Portrait – Larkvi.com Weblog

Jackie and Ben’s Wedding

Recently, I had the good fortune to photograph Jackie and Ben’s wedding. We had fun taking formals in front of Osgoode Hall, before heading to a great Toronto institution–the chip truck, for their first meal as a married couple. Here’s the first instalment.

Signing the marriage contract. . .

Kissing in front of a beautiful rosebush in the gardens of Osgoode Hall. . .

Walking hand in hand. . .

Ben groaned when I motioned toward the pillars, anticipating that I wanted to take a peekaboo shot. I hope the result changed his mind. . .

Qes Deseta Altah, Gelawdios, Ethiopia 2009

Qes Deseta Altah was one of my informants for my dissertation research on Ethiopian scribal production. I took this portrait while meeting with him at his home in Gelawdios, outside of Bahir Dar.

Hermit, Festival of Maryam Tsion, Axum, Ethiopia, 2009

An eremite watches the celebrations outside of the church compound of Maryam Tsion (St. Mary of Zion), the holiest church in Ethiopia, and supposed resting place of the Ark of the Covenant. The yearly festival of St. Mary is the premiere holiday in Axum.

Arabic Writing Teacher, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, 2009

A teacher of arabic writing at the mosque in Bahir Dar. Moslems are a significant minority in areas of the North, and comprise a majority in the Eastern areas of Ethiopia.

Deacon(?), Andabet, Amhara, Ethiopia, 2009

This gentleman, whose name I have sadly forgotten, was a farmer and a deacon (I believe) at the local church. When I was in the Andabet area for research, he showed my translator and me to the various farms of the priests who made parchment and scribed books.

John #2(m), Toronto, October 2009

My friend John needed a portrait for an upcoming talk he is giving to the provincial genealogical society, something that confidently says academic, while retaining a bit of his personal edge. I am pretty happy with the result.

John #2(a), Toronto, October 2009

I am back to Ethiopia until the 3rd of December!

Old Man, Harar, Ethiopia, July 2009

An old man sits in front of a door with Egyptian-style ornaments in Harar. Harar was an independent Moslem Emirate until it was conquered, first by the Egyptians, in 1875, and then the Abyssinian monarchs, shortly after. There are still many remnants of both occupations in the city, and the latter conquest resulted in its decline, as it went from being a prosperous trading city to a remote outpost of a highland Christian empire.

Boy, Gälawdios, Amhara, Ethiopia, July 2009

A local boy, wearing an herbal charm around his neck, most probably to ward off the evil eye. A large portion of the däbtära’s work is herb-craft, supplemented by the reading of prayers and invocations and the making of kitab and other written amulets.

Water-bearers, Axum, Tigray, Ethiopia, April 2009

These girls were carrying water from the “Queen of Sheba’s Bath,” a reservoir that has been in use since ancient times, to their homes. Before the advent of cheap plastic goods, local pottery would be used, and in rural areas, one can sometimes still see women and children with large ceramic jugs strapped to their backs in the same fashion as these plastic ones.

The traditional jug is similar to the one I photographed here, in Southern Ethiopia: