I am thinking of you

The incredible devastation from Hurricane Katrine left me a little overwhelmed.

Refugees in the news kept saying things like "Where is all the help? Don't you realize what has happened here? Doesn't anyone even care?"

On friday I went out in the street and started talking with people about the Hurricane, asking them how they felt and asking them if they would like to hold this message for the people down there. The response was amazing: in the first four days I collected nearly 1,000 of these portraits. Since then I have collected a second thousand, and the project seems to be taking on a life of its own. What you see here is only a small slice of a larger project in the works.

Some people smiled and sent comforting faces. Some people frowned and sent faces that showed their grief and concern. Some people - in particular those people who are actually from New Orleans or who have family there - made very stony faces. These latter in particular moved me profoundly and sometimes I found myself crying while taking these pictures. It was as if they stepped beyond the theatricality and falsehood of photography to really say with their simple presence, shouting against all hope across a vast gap, I am thinking of you.

I hope you get this message: I am here. I am really thinking of you.

143 photos | 20,846 views

items are from between 02 Sep 2005 & 19 Sep 2005.