shutter to think

Brigitte's Buzios

I made my first trip to Buzios  alone - the one time sleepy fishing village where Brigitte Bardot escaped to in the 1960s turned chiquey vacation getaway for honeymooners - but I was lucky to meet all some of the wonderful local Buzio's characters that made this a memorable assignment for Hemispheres Magazine. 

For Paula Magazine - Chile

Chile's oldest women's magazine featured an interview of Major Pricilla de Oliveira Azevedo, who now leads the Pacification Police Unit in Rocinha, Brazil's largest single favela. She was appointed "after a political fall-out from the arrest of her predecessor and 12 other officers, who were charged with the murder of resident Amarildo de Souza, a bricklayer who was last seen at police headquarters being interrogated with electric shocks and asphyxiation." (see guardian story)

This portrait was taken of her in Favela Santa Marta, the first favela pacified in the city of Rio, where she first led the UPP unit. 

Special Edition Brazil for the Observer Magazine

 Voice of Brazil, Special edition for the Sunday Observer Magazine

"Having gone from poverty to parliament via Big Brother and Brazil's first gay-rights election platform, Jean Wyllys must rank among the most postmodern of politicians."

 

"Inês Ferreira de Abril's position in the community where she lives and works is halfway between guru and local hero. Walking through the tight red-brick maze of the Borel-Indiana favela, a poor settlement of some 20,000 just a 10-minute cab ride from Rio's Maracana Stadium, she is stopped every five minutes by well-wishers and those seeking advice."

 

"Major Pricilla – as she is best known – is the friendly, positive face of the pacification programme that she has helped to spearhead. She is in charge of hundreds of officers in one of the most violent police forces on the planet and is playing a prominent role in trying to shift perceptions of their tole."

Portraits for El Pais Magazine

Last month I photographed Wagner Mouro, Brazil's most adored actor (and famously known in Elite Squad), and the president of Petrobras, Maria das Graça Foster. 

 

And some of my favorite selects from both assignments.

 

 

Bruna Costa for the Guardian of London Weekend Magazine

"Over the Rainbow: What is it like to be gay around the world?" is a portrait series of people from around the world sharing their thoughts and opinions about the challenges (or not) of being gay in their country.

I photographed Bruna Costa, 27, a Carioca (a resident of Rio de Janeiro). Please click on the image or the link above to read about Bruna.

Pamela Ronald and Raoul Adamchak for Die Zeit

She's the head of a plant genetics lab at UC Davis; he teaches organic farming there. They're married (with kids), and they coauthored, Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food.

Cantagalo boys

I live in Ipanema, a neighborhood  under favela Cantagalo. Weekend nights are busy. Through my window the sounds of baile funk music til 3am, fireworks, and people talking echo off the granite hillside and concrete apartment buildings. The weeknights are sometimes so quiet i often wonder what is wrong. why so quiet! When i first arrived to Rio, I took a walk up to this community high above the apartment building where i live. I took the elevator up what felt like 100 feet high above and held my breath as I quickly hurried across the walkway bridge to the community on the morro (hill). I didn't get very far when I saw these boys...inquisitively tough and sweet; a close knit of friends and family. A stark contrast to the wealthiest neighborhoods in all the city that lies below them. They are the lights that twinkle bright on the morro.

Trousseau for the NYT

This assignment was back in September and the portrait was a bit of a fail in terms of the light and execution...Hot, bright light all day and although I tried to set the pictures up much later in the day, the sun was a-blazing. But I brought my film camera with me and managed to photograph a nice portrait of Chilean vineyard owner, Bernie Luchsinger.

If you get a chance to look this wine up, its well worth the effort to find it. Its delicious. Winemakers, Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts also make a very tasty rose. I really wish I had a few bottles with me now in Brazil, since this country is lacking in reasonably priced delicious wine. Read the article here: One Grape to Reimagine California Wine.

 

For GreenSource Magazine

Parklets have become incredibly popular in San Francisco over the past two years, and there is one design company called Rebar Art & Design Studio that has taken the lead. Read all about John Bela in an interview, called Free Parking.

For Dickinson Alumni Magazine

Last month I photographed Michael Lanz, who was such a fabulous person to photograph and really brought his personality out in the shoot, at San Francisco's Google location. Here's a web clip of the magazine. 

Maria and education reform for Mother Jones Magazine

A very compelling story about Maria, a bright teenage immigrant from El Salvador, and a year in the life of a low-performing school by writer Kristina Rizga. This is certainly a story that a documentary photographer would love to work on longer than an afternoon's portrait shoot but I'm thankful to receive the opportunity to photograph the assignment and to meet Maria and Kristina. The challenge was not to show the face and personality of Maria. But to protect her identity, I gladly accepted challenge. We spent time walking the halls of her school at Mission High in San Francisco, photographing in various places, including in one of her classrooms, pictured here.

Everything You've Heard About Failing Schools is Wrong is an in-depth article about education reform, stereotypes and dedication. 

Portrait of a Survivor

I recently met and photographed Kevin Hines, who survived a suicide off the Golden Gate Bridge, and was very touched by his story and his efforts on suicide prevention. Please read more about Kevin's story written by Louise Rafkin: Survivor of bridge jump advocates for mental healthy, safety barrier

BioFarming for Germany's Focus Magazine

Can biofarming be the answer to sustainble food sources? UC Davis Professors Pamela Ronald, a plant pathologist, and her husband, organic farmer, Raoul Adamchak, coauthored "Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food," that discusses genetic engineering as a tool to make farming more sustainable.

Pamela has a very interesting blog with articles and discussions about bio-farming:

http://scienceblogs.com/tomorrowstable/

This was a portrait shoot of the professors at UC Davis, but I wanted to also candidly photograph them in Raoul's garden. Unfortunately Pamela wasn't working in the lab that day, but we (the writer and I) did stop by to check it out...see outtakes below.

 

 

Bio Farming for Focus Magazine - Images by Lianne Milton

A weekend in Mexico City

The first time I traveled to Mexico City was during the swine flu in 2009. The city was shut down. Streets and sidewalks empty, and all stores and restaurants closed. I was curious to know what the city was like on a normal day, and last weekend a friend and I had a chance to play tourists and see the sites, which also included the annual Gay Pride Parade and a Mexico vs USA soccer match.

War and Fleece for Mother Jones Magazine

Its hot off the presses, get the latest issue - July/August - of Mother Jones Magazine featuring a story I photographed on shady unaccredited financial planners and insurance brokers who target aging veterans in the US using clever business names to lure seniors and deplete their pensions. I photographed a very sweet couple for the story, Ruth, 87, and Willard, 93. And my thoughts are with them as they continue to work with their lawyer in civil court and go after the men who took advantage of them and their finances.

And thanks to picture editor Mark Murrmann who keeps putting food on my table by assigning me these interesting stories to photograph. 

 

Elderly for MJ Mag - Images by Lianne Milton