A Crisp Morning

We have been slogging through some wet weather and soggy conditions in New York and on the east coast, which have been coloring my mood and I suspect that of many folks -- and having just come through Hurricane Irene last weekend.   As I was looking through some images this evening, I stumbled upon this photograph taken on a chilly January morning -- the last day of January in fact -- in 2010.  There was a cool crispness in the air and a feeling of promise which greeted me as I stepped out onto the street that day.  Given the weather conditions and what seems to a rather pervasive gloominess in abundance of late,  I found myself very drawn to this image tonight, and the feelings I had that morning which prompted me to take it.  Perhaps it will stimulate a similar hopefulness in others too.

The Wisdom of Children

This photograph was taken in Haiti last October.  I was there working on a series of short documentary films related to water safety and conditions in general.  We had been filming in an area called Fond Brache which was up in the hills and had been particularly hit hard by the earthquake in January of 2010.  The area is also extremely susceptible to flooding from Haiti's persistent rains.  This girl and several of her friends were intensely curious about our work, and playfully followed us as we moved with camera and sound equipment across some complicated terrain.   We felt welcomed and uplifted by them.  There was also an intensity to her gaze and knowing smile which was quite powerful, and to which I couldn't help but be drawn to visually.   Towards the end of our filming, she and several of her friends sang for us.  While we did not understand the words at the time, when I was back in New York editing, I had the Creole translated and the lyrics were entirely about children being the future of a country, and how we need to both protect and invest in them, otherwise we will regret.