Bryan Farley Photography Educator

The last time I attended an Oakland Unified School Board meeting, I taught at an OUSD elementary school. I was an active Oakland Education Association (OEA) union member. People read newspapers. Nobody had a Facebook profile. Board meetings were held in the old district office, but everything else felt oddly familiar.

If anyone is interested, they could probably find an old Oakland Tribune article titled “The Classroom Shuffle.” A reporter learned about classroom consolidation and how it disrupts entire schools six weeks into the school year. Consolidation almost always occurred at low-income/ low-performing schools. It was like a Twilight Zone episode. I could not continue teaching for a district that allowed consolidation to continue. One night I was called by someone who I believe tried to warn me. He told me that if I kept exposing the situation I would lose my job. I kept exposing. I lost my job. Was it related?… Read the rest

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One month ago today, Libby Schaaf became Oakland’s 50th mayor. The Inauguration Ceremony was pure Oakland. She rode into office in a Burning Man snail car; she was met at the Paramount Theater by sharp dressed protesters and journalists. (I would like to think that I was both a sharp dressed protester and a journalist, but those days have probably passed me by.)

When I photographed the Inauguration Ceremony, I felt “cautiously ambivalent.” There was an odd tension between the protesters and the newly elected officials. The elected officials were probably more optimistic. They invited their children and parents onstage during their speeches. Inauguration day is full of hope. (Did the new board members realize that they had become part of The Establishment?)

I could have photographed the protesters all day. The heightened tension combined with intense visual imagery. The bright colorful walls and stoicism emphasized contradictions. (Additionally, one recently re-elected city council member appeared to protest her own inauguration.)

Desley Brooks is now my Oakland City Council person after recent redistricting. She was re-elected to a fourth term in November.… Read the rest

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Before I continue writing about Hot Couture 2015, I should include a disclaimer. I wore a beanie both nights to the annual fashion show at The Crucible in Oakland.

I do not know a lot about fashion, but I know that I was not fashionable. This year’s theme was “Air/ Earth/ Fire/ Water.”

I did not remember seeing any of the models wearing beanies, but there were many hats and headpieces.

I know enough about photography that I thought about “The Fashionable Gordon Parks” and his fashion photography while I shot and edited. Parks photographed runways without flash photography. He used movement to his advantage. His New York fashion pictures captures something real and artistic. Perhaps that is the nature of fashion. It is art and reality.

Last year when I photographed the fashion show, I was inspired by designers. Occasionally I return to my three posts from last year when I need motivation.… Read the rest

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One month ago I was invited to attend my second Kwanzaa Celebration. I photographed the event at the Partnership for Affordable Housing in Oakland, California on December 26, 2014. I returned with my two children last week to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, jr.’s birthday. The Partnership for Affordable Housing operates a transition home. While I was photographing the Kwanzaa Celebration, I kept thinking about my first Kwanzaa and how everyone is in transition.

In 1991, I did not have a place to live. I had assumed that I would be finishing my final year of college, but then my financial aid was unexpectedly cut and I did not have a place to live. A family invited me to their home for Kwanzaa and I enjoyed the company. I still remember the grateful grandmother tell me how to avoid growing old. (Die young!) I also remember their concern for me.… Read the rest

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Christmas Day 2014

Clayton, California

 

To be natural is such a very difficult pose to keep up

Oscar Wilde, from The Importance of Being Earnest

On Christmas Day, I visited a mother and her daughter in Clayton, California. I brought my camera and received the gift of their company. During the drive, I wondered whether I should spend part of my holiday away from my family. The images confirm that I chose wisely.

On Christmas morning, my children opened their presents in our home. In the evening, our family was together again in the Santa Cruz Mountains. After I photographed Christine and her daughter, they left Clayton for their family dinner. Still, I became aware that many people do not have family to visit on Christmas. We were lucky.

I hope that I can articulate how much I enjoyed playing with Christine and her daughter. Christine held a container designed with an Oscar Wilde book cover.… Read the rest

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When I photographed the Tanner family last Sunday, the parents and two kids had just returned from a Hawaiian vacation. I have known Nicole since we both attended UC Santa Barbara (more than) a few years ago. Now we both live about three miles from each other in the Bay Area. While I was taking pictures, I kept thinking about the different definitions of the Hawaiian word “aloha.” It means hello and good-bye and something in between. I think that also describes my relationship with Nicole and her family. We keep showing up for each other. I expect that it will always be that way… some cosmic Aloha.

Here is the slideshow again from the December 2014 photo visit.

Two years ago, I photographed the Tanners the first time shortly after they moved from the Central Coast. You can find the slideshow in the post.

Sometimes I think I am a good photographer.… Read the rest

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