Key West The Newspaper

by Jeane LaRance…

I ended my last column talking about how I would teach documentary photography to the young people in LaVallée, so they could visually document their culture for future generations. Till then, the only information I had about Haitian culture was what other people told me, or what outsiders wrote. I couldn’t build my hopes and dreams on someone else’s words; I couldn’t teach about preserving a culture until I knew the culture myself. I wanted to learn more about the people and their history so I would know what to expect from my students. I wanted to know how they built L’Hôpital St. Joseph, St. Jean Baptiste Catholic Church, the Lycée Philippe Jules (high school), and the other schools. I wanted to know how they did it without construction equipment, electricity or power tools.

On my second trip to LaVallée, Michael and I stayed for a week after the rest of the team left. Having become accustomed to their ways, and feeling that the people had accepted me, I wanted to interview the elders and they were ready. They all speak French and I do not, so I used an interpreter. I learned the history of LaVallée and its people through those interviews. I heard stories from the ones who made everything happen over the past many years, the ones with the dreams and plans. They formed an organization called Codéva, (Coude-a-Coude pour le Développement Valleen) meaning elbow-to-elbow for the development of LaVallée. Together these people had power and they made it work without guns and war! They built their town by hand and everyone helped, no matter their age. One of the men I interviewed, Joe, spoke English. He spent all afternoon with Michael and me telling us stories and at one point we were all crying. It was quite an honor to have them dig so deeply into their hearts for memories of the past and share them with outsiders.

It broke my heart to listen to those beautiful stories knowing they had no visual documentation and no images to pass on to the next generation. So any doubts I may have had, any questions at all as to whether I would teach, were gone. I decided to offer my services as a photographer to anyone in LaVallée who might want something photographed and I would give them prints and a CD.

Finally, one day I got a message that an elder had passed and the family wanted images of the funeral. Then I was asked to shoot a wedding; then family portraits, then events in the village. I was happy to do it, hoping I wasn’t taking on more than I could handle. My roll as photographer with AHDH is at the hospital; often I’m in surgery all day with the doctors and nurses. I didn’t know how I would manage my time when I started teaching, but I was certain it would all work out.

By this time photography had been introduced to everyone in the county of LaVallée. I started talking about teaching, knowing how quickly word spreads via coconut telegraph.

After the earthquake of January 2010, I began teaching the first class.

I asked the principles of the schools to pick the students for me and I picked a couple of teenagers myself. The first class was very interesting; some of the kids had never seen a camera, much less make pictures. We decided on a name, The Young Photographers of LaVallée. It was trial and error for all of us. It turned into the greatest challenge of my life! And something I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.

Michael sponsored our first exhibit at L’Auberge du Mont St. Jean Hotel, right there in our own village, which was probably the first exhibit ever in LaVallée! The hotel made lite snacks and fruit punch. I felt badly because the family members who did show up would not come inside. It was all about culture. The proprietor had money, spoke French and was in the dominant were class of people, while the friends and family members of the young photographers were poor farmers and were considered peasants. The two don’t mix socially. But the show went on and everyone who viewed the images loved what they saw. Later that year we had our first exhibit in the United States at Xavier University in New Orleans.

The first few days of class were spent learning the camera, learning about light and shadows and making pictures of each other. I used my images on computer as examples for composition, portraits and group shots. Their first assignments were family, the people they see everyday. I told them to shoot from the heart, and if it didn’t feel right don’t press the shutter. I talked to them about culture and having pictures of their grandparents to show their children. I wasn’t sure they understood any of this but by the end of the first week they were bringing images for critique that touched my heart so deeply that I had to laugh to keep from crying.

Yes, my days were long and I didn’t sleep much, missed dinner many times but the payoff was worth so much more.

The students, the doctors and nurses define my image as a photographer, the one others see of me, and I am so proud of that.

I have barely touched the surface of Haitian life and culture in my essays; the story is long and beautiful. Next time I will tell you about the young photographers and show more of their photographs.

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All images are property of the photographer, Jeane LaRance and may not be copied or used without permission. More of her work can be viewed on her website.

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To see other parts in this series click here.