I have been photographing a mother, Gwenda, and her two teenage daughters for four years--2011, 2012, 2014, and 2016--once a year, beginning when Rachel, the older sister, was 19 and Natalie, the younger one, was 11 (by 2014, Rachel was no longer a teenager). I wanted to explore the complex developmental challenges facing all of them at this time: redefining their relationship and reinventing their individual identities as well as the accompanying sense of alienation. The primary questions for Rachel and Natalie are "Who am I apart from my mother, in my new identity as a woman? Where do I belong?" Gwenda is faced with similar questions: "Who am I apart from my children? Who will I be when the nest is empty? With my daughters in their prime and me in in middle age, who am I as a woman?"
A mother and two daughters: Gwenda, Rachel, and Natalie
Gwenda and Rachel 2011
Natalie 2011
Natalie 2011
Rachel and Gwenda 2012
Gwenda and Rachel 2012
Rachel and Gwenda 2012
Natalie 2012
Natalie 2012
Natalie in her playhouse 2012
Gwenda and Natalie 2012
Natalie 2014
Gwenda 2014
Natalie 2016
Natalie in her remodeled playhouse 2016
Gwenda 2016
Gwenda 2016
Natalie 2016
Natalie in her room 2016
Natalie 2016
Natlie 2016
Family
Cuba: El Oriente
Although Cuba has become a popular venue for photographers, the Oriente, the eastern part of the island, has been far less photographed. In March 2017, I visited and documented the cities and towns of Santiago de Cuba; Baracoa, which was still recovering from the October 2016 hurricane; the imposing Basilica in Cobre, a former copper mining town; Bayamo; and Holguin. This is an important record: Given the current travel restrictions and, paradoxically, the possibility of Cuba's becoming more and more of a tourist destination, these places and the character of the people will be forever changed.
Couple, Baracoa
In November of 2016, Baracoa was hit by a powerful hurricane. In March 2017, when this photo was taken, the area was still recovering.
Two students at dismissal
Bus
Bus 2
Baby Boy Getting His Hair Cut in Church, Cobre
In the magnificent basilica in the former copper mining town of Cobre, a baby boy is subjected to a hair cutting ritual. No one could explain its significance to me, but it's likely that he's recovered from an illness and that the hair is an offering of thanks.
Lighting a Candle, Basilica de Cobre
Praying, Basilica de Cobre
Sunflowers are symbolic in this basilica, whose ceremonies and symbolism combine Catholicism with elements of Santeria.
Man and Dog at the Golden Hour, Santiago de Cuba
Grandmother in Her Home
Most Cubans have so little but are the souls of generosity and hospitality. Photographers usually give necessities to the people they photograph; pens and toothpaste are coveted. Although I had run out of items and said so, this woman beckoned me, a stranger, into her home and allowed me to photograph there. Afterward, she offered me coffee.
A photographer told me that when he needed a place to stay, a family he hardly knew offered to move out of their home and stay with friends so that he could live there as long as he needed and told him to use whatever he wanted. This gesture, he said, changed his life.
Dog, Santiago de Cuba
Cuba is home to many dogs, both domestic and feral. This dog poked its nose through its balcony for a moment to survey the scene.
Homage to the Leaders
Cuba is filled with banners like this as well as grafitti praising and showing allegiance to its leaders.
Soccer Player
Cubans are soccer afficianados, and the streets are often filled with teenagers engaging in the sport.
Little Girl and Her Doggie
Haircut, Santiago de Cuba
Street barbers are a common sight.
Steel Drum Maker
Recovering Man and His Cat
This man allowed me, a complete stranger, to go down his alleyway to the door of his house and photograph him and his cat.
Conversation 1
Cuba has a rich street life with families, including babies, strolling at 10 p.m. on a Sunday night despite work and school the next day, musicians playing outdoors through the wee hours, and neighbors hanging our and chatting.
Conversation 2
Young Boy in His Doorway, Baracoa
Woman in Red, Santiago de Cuba
Older Mothers, Adult Children
One of the most interesting and perhaps the most satisfying of life's transitions for older women is honing a relationship with an adult child, particularly in terms of the emerging friendship and support, the shared propensities and interests.
Bobbie and David
Bobbie and David share a profound love of theater. Bobbie, who has written and performed cabaret songs, has her own production company. She creates, hosts, and performs in a series entitled "Age Is Just a Number," celebrating older performers. David, who studied philosophy and law, has worked in theater and burlesque as a musician and artist and is now a producer and a performer in his own show.
David owns a large wardrobe of costumes, which he enjoys wearing, including top hats and spats. Bobbie dresses according to colors, highlighting a particular hue on a particular day., and her menu is restricted to foods that are compatible with her blood type.
A Theatrical Tango
Grace and Alexa
Grace and Alexa live together in a three-generation household. Their creative lives, while separate, often intersect.
Grace, a producer/writer/talk show host and arts critic in radio and television who has written reviews and commentary for major publications, has recently been writing fiction and plays.
Alexa, with an M.A. from The Juliiard School, works with words, multi-media and music. Her most recent work, based on a Walt Whitman poem and using unconventional instruments, brings together two groups of non-professional performers: Children from 1 to 18 and adults over 65.
