Join and support us tonight, March 4th from 6:30-8:30PM for the opening reception of Uganda: A River Blue at AnastasiaPhoto in New York. The opening reception and exhibition are open to the public.

This work was created in January and February 2009 when I spent 2 months in northern Uganda photographing for A River Blue, a school providing psychosocial counseling and intense vocational training in topics like tailoring, agriculture, and arts to vulnerable youth.

A beautiful A River Blue catalogue designed by Josh Gomby and printed by Booksmart Studio in an edition of 200 will be released at the opening reception. The catalogue will be available through donations of any amount and 100% of the proceeds go to A River Blue.

Additionally, Chandler Griffin, founder of A River Blue, and I will give an artist’s talk Tuesday, March 16th, from 6:30-8:30PM at AnastasiaPhoto.

AnastasiaPhoto is located at 166 Orchard Street, New York, New York.

Uganda: A River Blue

Reception: March 4, 6:30-8:30PM

Exhibition: February 5-March 31, 2010

AnastasiaPhoto is located at 166 Orchard Street, New York, New York.

From the press release:

“AnastasiaPhoto is pleased to present the first solo exhibition by photographer David Wright: A photographic collaboration with the NGO, A River Blue.

These luminous works were made over two months in northern Uganda where A River Blue is located. The photos depict a school that is funded by the charitable organization A River Blue in a formerly internally displaced persons camp, as well as images of the citizens and landscapes of the surrounding village of Alebtong. This series of photographs was recently selected as 1 of 3 winners in the 2009 Conscientious Portfolio Competition.”

Additionally:

A beautiful A River Blue catalogue designed by Josh Gomby and printed by Booksmart Studio in an edition of 250 will be released at the opening reception. It will be available for purchase through donation (any amount — your choice) and 100% of the proceeds go to A River Blue. Support A River Blue and take home a memorable piece of the exhibition. The picture below is of the booklet cover.

The opening reception and exhibition are open to the public. We encourage you to bring friends, family, and colleagues, and learn about A River Blue, northern Uganda, and AnastasiaPhoto.

A few months back I had a photograph from my Alebtong, Uganda series featured on Flak Photo. Shortly thereafter, Terri Saul, an artist raised in Los Angeles and now living in Berkley, California, contacted me about creating a painting inspired by the photograph. I was flattered that someone would want to make a painting based on one of my photographs.

Terri and I started exchanging emails and have since become good friends. She and her boyfriend now own a photograph from my Alebtong, Uganda series and I own her painting Stand Back Sibley. It’s a beautiful painting that I identify particularly well with; a man standing on top a mountain examining the wilderness that surrounds, thinking every and all thoughts that come in these moments.

See and purchase Terri’s work here.

Terri’s interpretation of Luggard, Alebtong, Uganda, 2009

Stand Back Sibley by Terri Saul

A friend of mine works at a gallery in New York. In speaking with her about my upcoming exhibition, she said that one of the wonderful aspects about working with a gallery is having your work be re-discovered through their eyes. She couldn’t be more right.

I’ve added a few photographs to my Alebtong, Uganda series after this discovery and you can view them here.

Betty, Alebtong, Uganda, 2009

I was selected as 1 of 3 winners for Joerg Colberg’s Conscientious Portfolio Competition 2009. Here’s an excerpt from the published interview between Joerg and I:

“I tell my subjects that I am in control of the situation and act confident with my movements. I connect on a basic level and common interest, be it a book, a friend, a movie, etc. I often position my subjects in a specific place and tell them where to look. Sometimes we speak to one another and other times we’re quiet. There’s always the need to have subject and I to feel that the portrait is being given rather than taken. I believe that I’m a good listener, honest conversationalist, and strong observationalist. I find these important traits to make the photographs I make because when the subject believes we’re going to make a great photograph, we become closer to being able to do so.”

Read the rest of my interview with Joerg Colberg here.

George and I, A River Blue, Alebtong, Uganda, 2009

I’m featured on Flak Photo today. Andy Adams, the founder of Flak Photo, is a great friend and all-around good guy. I’m proud to be a strong proponent of his unique and always expanding curatorial project.

“Flak Photo is a daily photography website that celebrates the art & culture of photography online. Produced by Andy Adams, the site highlights new series work, book projects and gallery exhibitions from an international community of contributors.”

Put on a good cup of coffee and head over to Flak Photo.

For a long time I did not consider myself very religious or spiritual but over time I have started to search for and find my own path. While browsing through the local Red Box I stumbled across Faith Like Potatoes, a movie based on having faith in all that surrounds you. I highly recommend it. For those that do not consider themselves spiritual or religious, I still recommend it! Make the story what you want it to be. There’s a good chance a poem that means something to me is going to mean something else to you, right?

David Wright Photography – Murchison Falls National Park – Uganda from djwright.

While traveling Uganda, I spent 3 days in Murchison Falls National Park. I had planned to go to the park with a public group but the tour company accidentally booked a private group for my departure day.

My travel window for seeing the park was super tight and thankfully the private group, a wonderful Danish family, were open to my traveling with them and we had a great time together. Pictured below is Morten, his 3 daughters, and our game warden walking towards a pool of hippos. See more of the photographs here!

Morten and his 3 daughters, Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, 2009