Reincarnation: Going to Virginia with a Banjo on my Knee

                                                                                                                                                        

Almost two years ago I returned to Virginia to begin freelancing. After serving three years in Abu Dhabi as a staff photographer at the English language newspaper The National I thought my career as a daily news photographer was finished. With job opportunities in the industry whittling away I was convinced that I would never work for a newspaper again. 

That said, before I left the United Arab Emirates I felt the need to document my observances of daily life so I created a visual momento of sorts. In the end I edited the images into the essay In-shallah-la-land. My plan was to possibly use the series as a promotional piece if I ever set up meetings with editors on this side of the pond. 

Fast forward to the States...

Literally less than 15 minutes after landing in Chicago via London my cell rang and I accepted my first editorial assignment as a freelancer. My goal was to hit the ground running but even this pace was a little more then I had expected. 

To be honest, I was really more concerned at building my wedding business Love Minus Zero. I felt that from a business perspective it made more sense to be a wedding photographer than an editorial photographer. It came down to numbers and I knew I would have a greater return on my investment with weddings.  

That said, I also worked at steadily building both an editorial and commercial client base. However, the girth of my energy was displaced to Love Minus Zero. Throughout my first year, I focused heavily on strictly building a presence in Hampton Roads and Richmond, VA. 

To be fair, I also kept an eye out for local publications and businesses that I felt might be able to use my services. I didn't dig too deeply, just enough to scratch the surface. Thankfully, between my wedding clients, editorial work and commercial opportunities my business plan was working, I was making more than my initial projections. Better yet, moving forward into my second year my income was growing at double the rate as my first year. 

I was grateful but there was something missing...

I assumed that a lack of creating in-depth work might hurt my spirit so during this time frame I continued to work on short and long form visual storytelling. One essay entitled Child Hope led me to Haiti where I developed a series of portraits that coupled Haitian children with their favorite item within the confines of the group home where they lived. In my essay Coming to America I spent a year documenting my son's transition back into the States after having lived more than half of his short life in a foreign country. I found it a fascinating topic and something I felt others might gain a little insight from viewing. Both projects fueled my fire but for only so long. 

Going Fishing...

A few months ago I stopped in at an office building in Norfolk, VA to meet with a creative director that I've been working with a lot lately. While I was waiting for my client to arrive I ran into The Virginian-Pilot photo editor Bill Kelley. We had a quick chat and in passing he mentioned they were looking to fill a staff photography position. I paused. Just then the elevator doors opened and my client poked her head out and smiled, I quickly  said my farewell to Bill and left. 

After my meeting, I went out to my car and called my wife to give her a heads up I was on my way home. I mentioned to her that I ran into Bill and about the job opening. As always, my wife encouraged me to pursue the opportunity - to seize the day. The next thing I know, I'm standing in front of the office doors of the photo department at The Pilot. 

The Future...

Once again I've been given the opportunity to document the history and daily on-goings of a community. What makes this region so unique and special to me is that I've spent the majority of my developmental years as a child, teenager and young adult growing up in the Seven Cities. In fact, my first real job was delivering The Virginian-Pilot many many many moons ago. 

Hampton Roads, or The Old Dominion - my pet name for the area, is by far not on my top three places to live list but I have an affinity for the people, the places and the things that make this area home. So, without further delay it gives me great pleasure to announce my new roll as a staff photojournalist at The Virginian-Pilot. 

I feel as if I've been reincarnated! 

Coming to America: An Intrinsic Need

Coming to America: On September 29, 2011 I had severed my three years of time in the Middle East working for an English language paper. My time was up; I was homeward bound. All that kept me from my beloved country was a short 24 hour flight. From the moment I stepped onto American soil at Chicago O'Hare airport I started incessantly documenting my own personal coming to America. Visually, there was just so much that I had missed about the States. This series, Coming to America was born out of an intrinsic need to record my Americana.  The work is in its infancy and although I can pinpoint where it began, I don't know where it will end nor where it will take me. Come along for the ride. 

You can view my daily posts at my Instagram account @facun. Or, head over to the Magnet fan page on Facebook to see a larger sample of the work or stop by here and visit from time to time for additional postings of the series. 

INSHALLAH-LA-LAND:UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

People often ask me "What was it like living in the UAE?" or "Man, is Dubai like Vegas in the Middle East?" Sorry, but it's not like Vegas and living there was filled with innumerable idiosyncrasies, too many to mention. 

To be honest, I will never be able to articulate in words what my experience was like. My friends who still live there and who have lived there can understand why. 

That said, during my last two months in the Emirates I shot a personal essay. I was aiming at building both a keepsake of memories and an inquisitive documentation that worked to define some aspects of  the UAE. The following images are a few from this project recently posted on my website in The Emirates gallery. 

The essay Inshallah-la-land is a personal look at the mundane, daily absurdities, expatriate isolation, the unseen imperfections and other oddities that reflect the personality and branding of the Emirates. 

Al Jazeera for Telerama

French magazine Telerama commissioned me to spend a few hours in Qatar to document the inner workings of the Al Jazeera Newsrooms. Additionally, they asked that I photograph "the museum" located at the entrance of Al Jazeera's lobby. 

Here, I was told, one would find relics from journalists who had faced imprisonment and other challenges while reporting on world issues. In fact, the vest worn by Tareq Ayoub during his moment of death and the last report he drafted as a journalist were hauntingly displayed. Mr. Ayoub was killed in Baghdad during a U.S. missile strike. 

Equally moving were the artifacts, encased in glass, of journalist and current Head of the Public Liberties and Human Rights Section at Al Jazeera, Sami Al Haaj. Mr. Haaj's clothing worn while imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay were juxtaposed with love letters of reassurance to his wife and son. Mr. Haaj was held as a prisoner in Guantanamo Bay for over six years and eventually released without any charges or trial. 

My time at Al Jazeera headquarters was extremely short but it was interesting to see where this relatively new player in the realm of broadcast journalism was founded. With their recent ability to provide in depth coverage of the uprising in Egypt while other well established networks failed, there appears to be a new kid on the block. 

Below are some of the images from the shoot as well as how it ran in Telerama. For those of you who can read French - the article can be seen here. 

 Sami Al Haaj today at Al Jazeera

 Sami Al Haaj prior to his imprisonment at Guantanamo Bay.