November 2016

For each day of the November Project 2016  I asked a new person to hold up a ring and to look at the sun through the ring while I photographed them. Each day I did not know who I would ask and I usually walked around where-ever I happened to be and asked whomever I encountered. This often resulted in more than one "No" because I did not have my explanation worked out clearly at the beginning of the month, but as the month went on I learned that getting someone to stop and have their photograph taken is easier if they are not en-route to somewhere else. I therefore tried to speak with persons who seemed to be either waiting around or not in a hurry. Each day I headed in a new direction without knowing where I'd end up going or how long it would take.

The first week was the most difficult and uncomfortable because I was not ready for all the "No's" that I'd receive or how many Spanish-only speakers that I'd encounter. I soon translated my pitch so that I'd be better prepared for speaking Español, although I could not always answer everyone's questions. Toward the end of the month I also added in a few family members, students and artist / colleagues
One other fun thing about this year's NP is that a song was selected for each day, as in 2015, and a link to the song can be found under each photograph. This year the songs do not specifically relate to the daily photographs and instead have meaning related to November and specific days of November.
I recently e-mailed all the participants in this year's project the link to this website and a few have responded with favorable comments.






     November 1 Victor
The Gorillaz- November has come.       

Victor was sitting outside the public library reading a book and did not mind at all participating. His willingness encouraged me to carry-on.









   November 2 Eva
   Thee Oh Sees- Chem-farmer


The date for each song was selected randomly and ccoincidentally, Thee Oh Sees appeared mysteriously in El Paso on Nov. 2.  
Eva was sitting in a park downtown and was surprised that I asked her to participate. She said "Why do you want to photograph me? I am not a young, beautiful girl."










   November 3 Lorin
     Johnny Cash- The Devil's Right Hand

Lorin, my daughter, volunteered to participate and the sun was nearly setting so...







 
    November 4 Manuel
     Louise Goffin- Instant Photo

Manuel was a bus driver who had just ended his shift and was on his way home.








 

November 5 Colette and Paco (the Chihuahua)
   The Haunted- 1-2-5 Monk      

Colette is holding Paco in her right hand. She works for an animal shelter and was waiting to meet a buyer to turn over the dog.                       











November 6 Gilberto
    Tiger Army- Outlaw Heart



Photographing Gilberto, my yoga instructor, helped me to see that holding the ring up and looking through it at the sun is sort of an infinite gesture that means something different to everyone.








  November 7 Ever                     
Slim Cesna's Auto Club- Water into Wine.


Ever was watching over a parking lot and was not going anywhere so he easily agreed to the distraction of having his photograph taken.







 


 


November 8 Andres


Andres suggested that I photograph him looking at me while he held up the ring. So from November 10 onward with one or two exceptions I also did an alternative view of each person, to recognize them for participating.








 November 9 Maria

Maria, a college student, was waiting for a ride and was just hanging out when I asked to take her photograph.







November 10 Tony

Transglobal Underground- Radio Unfree Europe




Tony also felt it was important that I photograph him from the front too. It seems like a good idea.





November 11 John

   James McMurtry- We can’t make it here Anymore                  

I met John at White Sands National Park. He was waiting with his camera to photograph the sunset, which, by the way, was quite spectacular that evening.










November 12 Jhairo    
                       Lou Reed- Good evening Mr. Waldheim

Jhairo, a talented artist studying philosophy too, was one of my drawing students Fall semester 2016.










November 13 Mary Anna

   The Stiff Little Fingers- Suspect Device                      



Mary Anna was watching her kids, as was I, at a local park on this Sunday.







November 14 Mauro

    Ambulance LTD- Yoga Means Union                     


Mauro spoke only Spanish so he and I couldn't communicate that well, but you get the idea, I was trying.








November 15 Jeremy (known as Bubba)

                   Broken Social Scene- Hotel                   



Jeremy asked me for a dollar to photograph him, so I said sure. He also asked me if I was doing a series about the homeless.









                           
 November 16 Jennifer
                        Pulp- Dishes

Jennifer is another talented artist that was glad to be part of this project. She is also the organizer/ coordinator of the music circle of which I am a part.










November 17 Antonio

   The National- Mr. November                   

Antonio was walking downtown. We did not speak much, but the photograph has a menacing feeling of the border because of the barb-wire fence nearby.







November 18 Clemente
    The Walkmen- The Rat 



Clemente spoke only Spanish so he and I did not exchange many words, although he gladly let me photograph him.







November 19 Luis

    Destroy all Monsters- Bored

I encountered Luis on this Saturday luckily because the sun was near setting again and time was running out.







   November 20 Linda
                       Beasts of Bourbon- Save me a Place

Linda was walking by my house and happily held up the ring on this Sunday afternoon.









  
November 21 Luisa
                       Lime Spiders- Slave Girl

In some cases, I did not position myself correctly when photographing each day so the ring that Luisa is holding can, unfortunately, not be seen, even though it is there.








November 22 Felipe

    Destroy all Monsters- November 22nd, 1963

Felipe was walking toward me on the middle of a block downtown and as we passed each other I asked him if he wanted to be part of a photography project.








  
November 23 Catherine
    The Chameleons- Don’t Fall


Catherine was sitting under an awning near a church selling cellular phone service deals. I was thankful that she did not mind being photographed.






 November 24 Jacob

                   The Clean- Anything could Happen


Jacob, my son, actually turned out to be a good model on this day. He was eager to please surprisingly.







November 25 Adam

                        Otis Taylor- Ten Million Slaves


I met Adam at a trailhead near Cloudcroft, NM. He thought the November Project sounded like a cool project.






November 26 Kevin

     Hudson Bell- Slow Burn






Kevin, an evangelist and cancer survivor, was eager to participate in this project when I introduced it to him because he had recently lost his wedding ring and saw my asking him to participate as a sign that everything would be alright.







   
 November 27 Eddie
                         Regina Spektor- On the Radio


Eddie was working pulling weeds and did not mind my interruption at all, even though he seemed a little skeptical about what I was doing.







November 28 Pedro

   A Tribe Called Quest- Midnight marauders tour Guide

Pedro was another person I encountered walking down the street and another who spoke only Spanish. I am thankful to everyone who puts up with my poor grasp of the language.








November 29 Ruben

                  A Tribe Called Quest- Steve Biko (Stir it up)



Ruben is an artist who I've known for a few years and who I did a favor for, so I asked him to do a favor for me.






November 30 Keith
    The Gorillaz- O Green World

Keith was another bus driver on a break who luckily agreed to participate on the last few minutes of the last day of November 2016. These end of the day photographs are, in my opinion, some of the best because of the dramatic contrasts of shadows and light.
That's all folks! See ya next year.


No comments:

Post a Comment