—Léogane de toutes les promesses— Latest story from Gouter Aux Voyages

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

Just a short, colorful ride of about an hour and half from Port-Au-Prince and we were on the outskirts of Léogane. We didn't drive into the city—half a mile past the Momance river bridge, we took a left turn in front of a billboard for a nightclub as stated in the directions we had printed on our schedule. We rolled down  the car windows once we began riding on a narrow dirt road off the highway, and the rain from the night before gave off that fresh Earthy smell and a faint odor of sugarcane filled the car as we drove further inland.  George Valmé, whom I have been friends with on social media for a number of years, was our first assignment of the day. Since he is very well known in the area, finding his location in Haut Macombe wasn't too hard. In spite of the heat and humidity for this time of the year it was awesome to be in the countryside again. The following are excerpts from the article written by Jean Euphele Milcé : ''Combien de fois avons-nous tenté la traversée de Leogane, porte d’entrée du Grand Sud, sans oser un arrêt, un détour pour emprunter une de ses dizaines de culs-de-sac qui, en général, se meurent dans un lakou , dans une guildive ou dans un champ infini de canne?—  Le restaurant d’Au Bon Café n’a qu’une table longue d’une vingtaine de couverts dans une salle ouverte sur la cuisine. La présence de Miguerline, Wilna et Lovely tantôt cuisinières tantôt serveuses relève de  ces petits détails qui ne peuvent que renforcer l’originalité de l’expérience.''

Little girl in the river

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

When I saw this little girl playing in the water, it was already late, the sun had already gone down,  I was leaving— After an hour or so of walking up and down on loose rocks by the side of the river there wasn't much going on that inspired me. People were washing their clothes, some came with their motorcycles to wash off the dirt—most  objected when I attempted to make photos. Then a sweet little voice behind me said ; Ou pap pran foto'm - you're not going to take my picture? She was determined to be photographed and I was desperate to go home with a good image, just one. It was very easy to photograph her, the setting was perfect and she basically did her own posing, I just made sure there weren't anything distracting in the background—and just a few frames, I selected the one above.

Woman wearing a red tshirt, carrying a red pocketbook and her goats

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

You know it's  Friday when you hear the continuing bleat of goats in Thomassin, and I imagine elsewhere since Saturday is market day—varies depending on the location. Up in Fermathe it's usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The lady with the red tshirt said she had just purchased a bunch of goats in Kenscoff and was taking them home. Quite a scene when she got off the pickup truck with her newly purchased goats, they were running all over the place. She managed to get them all together with the help of some passersby.

At 4,825 feet above sea level, Furcy is unforgettable...

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

It took me a few days to  select the  photograph above for this post, the other images I shot to illustrate the story, Le restaurant dans les arbres, were priority and had to be filed the following day. I had to go back to that particular image several times, so I could edit and designed it a way that reflected the unexpected exchange with nature that forced me to wait around at this particular spot—which untainted energy  triggered a tremendous feeling of well being. All five of us, the Gouter Aux Voyages crew, were following down a narrow steep path, Bob Siffal, a native of the region, assigned to take us to 3 different locations around Furcy.  The cascade we were headed to was the last place  scheduled to explore. I could hear the cascade falling as we were getting closer, but I instinctively sensed what I needed to capture wasn't there—so I quit hiking and stayed behind. At 1,600 feet in altitude, in a special place like Haiti, up in the mountains of Furcy, the  energy switch once you get there  is quite remarkable. From where I was standing,  right below, about 15 feet down the slope, there is a very narrow trail that also leads to the water fall. The two boys carrying empty gallons, on their way to fetch water, emerged from a nearby hill half hour later and walked right inside the frame.

The Impossible Project Debuts Its Very First Camera, The I-1

The impossible project

The I-1 was debuted today by Impossible Project CEO Oskar Smolokowski, and it’s a camera that stands at the border between two worlds. One one side: the nostalgic pleasure of the analog instant cameras of old; on the other: the sleek design and digital control we’ve grown accustomed to in the 21st century. This article was first published on the website PetaPixel

the impossible project

The camera uses Impossible type 600 film—which was reverse engineered from the now discontinued Polaroid 600 film, which the camera can also use—and while it may look extremely simple from the outside, it’s got a few tricks up its sleeve.The “advanced ring flash” automatically adjusts based on ambient light and focus distance, the battery is USB rechargeable (a big departure from the Polaroid days), and a companion app can connect to the camera via bluetooth giving you full manual control over aperture, shutter speed, and flash settings. The Impossible Project I-1 is set to arrive May 10th attached to a $300 price tag, putting it right on track to compete with the many used Polaroid cameras you can buy online, as well as Fuji’s popular Instax line of film and cameras.To learn more, head over to The Impossible Project website.

