Sterling Trantham's Guatemala Photos

I attended an enjoyable documentary presentation this evening by <a

href="http://www.nmsu.edu/~ucomm/Panorama/winter2001/profiles.html">

Sterling Trantham</a>, a journalism professor at NMSU in Las Cruces,

New Mexico. Trantham has been going to the village of Zunil in the

western highlands of Guatemala each summer since 1995 to photograph

the San Simon religious ceremonies there. There ceremonies revolve

around an iconic figure called San Simon, a Mayan culture survivor

who gets equal billing with the Holy Trinity.<br>   

Trantham showed some very nice work, but the presentation was also

very informative in regard to what it takes to produce a body of

documentary work of this scope. He said he spent his first two weeks

in Zunil getting to know the people and introducing himself to the

shamans and curanderos who perform the healings and exorcisms that

constitute the San Simon ceremonies. When he finally took out his

camera and asked for permission to photograph, it was granted without

reservation, though tourists in the area are routinely charged $5-$10

per picture. Over the years, Trantham has become like a member of

the family for the residents of the village. He takes back a pile of

prints on each visit and distributes them to his subjects. Because

of the religious nature of the subject, many of the prints end up on

household alters with candles burning around them -- pretty nice

treatment for one's work.<br>    Trantham's technique is

not revolutionary, although he does do some nice low-light work,

often shooting by candlelight. His pictures gain their considerable

impact from the fact that he is able to work very close to his

subjects, but in an unobtrusive manner due to his familiarity with

the subjects. He shoots black and white only with a Hasselblad and

prints everything full-frame.<br>    Six or eight large

prints were on display at the show, and were of very fine quality.

Most of the evening, however, was devoted to a slide show featuring

about thirty of Trantham's images. He used a compact lcd projector

along with a tiny Mac laptop. With a small audience of about forty

and in a small room, it was a very effective way to show the work.

Trantham first ran the pictures by in an automated slide projection

display, then switched to a panel of thumbnails which let him move

around in the exhibit easily to answer questions.<br>   

Trantham's pictures were featured in an exhibit about two years ago

at the Santa Fe Fine Arts Museum, and they will be published in some

form in the near future by the Washington Post.

Great Material Mike. When I go to Mexico, I make it clear that I am NOT a tourist taking snapshots, but images of interest. By taking along prints and handing them out, people suddenly opened up.

Dear Mike,

 

Thanks for the kind review. I'm glad you enjoyed the

presentation.

 

Best,

 

Sterlnig

Sterling, thanks for dropping in. Please feel free to post on this forum if you have new public appearances or web content.