Mother and daughter are now contemplating a joint multi-media project that amalgamates their talents,
Reflected
A Younger Grace
The Polar Bear Club of Coney Island
The members of the Polar Bears, a club that has been in existence for over 100 years, swim in the icy waters of Coney Island every New Year's Eve and every Sunday afternoon through April, no matter what the weather. After April, the weather and water temperature are too warm to suit them. Some of the members' parents were themselves members. One man remembers his father taking him to the swim and having others in the club babysit him. Another man told me that he had had arthritic pain and used a walker, but since joining the Polar Bears, he has been pain free and has thrown his walker away.
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Planting the Flags
Club Member Before Her Swim
The Two Oldest Polar Bears of Coney Island
Going for It
To the Water 1
Ten Jumping Jacks
To the Water 2
The Circle
Grateful for the Swim
Drying Off
Easter Swim
Warming Up After the Swim
After the Swim
A Good Day
Dead Horse Bay
Dead Horse Bay is a desolate cove near Floyd Bennet Field in Brooklyn between Gerritsen Inlet and Rockaway Inlet. From the 1800s until the 1930s, the marshland on which it sits was dotted with horse-rendering plants, which disposed of dead horses as well as other dead animals found on New York City streets, manufacturing from their bones glue and fertilizer. The chopped-up bones were dumped into the bay, and remnants of those bones wash up onto the beach today. Around the turn of the century, it was used as a landfill. The trash heap was capped, but in the 1950s, the cap burst, spewing trash onto the beach. It is littered with hundreds of bottles, broken and unbroken, clear and tinted, as well as strange eclectic bits of trash. (Source: DANIEL B. SCHNEIDER in The New York Times, July 18, 1999 "FYI" column)
Detritus, Dead Horse Bay, Brooklyn, New York
Old Tire
Looking Away from the Water
Texture of the Sand
Three Beachcombers
Grasses
Abandoned Rowboats and Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge
Another Abandoned Rowboat
Shards
Threads Washed Ashore
Bottle Hung from Dead Tree 1
A tree whitewashed by the sea lies on the beach. It has been decorated with old broken bottles, much as you'd hang ornaments on a Christmas tree. They are resplendent when the sun shines through the glass.
Bottle Hung from Dead Tree 2
Bottle Hung from Dead Tree 3
Bottle Hung from Dead Tree 4
Sunset Over Dead Horse Bay
Brighton Beach
Part of a crescent of beaches in southwestern Brooklyn, Brighton Beach has in recent years become home to immigrants from Russia who have been drawn to the area because of its resemblance to Odessa. In addition to a plethora of Russian shops and restaurants on Brighton Beach Avenue, a line of white-tablecloth establishments dot the boardwalk, and older residents sun themselves on the benches year round.
Sitting in Tatiana's old world white-tablecloth cafe in the boardwalk, I watched a spectacular storm hit, followed by my first double rainbow.
Dinner at Tatiana's
Coney Island and the Mermaid Parade
Part of the Lower Bay in southwestern Brooklyn, a stretch that includes Manhattan Beach and Brighton Beach, Coney Island has been historically famous as an amusement resort, famed for Steeplechase, Luna Park, and one of the world's first roller coasters, with several luxury hotels developed there in the 1870s and 1880s. Still a destination for rides, games, Nathan's, and the beach in addition to being residential, it hosts the Mermaid Parade each June, in which participants create elaborate costumes on the theme of the sea.
Brooklyn Botanical Gardens
At the Magnolia Pavillion
Member's night at the Rose Garden: Hat contest
Member's night at the Rose Garden
Raptor demonstration
Raptor demonstration
Prospect Park
Boathouse
Brooklyn Neighborhoods
Jane's Carousel, Brooklyn Bridge Park, DUMBO
Jane's Carousel
Brooklyn Bridge Park
Williamsburg, view from pier
Williamsburg, looking toward Manhattan
Williamsburg ferry
Grafitti, Gowanus
Bastille Day, Boerum Hill
Street performer, Brighton Beach Avenue
Block party, Prospect Lefferts Gardens
Gowanus
This sign has since been taken down.
Shop window, Brighton Beach Avenue
At Greenwood Cemetery, Greenwood Heights
Bakery, Sunset Park
Sunset Park
A perfect spring day, Sunset Park
Brooklyn Navy Yard
The Brooklyn Navy Yard is being repurposed with green buildings, craft studios, and small manufacturers. Tours are available.
Brooklyn Navy Yard
Abandoned building, Brooklyn Navy Yard
Bordeaux
In a Gallery, Musee des Beaux Arts, City of Bordeaux
Street, City of Bordeaux
Old building converted to a 12-plex cinema, City of Bordeaux
Cafe, St. Emillon
Cathedral, City of Bordeaux
La Cite du Vin, City of Bordeaux
This is the contemporary wine museum in the City of Bordeaux with interactive exhibitions on several floors and a 360-degree view of the city from the top floor balcony, where there is also an enormous bar at which you can choose a free glass of wine from those of several countries.
Stainless steel wine vats in a chateau
Wine stored in oak barrels, chateau
Reflecting pool and wine tasting pavillion, Chateau du Terte, Bordeaux countryside
Chateau du Tertre
St. Emillon
St. Emillon
St. Emillon
Skate Park, City of Bordeaux
Oyster Seller, City of Bordeaux, market
City of Bordeaux
City of Bordeaux
In a Gallery, Musee des Beaux Arts, City of Bordeaux