For me, it showed what a place without an abundance of material possessions can do for human compassion. Living in a place that puts such an importance on material possessions for my whole life has caused me to forget about that. I'm grateful that the people of Red Bays could remind me of this invaluable idea.
10.27.2007
Jackie
For me, it showed what a place without an abundance of material possessions can do for human compassion. Living in a place that puts such an importance on material possessions for my whole life has caused me to forget about that. I'm grateful that the people of Red Bays could remind me of this invaluable idea.
10.24.2007
Pete's Face
10.23.2007
10.21.2007
Tarpon Springs
I spent the last couple days in Tarpon Springs, Fla. to experience the processing of the sponges for sale. Pete Skaroulis' grandson, Nicholas, works in their processing warehouse in Tarpon Springs. I spent a day with him to capture the process with an attempt to bring the story full circle. I grew up about 15 minutes from Tarpon but never really appreciated what was happened there until now. It's the largest population of Greeks outside Greece and they came over to sponge dive due to the lack of work in Greece. Nicholas said the situation is still the same, and Nicholas said that he only goes back to Greece to visit. 
This is the main strip in Tarpon Springs, where merchants sell sponges and other tourist items.
10.17.2007
A Hard Life
10.16.2007
Spoogy
10.15.2007
Diving
This one's for Kohl.
10.14.2007
Fortunate Circumstances
10.13.2007
A Morning Smoke
10.12.2007
Morning Light
10.11.2007
School Children
10.10.2007
Pete "the Greek" Skaroulis
In this photo, he is dropping off a crew to go out to fix one of his boats that broke down.
10.09.2007
Yellow Eyes
10.08.2007
To Andros and Back
I spent the last week in Andros Island, Bahamas as part of a journalism class called Florida FlyIns. We worked hard all week, waking up at 5:30 am and working until the evening on stories around the island. I worked with Dominick on a story about sponging in a small town called Red Bays. In the short period of time we were there, it seemed like we developed a routine in the town. We got to know who was who and got to the point where the people knew us and we knew them. They were all very open and honest. What struck me the most was how they can be so happy while struggling to feed their families. Being used to a place where material possessions are so important, this trip really put some things in perspective. I shot constantly all week, so I'll try and post a new photo each day.
In this photo, Kendra Gibson says goodbye to her boyfriend Jackson Russell moments before leaving for three weeks to go out on a crayfish boat.
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