Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Worldly Weddings and Karmic Culture

Inside the temple complex, Hindu's hang beads (or poorer Hindu's tie a piece of cloth)
on the branches of a tree as an offering to the Gods
so that they may become fertile,
and conceive within three years of leaving their offering. 



The days leading up to a wedding, 
the family house is decorated with fresh flowers, offerings and lights. 


In November, the Hindu community celebrates Diwali, "the festival of lights".
Although Diwali was officilay earlier in the month, the family had not yet celebrated,
and took advantage of being all together for the wedding occasion.
 

The bride and groom are blessed by all close relatives using Kumkuma,
a deep red powder made with dried Turmeric.
After bowing before the relatives, their foreheads are marked
by dipping the thumb or forefinger in the powder,
and pressing the powder onto the foreheads of the couple, marking the sixth charkra.


 At a party called "Mehendi" the bride has her hands, arms and feet
richly decorated with intricate designs applied in Henna.
Female guests may also have their hands decorated with less elaborate designs. 

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Lieve Papa

Lieve Papa, 
Het is vandaag Zaterdag. Ik ben maar in bed blijven liggen, want de lunch gaat niet door. De Waag zal zich wel afvragen waar we blijven. Kom je volgende week weer wel? Gezellig. 

Lieve Papa,
Het is Zondag ochtend en ik was vroeg wakker dus ik wilde je appen, vragen of je zin had in koffie. Maar je stuurt niks terug, en de koffie smaakt toch niet zo lekker ergens anders dan bij jou. De DVD van The Artist ligt hier nog steeds, en we hebben nog twee seizoenen van The Killing. Of zullen we vanavond na het eten Lincoln gaan kijken? Ik denk dat je die mooi zal vinden. 

Lieve Papa, 
Ik moest eigenlijk naar het UWV vandaag, maar ik had geen zin. Ik weet het, het is een slecht excuus, maar ik wil helemaal geen bijstand nodig hebben, dat hoort toch helemaal niet? En vandaag heb ik iets anders te doen. Ik hoop dat jij, ondanks het feit dat ik er geen werk mee kan vinden toch een beetje trots bent op mijn master in de Antropologie. Ik weet dat je even hebt getwijfeld of ik het ooit nog af ging krijgen, die scriptie. Maar ik had hem nooit laten liggen, ik schreef hem voor jou, om te laten zien dat ik het kon. Drinken we maandag een glas champagne samen? Om het te vieren?

Lieve Papa, 
Het is dinsdag vandaag. Ik ben al heel vroeg naar je toe gekomen maar je lag te slapen. Zelfs toen ik het koffie-zet-apparaat aan zette kwam je de trap niet af. Nu zit ik maar een beetje te niksen. 

Lieve Papa,
Mama zit aan tafel, Koen is een beetje aan het voetballen en Joris en Pim zitten boven. Ik wil wat doen maar ik weet niet wat. Het is hier zo stil, en het regent buiten. Alles lijkt hetzelfde, de wereld gaat gewoon door, niemand weet wat ik nu voel. 

Lieve Papa, 
Ik zag de blauwe staan, maar toch was je er niet. Ik mis je. Kom je snel weer terug? Dan gaan we nog een keertje naar Italie. Of toch St. Petersburg? Wat jij wil, ik ga wel mee. Maar alleen als ik met jou mee mag. De wereld is koud en grijs en leeg, en ik ben niet meer wie ik was. 

Lieve Papa,
Laat mij niet in de steek, geef mij je advies. Ik heb je nodig om te worden wie ik zou moeten zijn, om te worden zoals jij: wijs, eerlijk en geliefd. Zie jij jezelf in mij? Ik zie nu even niets. 

Monday, September 30, 2013

Untitled Photos

 




Friday, July 26, 2013

Firsttime Freelance Filmmaking

So, I was recently asked to make a promotional video for a local music school. Because my brother and cousin take classes there and I have become friends with several of the teachers, I spend a lot of time there anyways, so I have also photographed several events including concerts, projects and studio recordings. It's been real fun and i hope to de a lot more for them in the future. The first PROMO video is online now, and the video from their last end-of-year student concert is in the making. Im really proud of the promo-video as it is my very first.

You can check the video out HERE


We also did a pretty big studio job this week for Marvin Dee's first EP. We recorded six songs in three days including vocals, drums, bass, percussion, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, banjo, backing vocals and cello. These are some photos I took for Frank, the sound enigineer and co-owner of the music school to use for promotion. 

Frank, who worked on this project as the sound engineer, 
producer, mixer and drummer all at the same time. 

Ramon, the very talented banjo player.

 Frank setting up some vintage microphones
to create a nice "dirty" sound for the electric guitar. 

Janneke, the lovely cellist.

Marvin recording my favourite song on the EP.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Bright Futures?

Finishing my thesis has been a nightmare. I'm still not done. It's hard to stay motivated, especially as more and more sources are confirming that my chances of ending up somewhere else than unemployed are basically zero. I'm terrified of ending up nowhere, with a couple grand of student-loan debt, and a fancy masters degree from a top University in the most useless of disciplines. Of course, I don't think it's useless, and neither do any of the anthropologists I know, but good luck convincing the current job market to hire us...

I'm sure I'm not alone in this. I'm sure many other almost-graduates, recent-graduates and currently-looking-for-workers feel the same. Here's some visuals to make you feel less alone in the world, but alas, not much better about your life choices. (If you google "someecards anthropology", it comes up with basically anything related to unemployment and stalking) 







Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Collaborative Storytelling: A Series of Portraits

A few photographs I took at a 'Collaborative Storytelling' Event.
(Yea, that might mean what you think it means)

A young woman newly discovering her faith.
Mother Eadon is calling her, and now she's going home.


A rich nobleman from another land,
come to claim his runaway bride.
A noble Knight from another land,
searching for the answers that may lead to her salvation.

Radinka comforts her curious friend who fears for her life,
after witnessing something not meant to be seen.

The wise and perspicacious Reverend Mother Cassandra,
the once legendary 'Oracle of Eadon',
preceded by her reputation, pulled back into the fray
(Taken by the lovely Desi, as I can't do two things at once)