Sunday, May 24, 2009

in east texas



The 2 and a half hour drive towards east Texas from Dallas was painless. Besides a few unexpected detours we made it to our destination on time. The clouds were looming - but the winds were here already. As always, you can make plans but there's always a catch. Rusty Dorman is a good man. He's been in Henderson, TX for most of his life. He leans up against the wall in the hallway of his office - smiling (and partly embarrassed) because a co-worker is staring at him laughing. Being photographed is never easy...

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

in a hotel ballroom

© van ditthavong

Brett walks in the ballroom. He is a calm, cool customer. With a friendly voice he says, "Ok, tell me what you'd like me to do." He seems relaxed with only a tiny hint of nervousness... a perfect state for a subject. I respond, "Can you look towards the light?" For some reason or other - some folks need little direction. He was one of those folks.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

ian + belle

© van ditthavong

Yes they have their fights and disagreements, but Ian's a great older brother. He includes Belle in pretty much everything he does... and even when he doesn't really want to. It's been a year since this photo and next month we get to make some new ones.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

kathy arroyo

© van ditthavong

We met in the fall of 2007. She was in the midst of her battle with breast cancer. At that time I was working on a project about the women of The Bridge Breast Network... The Bridge saves lives by linking low income, uninsured individuals to diagnostic and treatment services for breast cancer. What I remember about that afternoon was how Kathy would say how helpful and caring her neighbors were. We talked about her family, her treatments, our crummy healthcare system, and which hospitals and doctors would tell her - sorry you're dying but we can't help you cause you don't have insurance.  But she wasn't angry or mad.  She was grateful... to The Bridge, to her family, and to her friends and neighbors.  Kathy passed away last month - and I am grateful for the chance to have spent a lovely afternoon with her.

Monday, May 4, 2009

cameron hughes part deux




from April's Spirit Magazine issue...