jacob murphy's photoblog

day 2: making friends in the right places

jacobbmurphy — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:25:25 +0000

today was another successful and much more prolific day. between a morning puja (prayer) and a delicious cup of hot chai tea, we made lots of new friends.

one of our new friends ended up being our rickshaw driver, ansar. although we spent a lot of time in a rickshaw sitting in traffic, we became very close with our driver and soon we were in his home having lunch with his family. we also ended up visiting the school where his children go. we made some great connections and have decided to move forward with helping the school with textbooks and even sponsoring some childrens’ fees so they can get back into school. check out the images from the school at www.dirtfloorsandstonewalls.wordpress.com. please share and support!

below are the images from today and don’t forget to play audio clip. it’s delhi traffic! enjoy it, i know i did

back in bharat: day 1

jacobbmurphy — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:55:57 +0000

after 24 hours of traveling, we arrived at noon today. after a quick meal and a nap we are feeling much better and are ready to take on more tomorrow.

what an amazing feeling it is to be back in india. i feel connected again. as if i never left.

below are some of my first images from the trip and a sound clip from the main bazar. enjoy!

bon voyage!

jacobbmurphy — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 00:25:37 +0000

i am returning to india with my fiancee tomorrow morning! YIKES!

we will be doing a lot of work with our dirt floors & stone walls project and will actually be delivering school supplies to the children. amazing. it still hasn’t hit me that this is really happening. all thanks to your donations and support.

please keep coming back to this blog and check out our www.dirtfloorsandstonewalls.wordpress.com blog. it is dedicated to our project and will be a great place to see your donations in action!

thank you thank you thank you!

dirt floors and stone walls returns to INDIA!

jacobbmurphy — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:23:19 +0000

i can’t apologize enough for my lack of blog posts as of late. with my wedding photography business booming, getting engaged and planning a wedding things have been CRAZY!

anyways, my fiancee (ash) and i will be traveling to india for the next month to continue the work i started with the indian public school system. the project is called dirt floors and stone walls and it is THRIVING! we have received over $2000 in donations in the past week. amazing! this is in addition to the $5000 we raised at our fundraiser in november 2012 (yes this trip has been a long time in the making).

we have started a blog dedicated to the project at www.dirtfloorsandstonewalls.wordpress.com. we will be updating both blogs with different aspects of our trip as things happen. JUST LIKE LAST TIME!

so please visit both blogs for the next month and spread the word about our project. we don’t see it stopping in india!

a map of our route though india:

dirt floors & stone walls returns to INDIA!

jacobbmurphy — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:16:37 +0000

i can’t apologize enough for my lack of blog posts as of late. with my wedding photography business booming, getting engaged and planning a wedding things have been CRAZY!

we have started a blog dedicated to the project at www.dirtfloorsandstonewalls.wordpress.com. we will be updating both blogs with different aspects of our trip as things happen. JUST LIKE LAST TIME!

so please visit both blogs for the next month and spread the word about our project. we don’t see it stopping in india!

a map of our route though india:

upstate ny family reunion

jacobbmurphy — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:59:23 +0000

add family reunions to my repertoire! i had a great time shooting a rather large one at the roosevelt state park in yorktown heights, ny. there was such a great vibe as people came together after decades of not seeing each other.

by far the most challenging (and fun!) part of the day was orchestrating a family portrait with over 150 people! it was like herding cats for a while there but we managed.

thanks for a great day, everybody!

at long last…PUBLISHED!

jacobbmurphy — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 00:43:43 +0000

i recently was a finalist in the pdn faces portrait contest. this was my third year entering and my first year placing. it’s a big deal to me because it’s my first time being published in anything with more than 1,000 subscribers. i’m on page 60. photo district news is an industry professional magazine specializing in work that is at the forefront of photography. i’m honored that i was chosen as a finalist in the environmental portraiture section.

the reason i am most excited about this is that it will bring more exposure to my dirt floors and stone walls project. this project has been my “photo baby” since i came back from india in october 2011 and nothing would make me happier than doing something for the kids i took pictures of in those schools. the dfsw project will continue when i return to india in february of 2012.

a big thanks to pdn magazine for choosing me and a bigger thanks to my constant supporters…all of you who are reading this.

the caption is as follows:

“Jacob B Murphy

Images from the series Dirt Floors and Stone Walls

the majority of children in india are stuck in a public school system that is preventing them from reaching their full potential. fthe government not only sets restrictions on the schools that are in its system, but also the ones that are trying to liberate themselves from it. non-governmental organizations and individuals funding charter schools are cut off from any support from the government yet are still expected to follow its rules. the children are eager and the teachers are dedicated, but the government is indifferent to the point of negligence.”

here is the complete series of images that i entered:

a school principal stands in the dirt courtyard of a small public school as she calls the children to class.

a young boy sits on the floor as he waits for class to begin.

school children stand for a class portrait outside of their classroom in jaipur, india.

class is dismissed at a muslim ngo school in dharavi (asia’s largest slum).

schoolboys sit for a class portrait at a small public school in a village in the jalgaon district of maharashtra.

a young schoolgirl verbalizes her lessons in front of her class.

“i’m gonna have a wife and kids, someday”

jacobbmurphy — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 22:12:27 +0000

this is larry.

he’s another one of those people whose life intersects with yours in such a fleeting, yet meaningful and lasting way. he’s not a day older than 48 but looks in his mid-twenties. he clearly has some sort of mental disorder, as he explained he lives in a “home” with with caretakers. as we sat and talked to him on the subway, he asked such personal questions in such a frank way that it only seemed appropriate to reply with the same candor.

larry hopes to have a wife and five kids, someday. he is a huge beyonce fan.

“how you doin’?”

jacobbmurphy — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 20:18:00 +0000

this is vinny. he is smoking a cigarette outside sam’s restaurant on clinton street in brooklyn. the business has been in the family for over 80 years.

vinny loves to people watch and strike up conversations with strangers as they go by.

when i saw him drenched in this highly-saturated neon light i had to snap a picture.

just another taste of brooklyn!

model subjects…

jacobbmurphy — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 01:31:27 +0000

i accompanied my fiancee ash to work the other day as they were doing an editorial shoot. ash does hair and makeup for fashion and just about everything else. her website is www.theashcrystal.com if you’re interested in seeing some of what she does. the photographer (brendan burdzinski – www.brendanburdzinski.com)has become a friend of ours, so figured i would hang out and see how their shoots go down. it was a lot of fun to see behind-the-scenes of a different type of photography. i didn’t realize how much work goes into what you see in fashion magazines. the girls were very sweet and the vibe was very relaxed. i decided to take some portraits.

some of the girls involved in these shoots travel year-round and live out of hotels or “model homes”. one girl came from australia thinking she would be home in 3 weeks. that was 3 months ago and she probably won’t go back to australia until next year. others are only teenagers and require chaperons going from one job to the next. it’s a very tough life.

i hope that i captured some of their life in these pictures. enjoy!