Weather: 60° and beautiful
Last day.
Almost 1:00 pm here. I thought I would be racing around, but I feel done. The last prints have been made and given out. A generous parent let me experiment with movement photos of her. I took some unsuccessful double exposures. I taped a child crying on the hall. I said goodbye to many of the parents. It's the first time I feel tired. Soon we will have a goodbye lunch with the staff, and then go out for a walk with Mazin. I have not spent a penny.
Photography allowed me to form a relationship (is that what photography is about?) with the mothers. I don't speak Arabic and they don't speak English, yet we all keep on talking to each other and smile and hold hands. Feeling a little emotional.......
Once I get home, I will go through my photos and do a final blog post for Baghdad. I found out the wonderful news this week that I am offered a 2 week art residency at Mesa Verde National Park. I expect to blog there also. I look forward to spending my days outside, instead of under florescents!
One final photo of the office where we worked, and the generous young women known as the 'volunteers' who shared their space and were constantly trying to feed us.
xo
Ellen
Helen, Dalya (actually a pharmacist), Ban, Noor
Relationships are a big part of what your portrait photography is about. Not true for everyone who takes a picture of someone else.
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