Ozone The Village, formerly known as Rustik

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

"Riccardo Etienne, l’heureux patron de l’Ozone the village , anciennement Rustik, nous reçoit dans son château dans les arbres. Mes compagnons et moi avons longuement écouté la poésie de cette construction. C’est l’aboutissement d’une folie si ce n’est une œuvre d’art patiemment élaborée. Tout est recyclage. Des palettes en fin de vie, des pneus usagés, des milliers de bouteilles vides, des grosses bobines de câbles, un vieux transformateur, autant d’objets hétéroclites, un jour jetés, reprennent vie et du service dans une nature protégée." Jean Euphele Milcé /Gouter Aux Voyages

Furcy Was Awe-Inspiring...

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

Furcy ranks high on the list of must see places in Haiti...

"Furcy figure en bonne position sur la liste des endroits a voir absolument en Haiti pour la fraicheur que procure les mille six cent metres d'altitude et le faste du paysage. De mai a septembre, c'est la destination phare de tous ceux qui, extenués par la canicule, cherchent asile le temps d'une journée, d'un weekend." Jean Euphele Milcé - Gouter Aux Voyages

—BOYCOTT— Alternative Bar, Privately Owned, Not Open To The Public

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

Last August 2015 while I was in New York, I received a couple of photos of the new BOYCOTT location from my very good friend JEM. The last location in Duplan was a bit out of the way and not too cozy. The new location is near Carrefour Douet up  in the mountains of Kenscoff and it is more accessible to the town open market, public transportation and stores.  This past Saturday a new television show, DAKOUSTIK, which will feature musicians was video taped and a very well known performer named Bélot was interviewed by the show host Esmeralda Milcé. If you live in Haiti   the Show will be aired sometime this month and can be viewed on Tele Pacific—which also broadcast in Miami, Florida.

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

Fort Jacques is part of a bigger photo project

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

What an exchange—with nature, children and a horse. I was out there for 5 days, about 6 hrs daily observing, walking around throughout the area called Fort Jacques up in Fermathe, and staying very alert. The Fort, which was built as a defensive system to prevent the return of the French after the revolution, wasn't a source of inspiration. I wanted to make some unique images but I didn't have anything specific in mind. The surrounding pine trees and wooden picnic tables by the Fort had potentials, it's a great locale and not too crowded during the week.

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

 Regardless of how visually boring a place maybe, there are always opportunities to create beautiful imagery. Patience is a virtue indeed, the ability to wait for an ordinary scene to unfold into something unexpected. Photographing Fort Jacques is part of a bigger project for a book. A book that will put emphasis on beauty, "intimate" places and people interacting. 

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

The challenge is to capture the essence of several destinations around Kenscoff and the mood that goes with it and be fully prepared when the moment comes. In so many ways, I am at the mercy of the environment where this particular project will be done. Fort Jacques was a bit difficult, careful observation was essential. I happen to be on the phone with a very good friend while on location and she just said flat out "there's nothing there to photograph". Indeed I felt that way on the first day of the shoot and completely changed my frame of mind very fast—the mundane and boring subjects have incredible beauty hidden, you just have to dig, wait, and have a keen eye to capture it.

William Dalrymple's world in black and white pictures

ⒸWilliam Dalrymple

Author and historian William Dalrymple has recently published The Writer's Eye, a collection of black and white images taken during his travels around the world over the past 18 months. Mr Dalrymple use a Samsung Note to take pictures during his travels. "I get a particular pleasure out of the immediacy and the lack of pretension inherent in using a mobile phone to record the world around me"

Education is going to make all the difference to Haiti's future

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

Haiti's children can't become great leaders and innovators unless a new method of education is fundamentally reinvented and is transformed to be applicable to actual challenges that the country have to cope with daily. I believe by providing children across the nation with quality education, they will be better disposed to make real contributions to Haitian society.

Visceral, Emotional, Intellectual: The Ingredients of Powerful Photography

These American States.Baltimore,Maryland,August 22,2010.The member of the United House of Prayer for All people. © Jim Loscalzo /EPA

What stands out for me is the ability of a photographer to produce an image or set of images that communicates immediately. It is visceral, emotional and intellectual--in that order. Each image should have its own weight. If this constellation occurs, the photograph has succeeded. [Excerpts from the interview on lens culture with Maria Mann of the European Pressphoto Agency]