Jay Dunn, photojournalist : CHANGE STARTS HERE: 17 Voters for Obama

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New Photo Anthology

"Agadez to Accra: from the deserts of Niger to the Gulf of Guinea" -- The spirit of great travel journalism is alive and well in this new large-format landscape book by National Geographic Traveler’s First Prize winner Jay Dunn. Over 130 striking photographs complement this collection of essays and observations on an African adventure, where the photographer’s search for the beauty of everyday life leads to memorable people and some extraordinary experiences.

Agadez to Accra

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Statement

Jay Dunn
“In the very humanity of a gesture, what I look for are the emotions we all share, the intimacy of friendship, or the pain of loss, an offering to the hungry, or hands clasped in prayer. To have stopped, when it was much easier to walk away, to have tried to make a difference, to have regarded the ways of others, and found lessons for my own life, these things alone keep open that elusive window, through which I hope, in my photographs, a moment of truth may still be seen.”

Cycles of the Sun, Burma

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An excerpt from "Life and Death in Burma," an exhibition created in April, 2001. FULL TEXT at www.jaydunn.com ---- "Beneath all that is political is our essential human truth, and nowhere I have been is it clearer to me that this spirit is alive than in Burma. One hot day in Thanlyin, as I was watching some children playing on the side of the road, an older man approached, and asked me, gently, and in perfect English, why I wanted to photograph poor people. And I told him, as best I could, that to me, there was nothing on earth as beautiful as the smile on that little girl's face, that in my search for a poetry of life, any moment might show itself in that brilliant, unpredictable way to be just what you remember forever. Sure, there were to be instances of dread, of doubt, and apprehension, the cold expectancy of trouble, the restaurant I sat down in that turned out to be full of soldiers, rifles propped casually against the wall, but for any time like that there were a hundred times as many experiences that cried out to be described, and for which there would be few words. ----- These are people who know how to do things, and for whom it seems the technology we take for granted means less and less the more they are denied access to it. Most of the toys I saw were handmade, tops made of wood, rope and a single well-placed nail, kites fashioned from bamboo strips and found plastic flown high, on cotton string wound round simple wooden reels. It is a heavy burden, for instance, that electricity here is neither reliable nor inexpensive. Those who can afford it have generators. The fuel, of course, comes at its own price, stolen from its rightful owners, resold for a profit by unsmiling generals. But how sweet becomes the sound, in a village tuned down to the cycles of the sun, of an acoustic guitar, strummed lightly, of actual conversation, of people singing, and I heard this everywhere, unaccompanied by music, singing loud and unabashed, their favorite songs. Perhaps I betray my romanticism by suggesting there is something good to this, but in all I saw in the Burmese there is resilience, and strength, and humor." ----

Truth, Pakistan

A selection from "Satya," an exhibition and essay conceived March 2004. ---- "The young Chitrali woman in the photograph for me has no name. She has come to represent in my memory at once sister and mother, a dream one sees only at night and a waking vision during the day. Pakistan is full of women, but one hardly sees them, especially in the north and in the countryside, where conservative is a rule and many wear burka so they are cannot be seen at all. I photographed women throughout the whole assignment, but never once was able to capture what is here, a long look, a dark well of our own expectations, a canvas on which we can write of youth and of age at the same time. She is young, and yet she will never know what we expect our youth to know in their early years. She is different." ----

Nomads of Tidene, Niger

A selection from "Letter from Agadez," published December 2007 in the photo anthology "Agadez to Accra: from the deserts of Niger to the Gulf of Guinea." ---- "Like visions from the Bible, a group of nomads will spend the greater part of a day watering their herd of goats, zebu and camels, using methods unchanged for a thousand years. A boy tightens the thick palm fiber straps hitched to an uncomplaining donkey, and fixes the guide ropes expertly to his saddle. Mounting his charge, he spurs it into action, pulling up a full goat-skin water bag as he heads away from the well. Working together, a young woman will do the same, waiting to raise the next container, now on its way down to fill up. All will take turns emptying the bloated skins into bigger jars for transport, and into a nearby trough for the milling herd. Goats crowd around the wetness, and are given their fill, but no more - donkeys will drink several times, for they are doing the hardest work. The biggest zebu can only approach one at a time, their elegant curving horns making sharing impossible. ---- Over the course of four or five hours, everyone in this group of twenty will labor at this vital routine. Not everyone would envy lives as hard as these, but I can’t help but feel that these hardy souls will be the ones that survive, should all our fragile technology crash down around us. Like many Africans eking out a living from the earth, they will always be able to live here at least, to wait out a change of fortune, a change of government, or to just make do, once again, with the patience, grace and pride of people who know themselves and the land they live on." ----

"CHANGE" slide show click >> here <<

In the tumult and triumph of the recent US Presidential elections, there have been so many stories. For me, as a photojournalist who has been abroad for more than eight years, none has been more more inspiring than coming home to witness the quiet determination of these New Hampshire voters to have their say in history.

The tiny town of Hart's Location, population 29, has always been proud to be first to vote in the nation. At precisely 12:01:01 AM on November 4th, 2008, the voting began, and was completed by unanimous agreement three minutes and eight seconds later. Of the 29 votes cast for President, 17 were for Barack Obama, 10 for John McCain, and 2 for Ron Paul.

As the first national tally was announced, far away whoops were heard from Obama's sign-wavers still out by the road. And after a while, with little fanfare and more than a few shy smiles, those who has assembled well ahead of time drifted away, one by one, having started the ripple that turned into a tidal wave.

"CHANGE" slide show click >> here <<

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Jay Dunn, photojournalist

Humanitarian Issues & Cultural Tradition Worldwide

Online Archive

Web Site

Representation

Reproduction Rights

New Photo Anthology

Agadez to Accra

Recent Posts

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"Ritual and Romance in Asia" signed first edition

INDEX of All Asia & Africa Stories

Articles

Statement

Cycles of the Sun, Burma

Truth, Pakistan

Nomads of Tidene, Niger

Selected "HOY" Cover Stories

CHANGE STARTS HERE: 17 Voters for Obama

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