, while riding via coach, rail, and train. The schedule is intended to maximize photographic contact with the everyday people and sights of India.

The tour starts in Mammalapuram, then proceeds to Coimbatore, from which the group will travel to Southern India. Outings to temples, palaces, gardens, and small villages, will fill out the itinerary. Wells will help students realize the best light times for their photography. Wells has had photo-essays published in numerous international publications such as Newsweek, covering locales as varied as India, Bangladesh, California, Israel and Gaza. Wells has taught semester length classes and short week-long workshops at the University of Pennsylvania, Syracuse University, the International Center for Photography in New York City, the Maine Photographic Workshops, and many more.

David encourages participants to bring a small number of images for critique. He will answer individual questions during the workshop, as well as provide group instruction on photography basics such as exposure, composition, fill-flash, and methods to approach people on location. See his work here at davidhwells.com.

To learn more about this workshop, and to view a complete schedule, click here.

Kids With Cameras at Soho Photo

Soho Photo Gallery, known for its annual Krappy Kamera competition and varied offerings of fine art photography exhibitions, will present "Kids With Cameras: The Calcutta and Haiti Projects" as the special exhibit for October. Kids With Cameras (KWC) is the non-profit organization devoted to expanding the creative horizons of underprivileged children around the world. KWC has established workshops first in Calcutta, then in Haiti, Jerusalem's Old City, and Cairo. This exhibition runs October 2 to November 3, 2007, at Soho Photo's exhibition space in New York. The 20 color photographs from Calcutta, and their young creators, were the subject of the extraordinary film "Born Into Brothels."

From Soho Photo's press announcement:

"Zana Briski, (the founder of KWC) became involved in these children’s lives in 1998 when she began photographing Calcutta’s prostitutes. After developing a relationship with many of their kids, Briski had the idea of teaching photography to them in order to see the world through their eyes. The kids’ images include self-portraits, family pictures, and stunning tableaus of Bengali life."

It's wonderful to see this project expanding its reach. KWC project director Gigi Cohen worked with 12 young domestic-workers-in-training in Carrefour, Haiti. These kids' situations mirror the tragedy that is so often associated with their country: domestic workers enjoy conditions no better than that of indentured servants, and the system is not in any way designed to educate children in a way that prepares them for coexisting in adult society.

In a country with a staggering illiteracy rate (50 percent of adults), and great civil unrest and poverty, the glimmers of culture revealed in these black-and-white photographs of parade dancers and street scenes serve to remind the viewer, and the young photographers tentativley grasping their cameras, that there is hope.

The goals of all KWC workshops are encouraging artistic excellence, positive transformation and ongoing support for the participants. The children are not merely given cameras and taught the basics of composition, though these first steps toward artistic self-expression are rare and important gifts to give.

Children are also empowered by being encouraged to educate their peers. Additionally, instructors aid the children in finding better conditions in their lives, whether by transfer to better schools and living conditions or through community outreach expedited by the organization's voice on the international stage. To this end, proceeds from the sale of any artwork in KWC exhibitions always goes back to the children.

Kids With Cameras sponsors one workshop a year. To learn more about current projects, click here.