Rangefinder Magazine
June 2006

Anthony Karen by Lou Jacobs Jr.
Attracted to Danger

	left. Fort Dimanche, Haiti—known as the “Dungeon of Death,” this was one of the most feared places in Haiti during the Duvalier dictatorship. Fort Dimanche and the surrounding area is home to approximately 2000 people—most live without food and water. Some are so poor they eat mud-like pancakes made of clay, butter and boullion. Squatters cram themselves into the old torture facility and use the once-dingy cells as makeshift homes. Top Right. Plaine-du-Nord, Haiti—Vodou practioner takes a break to show off his skills as a daredevil. Bottom Right. A cross lighting ceremony during a Ku Klux Klan unity gathering—McNairy County, TN, October 22, 2005. Today many Klan Realms hold annual gatherings that encourage white unity and white pride. The culmination of these events is a cross lighting ceremony to signify the light of Christ, dispelling darkness and ignorance.

I rarely meet photographers who didn’t begin by shooting weddings or portraits as a hobby, but Anthony Karen of Great Neck, NY, falls into this category. He tended to be a loner in high school and found his expression through drawing. He cut most classes except art, history, law and aerospace technology. At six feet three inches, he is very sturdy, which made him a fine Marine Corps candidate after high school. Let’s hear more from Anthony.

Head-on view into the Cabot Strait, taken from the ship—Cabot Strait, Canada, March 25, 2006. The U.S. Humane Society was being used as a base to track Canadian seal hunters. Unusually high temperatures have resulted in thinner and sporadic ice conditions, making it difficult to track seal populations.

Rangefinder: How was your Marine experience?

Anthony Karen: I enlisted in the reserves and did six months active duty, including jungle-warfare training in Panama. I loved every minute of it; I was in my element. It was then I used a camera for the first time to capture memories of my experiences. I came home with malaria.

RF: I understand you were also a fire department volunteer.

AK: I always had the utmost respect for doctors, and 10 years after high school I took an emergency medical technician course that led me to become a fire-department volunteer medic. It was very rewarding, and soon after I found myself enrolled in phlebotomy training and took other trauma classes. After four years, politics and unnecessary personal competitiveness spoiled it for me, so I moved on.

A historical Ku Klux Klan coin for sale at a KKK unity gathering—McNairy County, TN, October 22, 2005.

RF: What other work did you do before photography?

AK: I did home renovations. I was also an avid body-builder. When I sustained a lower back injury on a construction job in 1995, I remained in the security field, where I could usually defuse a situation before it became dangerous. I had jobs in the personal-security business and as a bodyguard. I worked with movie stars and at concerts and sports events. As a bouncer at a local hot spot, I was a staff medic. I became unimpressed by fake people hiding behind facades.

RF: You traveled a lot before becoming a professional photographer. Where did you go?

AK: I’ve been to various parts of Mexico, Norway, Iceland, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Bermuda, Canada, Europe, Brunei, Morocco, Turkey, Singapore, China, Vietnam, Thailand, the Cook Islands, Moorea and Cambodia. My favorites are Haiti and Cambodia.

RF: What makes those two countries so special?

AK: I’ve always had a hunger for travel and forbidden places. Every three months, for a while, I went somewhere. I was obsessed with world cultures and wanted to experience Cambodia with its tragic past, and see Angkor Wat. It is also appealing that Cambodia isn’t saturated with tourists. Between 1975 and 1979 the Pol Pot regime had killed several million people, and my guide helped me find the man who killed his entire family. Accused of crimes against humanity, he was hiding in a remote village. I witnessed history with my own eyes, not just by reading about it.

Vodou practitioners prepare a goat before sacrificing it to appease the spirits—Plainedu- Nord, Haiti, July 25, 2004. The scene is part of the annual Vodou pilgrimage to the sacred mud pits, honoring the warrior spirit Ogou. According to Vodou beliefs, the mud is supposed to have healing powers and drive away evil spirits.

RF: How could you afford all the travel expenses?

AK: I am frugal with my money, and I know how to travel wisely, off the beaten track.

RF: So how did you get into serious photography?

AK: In foreign countries I shot mostly street scenes and nature with a Nikon N50, but I really got hooked in mid-2000 when I visited Haiti with my girlfriend. At first I was too timid to do the pictures I wanted. I discovered that my composition was good, and the next year I went back to Haiti for a serious crack at documenting Vodou [the Haitian spelling for Voodoo]. I wound up meeting Tiane Doan na Champassak, a photojournalist from Spain, and Justin Williams, a London Sunday Times photographer, and I dove into photography backwards!

