My exhibition now featured on Social Documentary.Net

My photo essay on the Children of Uganda is now being featured on the website "Social Documentary"

Upon traveling to Uganda in 2007 I came across the phenomenon of children making up 60% of the population. HIV/AIDS, Malaria and war has resulted in massive loss of adult life, this coupled with a basic lack of safe sex education has led to a major population of homeless and abandoned children throughout Uganda. These are their portraits.

View the exhibition on Social Documentary.net HERE

"Woman of the Week" Interview

I was lucky enough to be invited by Dolly Hopkins for an interview about my creative process. Click HERE to view.

BACK FROM CUBA

What a magical place. No where have I been where people were so friendly and welcoming. Strangers will return a smile and a wave instantly and yet there was rarely ever the sense that anyone was trying to get something from you. The hustler factor only seemed to exist in the highly touristic areas.

Apart from the immensely beautiful people, what stuck me the most was the architecture of the county. From multicolored, dilapidated buildings to cathedrals and mansions from the 1500s, the Cuban urban landscape is nothing short of breathtaking.

OFF TO CUBA

I'm off to cuba tomorrow and will be updating this blog with writings and photos when I can. Stay tuned.

In defense of Cuba

I'm about to embark on another journey to the Third World, this time Cuba, to learn more about the people and their culture.

Over the years I've heard many negative reports on the country but I never quite believed them due to the source of this information - American mainsteam media.

So after a few chance meetings with some Cuban defenders I decided to do some of my own research and investigation into the case and this is some of the information I've discovered despite the American propaganda and deliberate disinformation that floods the media avenues:

Cuba's Literacy rate is 99.8% (the highest in the world)

Unemployment rate: 1.9%.

One in every eleven citizens is a Doctor (Highest average in the world).

Post Secondary education is free for all.

Over 27,000 youths from 3rd world countries are currently studying in Cuban Universities for free.

Between 1963 and 2005 more than 100,000 Cuban doctors and health care workers worked in 97 countries for free.

It is the only country in the world to continually offers free education, humanitarian aid and health care to third world countries for free. Not even first world countries do this.

In 2006 the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) announced in the Living Planet Report that Cuba is the only country in the world which meets the criteria for sustainable development, based on it's ecological footprint and UN Human Development Index.
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What I've gathered from this study is that Uncle Sam tries to demonize Cuba because it's system of social development, humanitarianism and exceedingly high education standards demonstrates a successful model of where the future of mankind should be heading and is a slap in the face of gluttonous and decadent capitalism that values profits over humanity.

If you want the truth about Cuba do your own research and don't trust a word that comes from main stream American media. Better yet, make the trip there for yourself and decide for yourself.

I leave for Cuba in 3 weeks and promise to return with many photographs and information to share.

Latest Fashion Work

Below are a sample of some of my latest fashion photography. Right now I'm working on developing my portfolio and my artistic vision. Stay tuned.

Recent Vancouver Street Photography

I've just recently started getting into Street Photography. At first I was a bit apprehensive to start photographing random strangers out in the street, especially the jaded and skeptical Vancouverite.

However I decided to brave it and take my camera out for a day of stealthy shooting. My first tentative attempts at capturing unsuspecting folk going about their daily business went unchallenged and hence my courage grew.

I kept on shooting and every now and again I would get the odd glare, but overall most people either didn't notice or didn't care. But for the few people that did care and gave me the evil eye, I discovered something that I didn't know before.

The secret to effective and productive street photography is not to care. The photographer must realize that he/she has a job to do, a duty to their art, a determination that no matter what one must create.