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6/23/2009 8:46:14 AM
Photographer Sander-Martijn’s Epson PictureMate Zoom Prints Leave Lasting Impression With Haitian People
When photographer Sander-Martijn first tried to take pictures of the people near the Albert Schweitzer Hospital mountain clinics in Haiti, the locals viewed him with suspicion. In an under-developed Caribbean country that has few tourists, a professional photographer with a camera slung over the shoulder is not an everyday sight.
While the Republic of Haiti is rarely considered a dream destination, it’s a place that calls to the New York-based photographer Sander-Martijn. “What we hear in the media about Haiti is pity, sadness, poverty, starvation, AIDS and hopelessness,” he said. “While all of these things are unfortunately true, it’s also a country of beautiful, proud and strong people.” His goal in Haiti has been to do portrait work of the Haitian people for a photo book and to document the work of the Albert Schweitzer Hospital Haiti, which was founded by the Mellon family in Deschapelles in the Artibonite region. Sander’s work will also help the hospital raise funds to continue its mission in Haiti. Earning Trust
To photograph Haitian people near the mountain clinics, Sander had to overcome the challenge of photographers everywhere: how to earn the trust of those in front of the lens. He found that sharing some of his viewfinder images stirred up some curiosity, but the novelty still wasn’t enough to completely break the ice. Then, he had an idea about a way to win favor so he could freely take the photos he needed. “What if I got them something more permanent, something tangible like a print that they could hold in their hands?” he thought. On his next trip to Haiti a few months later, the photographer brought along a lightweight Epson PictureMate® Zoom photo printer. After a long drive up the mountain in the back of a truck, he took the battery-powered portable printer out of its carrying case and set it next to him outside the dispensary, where a nurse was busy giving TB vaccinations and treating malaria patients. Sander turned to photograph a young teen-aged girl standing silently nearby. “She looked into my camera with a power I rarely see ... piercing, direct, unafraid and beautiful,” he said. Not wanting his interesting subject to walk away, he quickly took the memory card out of the camera and put in into the printer. In seconds, he was previewing the image on the built-in photo viewer. He then hit the Print button, and in about 40 seconds had a 4x6-inch print. Lasting Impressions
After he handed the girl the print, her face broke out into a wide smile. She started laughing with sheer delight, waving the print and calling out to people around her. A wave of excitement passed through a small crowd, as Sander began to take more photographs, print them, and hand them out. Word started to spread about the magic of Sander’s instant prints. “The PictureMate Zoom was a huge hit because so many of these people had never before even seen a photo of themselves,” said Sander. From that day forward, it was easy to photograph the gossiping women doing laundry at the well, the noisy throng of children with jugs on their heads, or the old man walking up a steep, dusty mountain path past the bougainvillea and hibiscus. Most importantly, showing the prints allowed him access in and about the clinic without any patients objecting to his presence, taking photos of a nurse giving vaccine to a baby or a doctor treating a man with malaria.
“I found myself relying on the print quality, speed and convenience of PictureMate to get the photographs I wanted,” he said. The 3.6-inch LCD photo viewer, which can also be used for photo slideshows, made it easy for him to select and then print 4x6-inch photos. By using the PC-free photo editing features, he did not need a computer to crop, remove red eye, or enhance colors. The durability of the PictureMate prints was ideal – smudge, scratch, water and fade resistant photos that last up to four times longer than those from a lab or kiosk. The prints dried instantly, so Sander was able to pass them around immediately. PictureMate Zoom also has a built-in CD burner to easily archive photos without a computer. Especially essential to Sander was the long life of the printer’s rechargeable battery. “Electricity in the region is rare, and even if you have it, it’s limited,” he said. “There certainly wasn’t any electricity up in the mountain villages.” After Sander’s last trip, he came home with a series of portraits and the hope to somehow begin to change the outside world’s perception of Haitians. “For while pity can be effective in getting foreign aid, so can pride and the understanding that these people need a helping hand so they can help themselves,” he said. “If we give them the tools they need, they will step up and continue the journey on their own.” He will return to Haiti again for a year to collect more photos of the people, as well as Haiti’s rugged mountains, small coastal plains and river valleys. Right by Sander’s side will be the Epson PictureMate Zoom, an extraordinary way for the photographer to reach out and connect with the resilient people of Haiti.
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