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Thursday 29 September 2011

Autumn fashion shoot at Dartington

I collaborated with fashion designer Eloise Sentito who makes fabulous costumes and dresses from recycled fabrics: www.re-invent.co.uk, for this Autumn fasion shoot in Dartington gardens.
I was Inspired by the amazing autumnal colour display the trees are putting on at this time of year, and of course the clothes and model herself. The poses are also reminiscent of the photographs I have seen of the  the dancer Isadora Duncan  who had close connections with the Dartington hall estate in the 1920s.








Thursday 15 September 2011

New School Opera

I was asked to photograph The students on the Advanced Opera Course at Dartington International Summer School who were performing an amazing version of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, conducted by Steven Devine and Directed by Tim Hopkins with an early 90's costume theme by designer Giulia Scrimieri. 

It was a fully staged performance of Purcell’s first and only all-sung opera. The love story of Dido, Queen of Carthage and the Trojan hero Aeneas, and her despair at his abandonment of her.

The costumes reminded me of growing up in the late 80's early 90's and the terrible clothes I was wearing in my old school photographs from that period. Photographer Kate Mount and I were already using a mottled backdrop for another project which I will show shortly (still editing). This backdrop reminded us of those school photos so we decided to place the opera students in their costume in front of the backdrop to recreate that old school look. I asked the Opera stars to act a scene with pretty dramatic effect!



































Thursday 1 September 2011

Please help my friend in the fight against human trafficking in Nepal


I am writing you on behalf of one of my friends, Alexandra Robinson, who has given up the last two years of her life to combat human trafficking in Nepal.  At the age of fifteen, after learning about human trafficking, she decided that she would one day prosecute these brutal crimes. For the last nine years, she has worked tenaciously towards her goal, assisting victims at the State’s Attorney’s Office, working with violent sexual offenders in prisons, living in isolated villages in rural Thailand, and conducting policy advocacy on the Hill.  After graduating from Davidson College in 2009, she worked as a lobbyist by day and a nanny by night to save enough money to move to Nepal, where she dreamt of assisting counter-trafficking operations.
When Alexandra arrived in Kathmandu, she had no job and no contacts.  In her first month, after meeting with countless victims and securing interviews with high-ranking attorneys, diplomats, and politicians, she identified a critical lack of reliable research regarding human trafficking in Nepal. Within two weeks, she designed a research model to investigate emerging trends in the human trafficking and foreign employment exploitation of Nepali women and girls.  And six weeks later she embarked on a yearlong journey leading a team across Nepal to interview 420 victims and to personally interview more one hundred political officers, law enforcement agents, mafia, and NGO staff.

Three months ago, Tiny Hands International (THI), an American NGO, offered Alexandra her dream job to work under International Justice Mission’s former VP of Investigations and Security, Jeff Blom, to lead counter-trafficking investigations in Nepal.  Here was an opportunity to do something no one had ever done before in Nepal; to break down the organized crime networks that yearly supply thousands of victims to brothels in India and into slavery in the Middle East.  She jumped on board as THI’s Director of Intelligence and Analysis to strategize under-cover investigations and analyze intelligence from the field.  The only catch was that Alexandra would have to find donors and raise her salary herself (Tiny Hands International’s policy for all American staff).

Last week, one of Alexandra’s biggest donors backed out of his commitment, essentially stranding her abroad.  If she doesn’t find a donor within a month, she will have to leave Nepal.  Alexandra is doing everything she can to find a solution, but raising support from abroad is nearly impossible.  She fearlessly commits herself to her work despite the inherent dangers of combating organized crime.  If she has to leave, not only will she be devastated, but also will her office lose an irreplaceable team member. Without her, major investigations will be stalled – investigations that could prevent the exploitation of thousands of women.  Finding someone as courageous, passionate, and capable as Alexandra would be next to impossible.

Alexandra needs to raise a total of $7000, and she needs to do it fast.  I know that economic times are difficult for all of us, but please, just take a few minutes to consider supporting this dedicated, passionate young woman and her inspiring work.  All donations are tax-deductible, and can be done easily online through www.tinyhandsinternational.org.  Merely access the website, and navigate to their “Donate” page and scroll down the list of donation options until you find “Support Alex Robinson.”

Alexandra is more than happy to personally tell you more about her work.  Don’t hesitate to email her at alexandra.l.robinson@gmail.com

photograph from my 'traffic' series about human trafficking in Nepal