I didn’t take any classes. I tended to hide behind my camera at first and missed the tight shots I wanted. I felt uncomfortable about exploiting people, although sometimes I realized they wanted me to take their pictures. It was their chance to be observed by the world. Back home I was pleased to find I had some really nice pictures. I was learning.

I had seen a film on Haiti when I was 14, and I never forgot it. I returned there twice in 2003 and twice in 2004, still to document Vodou, but I gradually broadened my scope to Haitian life in general.

Vodou worshipers light candles and pray to the Iwa (spirits)—St. Anne’s Church, Limonade, Haiti, July 26, 2003.

Photojournalism seemed a distant reality for me, but I found I was correcting my own mistakes with each trip. I have always looked at other photographers’ work, like James Nachtwey and Sebastião Salgado, whose images blew me away. I had finally found a creative way to make myself happy and spiritually fulfilled. I studied the light, the feelings people expressed, their private moments, and to capture these on film is my ultimate reward.

RF: Did you feel like you were still in training photographically?

AK: I was still adapting to doing intimate photography without seeming too invasive. I rarely used flash. I shot in various directions with the camera as a mask. In my mind, subjects couldn’t see my eyes, so I was anonymous. I mixed boldness with caution, learning to compose quickly, how to deal with harsh sunlight and dark skin. I discovered when shooting: Don’t ask, just do. If they don’t want to be photographed, they’ll tell you. I still feel I’m timid at times.

Brown swiss cows shortly before a milking—Steinhausen, Switzerland, April 10, 2006. Swiss brown cows are native to Switzerland and known to be the oldest of all the dairy breeds.

RF: Where did your preliminary success in photography take you next?

AK: I won a contest in 2001. It was a New York Rotational art exhibition, and some of my pictures were displayed for a year in their photography section. I shot a feature for the Belmont Stakes Yearbook, and I’ve been in the New York Daily News with a Haitian gangwar feature. In Pamplona, Spain, I exhibited with images from the running of the bulls. I also display in the Soho Photo and Stepping Stone galleries in New York. At first, Soho Photo turned me down, but I went back in a month and was accepted. Soon after joining Soho Photo Gallery, they hosted a national juried show, and I took second place. In another local competition I won first place and overall.

2006 Canadian Seal Hunt—taken from a helicopter off the remote ice floes of the Cabot Straight. Karen was onboard with the U.S. Humane Society. He says, “Global warming made tracking the seal hunters difficult as the seals usually congregate on solid ice. This year, due to small patches of ice, we had difficulty finding many seals. We were also tracking the sealers, shown in the photo.”

RF: In the many countries you visited, what kind of subjects did you photograph?

AK: Three years in a row I ran with the bulls in Pamplona. I ran, stopped, turned around to shoot, and went right back to running. In a bullring I took a hit—luckily that time without a camera in hand. The bull knocked me with his head, but his horns missed me. I went to places I’d only dreamed about, like Tahiti and Moorea. I walked the streets of Paris, explored in Italy and Switzerland, shooting mostly nature and architecture. Later in Haiti, I went into Cite Soleil, one of the poorest shantytowns in the western hemisphere. It is home to several gangs and can be quite dangerous. Many times police have refused to enter the slums. After being there so often, people respected me. In one of the poorest places in the world, we share rice and stories in the midday sun. I’ve seen many starving children, 15- year-old kids with machine guns, people eating, washing, drinking and defecating in the same water. To me photography is about appreciation of the moment.

RF: What cameras and films do you prefer?

AK: I’m using the Nikon D2X and a D200 for my backup body.

The fountain in Place de la Concorde, Paris, France.

RF: What are some of your future plans?

AK: I’m currently freelancing with WPN (World Press News) here in New York. I will continue to work in Haiti, which is a lifelong project, and to document the Ku Klux Klan. Later this year, I will be shooting a story on poverty at an Indian reservation in South Dakota. The conditions rival any third-world country, which is pretty sad considering we live in the United States with all the excesses of wealth. I’m also going to do more work with the U.S. Humane Society in 2007. A seal hunt I documented for them in remote areas of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Cabot Straight was rewarding. Final note: Anthony Karen is a complex combination of self-effacement and courage. He is also a gentleman without airs, and I hope to report about him again in a few years.

For more information about Anthony and a more extensive look at his photos, visit www.anthonykaren.com.

Lou Jacobs Jr. is the author of 30 how-to photography books, the latest of which is How to Start and Operate a Digital Portrait Photography Studio (Amherst Media). He has taught at UCLA and Brooks, is a former president of ASMP national, and has also written and illustrated numerous books for children. He enjoys shooting stock during his travels in the U.S. and abroad.