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AFGHANISTAN BLUES:
PHOTOGRAPHS by LISA SCHNELLINGER
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Lisa Schnellinger worked as a reporter and editor at newspapers in Ohio and Seattle before becoming an overseas journalism trainer. She worked with journalists in 18 countries, beginning with a year in China in 1991-92. She and her husband Tom Willard launched an independent news agency in Afghanistan, Pajhwok Afghan News [www.Pajhwok.com], and a nationwide training program for Afghan journalists, in 2002-05. Lisa’s work overseas also included projects in the Egypt, Southeast Asia, the South Pacific, Timor-Leste, and the Caucasus, as well as a freelance tour of Africa, and training in the Middle East while based in Dubai. She conducted workshops on elections, social issues, daily news coverage, ethics, photography and layout, and coached reporters and editors in their own offices as well as designing and managing special coverage and hands-on training projects. The work “was deeply rewarding, but took a toll on us over time,” Lisa says. She her husband returned to the US and settled in North Georgia in June 2007. Since then Lisa has turned full-time to photography, a life-long interest that till now was secondary to writing and editing. Her work is divided between fine-arts nature photography of the Appalachians and image memoirs of her life overseas such as “Afghanistan Blues.” Galleries of this work can be seen at her web site, www.BarakaPhotos.com. Some of her architectural photos are housed at the University of Washington’s Cities and Buildings Database: http://www.washington.edu/ark2/ . Lisa established the Baraka Foundation to distribute profits from her business, to further education and information services wherever there is need. Currently, Baraka is focused on supporting these causes in Afghanistan with donations to Pajhwok and to a girls school in rural Logar Province. She and her husband continue to work with Afghans long-distance and give public presentations about Afghanistan. About “Afghanistan Blues” I laughed more in Afghanistan than at most any other time in my life, and I felt that my gender mattered less there than any other place I’ve worked, including the US. The Afghans we worked with in developing an independent media were some of the most gifted and hardworking people I’ve ever known. They taught me so much about loyalty, identity, and honor – and they have a terrific sense of humor. I didn’t think much about any of the dangers there because it was worth the risk, and they were very protective of us. Afghanistan’s scenery and people make it one of the most visually stunning places on the planet. I only regret that I didn’t take more time to make photographs there. After leaving Afghanistan I was busy working in the Middle East, but I never stopped feeling homesick for it. “Afghanistan Blues” was a chance to look again at pieces of what I miss: the land, the faces, the strength that wells up from the depth and height and breadth of it. |
PHOTOGRAPHS by RICK ROFIHE
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James Frey's new novel, Bright Shiny Morning, will be published in 2008 by HarperCollins. (Agent: Eric Simonoff. Editor: Jonathan Burnham.) Rick Rofihe's story collection, Father Must, was published in 1991 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. (Agent: Gail Hochman. Editor: Jonathan Galassi.) Photographer's Statement: "The dogs were clean and friendly, and so was James." |
NEW PHOTOGRAPHY: 7 by KELLY PIERSANTI
| Kelly Piersanti is a Masters Student in Environmental Science & Policy. She lives and works in New York City. |
LAST STOP
The Paintings of Fred Franco, July 4th, 2004
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