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behind the lens
Every photograph holds a thousand untold moments. Here, I share what happened before and after the shutter clicked - the conversations, the emotions, the human connections that make each image more than just a pretty picture.

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Through the Coal Dust:
A Brick Factory Encounter
A few minutes in a Bangladesh brick kiln nearly broke me. My Bangladesh documentary photography shows workers breathing coal dust for a couple of bucks daily.


Through the Coal Dust: A Brick Factory Encounter
A few minutes in a Bangladesh brick kiln nearly broke me. My Bangladesh documentary photography shows workers breathing coal dust for a couple of bucks daily.
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Through the Coal Dust: A Brick Factory Encounter
A few minutes in a Bangladesh brick kiln nearly broke me. My Bangladesh documentary photography shows workers breathing coal dust for a couple of bucks daily.


From Visa Delays to the Himalayas: A Journey Through Nepal
After a random discussion with a friend over a beer, I decided Nepal would be my next destination. From decision to “boots-on-the-ground” it took just three days.


Full Circle: From My Mother’s Return to My Own Homecoming in Vietnam
The first time I landed in Vietnam, I could see the heavily pock-marked bomb craters on the rice fields surrounding the Ho Chi Minh City airport from the window of the airplane. It was 1986, just 11 short years after the end of the Vietnam War.


Doctor or Photographer? The Life-Changing Choice I Faced in 1997
My father was born and raised in Santiago de Chile to German/Jewish parents. My grandparents fled WWII in 1939 and started a new life in Chile. In 1997, I graduated from Tulane University, in New Orleans. Not anxious to jump right into medical school, I decided to take a year off to explore my family roots. It was actually during this year that I really started to develop my skills as a photographer.
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Through the Coal Dust: A Brick Factory Encounter
A few minutes in a Bangladesh brick kiln nearly broke me. My Bangladesh documentary photography shows workers breathing coal dust for a couple of bucks daily.


Bangladesh. Day 4 - The Girl in Red
After a much-needed sleep-in, day 4 started at the Shaheb Bazar Kacha market. Part slaughter house, part fish market and part vegetable market. It was so picturesque that I barely noticed that my feet were soaked in blood and dirty, stagnant fish water.


From Visa Delays to the Himalayas: A Journey Through Nepal
After a random discussion with a friend over a beer, I decided Nepal would be my next destination. From decision to “boots-on-the-ground” it took just three days.


Bangladesh. Day 10 - Transformation and Goodbyes
I boarded the plane, richer in experience, richer in art and with all my vital organs.


Bangladesh. Day 9 - “A spot of tea?” and Black Lung Disease
Rounding the corner of the kiln, I came across two young men shoveling and grinding big chunks of coal into the coal dust that would be used to stoke the kiln fires. With only filthy head wraps to protect them, so much coal dust was pouring out from the 3-walled corrugated iron shack that you could hardly see them. I have never seen worse working conditions in my life.


Bangladesh. Day 8 - The Downside of being a Celebrity
Everywhere I went I was followed by 10 - 20 curious locals, all asking me my name and my nationality or asking to have their photo taken. “Trump! Trump?!”


Bangladesh. Day 7 - Dreamscape
The next morning the roads to the airport were thick with morning mist; this offered an amazing opportunity to take photos of farmers walking through this eerie, dreamy landscape.


Bangladesh. Day 6 - Human Aerators and “ ‘Dar she blows!”
One of the more interesting things I saw was a slew of young boys, squatting next to large plastic tubs of live fish, smacking the surface of the water with their hands… little human aerators…


From Visa Delays to the Himalayas: A Journey Through Nepal
After a random discussion with a friend over a beer, I decided Nepal would be my next destination. From decision to “boots-on-the-ground” it took just three days.


Full Circle: From My Mother’s Return to My Own Homecoming in Vietnam
The first time I landed in Vietnam, I could see the heavily pock-marked bomb craters on the rice fields surrounding the Ho Chi Minh City airport from the window of the airplane. It was 1986, just 11 short years after the end of the Vietnam War.


Doctor or Photographer? The Life-Changing Choice I Faced in 1997
My father was born and raised in Santiago de Chile to German/Jewish parents. My grandparents fled WWII in 1939 and started a new life in Chile. In 1997, I graduated from Tulane University, in New Orleans. Not anxious to jump right into medical school, I decided to take a year off to explore my family roots. It was actually during this year that I really started to develop my skills as a photographer.


From First Steps to Lifelong Roots: My African Journey
It is rumored that I even took my first steps at the Boulevard Hotel! Little did I know at that time, but Africa eventually became my home later on, importantly influencing my formation.


My North America Roots: From Nashville to New Orleans
I was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1975- the first and only child to first generation immigrant parents. My father was a young Chilean pediatrician working at Meharry Medical College and my mother, a Vietnamese accountant and MBA working for the Internal Revenue Service. At the age of 3, we moved to New Orleans, Louisiana.


Through the Coal Dust: A Brick Factory Encounter
A few minutes in a Bangladesh brick kiln nearly broke me. My Bangladesh documentary photography shows workers breathing coal dust for a couple of bucks daily.


Magazine d’Art De Saigon
A recent question and answer I did with Mads Monsen from Magazine d’Art De Saigon.


Titles
I have always believed that the title of a photograph is an added dimension to an image.


Full Circle: From My Mother’s Return to My Own Homecoming in Vietnam
The first time I landed in Vietnam, I could see the heavily pock-marked bomb craters on the rice fields surrounding the Ho Chi Minh City airport from the window of the airplane. It was 1986, just 11 short years after the end of the Vietnam War.


Doctor or Photographer? The Life-Changing Choice I Faced in 1997
My father was born and raised in Santiago de Chile to German/Jewish parents. My grandparents fled WWII in 1939 and started a new life in Chile. In 1997, I graduated from Tulane University, in New Orleans. Not anxious to jump right into medical school, I decided to take a year off to explore my family roots. It was actually during this year that I really started to develop my skills as a photographer.


From First Steps to Lifelong Roots: My African Journey
It is rumored that I even took my first steps at the Boulevard Hotel! Little did I know at that time, but Africa eventually became my home later on, importantly influencing my formation.


My North America Roots: From Nashville to New Orleans
I was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1975- the first and only child to first generation immigrant parents. My father was a young Chilean pediatrician working at Meharry Medical College and my mother, a Vietnamese accountant and MBA working for the Internal Revenue Service. At the age of 3, we moved to New Orleans, Louisiana.


From Visa Delays to the Himalayas: A Journey Through Nepal
After a random discussion with a friend over a beer, I decided Nepal would be my next destination. From decision to “boots-on-the-ground” it took just three days.


Full Circle: From My Mother’s Return to My Own Homecoming in Vietnam
The first time I landed in Vietnam, I could see the heavily pock-marked bomb craters on the rice fields surrounding the Ho Chi Minh City airport from the window of the airplane. It was 1986, just 11 short years after the end of the Vietnam War.


Doctor or Photographer? The Life-Changing Choice I Faced in 1997
My father was born and raised in Santiago de Chile to German/Jewish parents. My grandparents fled WWII in 1939 and started a new life in Chile. In 1997, I graduated from Tulane University, in New Orleans. Not anxious to jump right into medical school, I decided to take a year off to explore my family roots. It was actually during this year that I really started to develop my skills as a photographer.


From First Steps to Lifelong Roots: My African Journey
It is rumored that I even took my first steps at the Boulevard Hotel! Little did I know at that time, but Africa eventually became my home later on, importantly influencing my formation.


My North America Roots: From Nashville to New Orleans
I was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1975- the first and only child to first generation immigrant parents. My father was a young Chilean pediatrician working at Meharry Medical College and my mother, a Vietnamese accountant and MBA working for the Internal Revenue Service. At the age of 3, we moved to New Orleans, Louisiana.


Through the Coal Dust: A Brick Factory Encounter
A few minutes in a Bangladesh brick kiln nearly broke me. My Bangladesh documentary photography shows workers breathing coal dust for a couple of bucks daily.

Related Collections

Vietnam

Nepal

India

Myanmar

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