Photographer's Display Shows Haiti Recovery

A simple request led photographer Jim LaSala on two journeys to earthquake-ravaged Haiti—and has him displaying his images from the trip at his Hillsborough Studio.

A Story of Hope: Spoken Through Their Eyes will be held at ArtisticEfex on Saturday. A portion of the proceeds will benefit One Heart for Haiti and donations will also be accepted at the event.

Professional Photographer magazine also selected one of LaSala's prints for the cover of its September edition. The image received a platinum medal in the 2011 International Photographic Competion Awards, and leads a story titled "Best Photos of the Year."

LaSala’s association with One Hope for Haiti came by chance, after a fellow photographer asked to use one of his images for a charity event. The charity was One Hope For Haiti, which built and supports a school in the country.

While One Heart for Haiti had several snapshots from previous trips, the organization needed a professional photographer to document their efforts.

“They, unfortunately, didn’t have any good images of what they were doing so they needed a professional photographer to document what they were doing,” LaSala said. “I said I would photograph it, not thinking they would say 'yes.' They did.”

He made his first journey to the country in June 2010, only a few months after the earthquake. There, he toured Port Au Prince and Grand Vincent, the area One Heart for Haiti supports.

“I just think the overall poverty and destruction was the first thing to hit me,” he said. “The next thing that hit me was the amazing ability to survive even though there was zero.”

Those sentiments formed the basis for his images from the trip, as he captured the destruction that spanned the areas he visited.

“It’s kind of a corny thing to say, but the picture is worth a thousand words,” he said. “I call it the Eyes of Haiti. That’s what hits me the most. Their eyes tell a story.”

A second trip to the same areas occurred in February.

“The first place we stopped, in Port Au Prince, I got to see a few people I saw before,” LaSala said. “It was shocking to me to see how much they matured. These children had to mature in a short amount of time. They were taking care of younger kids, cooking, cleaning.”

Often, he doesn’t know the story his photos will tell until after he’s done with a shoot though. LaSala will tune himself to the situation, analyzing and selecting the images he’ll use after afterward.

“I’m almost a voyeur looking through a lens,” he said. “It’s not until I sit down and start to edit my images that I really realize what I’ve captured. We almost become insensitive to a job we have to do. It’s only afterward that we realize what is really going on.”

But amid the collapsed buildings and homes and the tents housing the country’s families, LaSala hopes spectators see one aspect of his photographs.

“It was just an amazing feeling to share with other people, what is going on with the rest of the world,” LaSala said. “I hope, through the impact, they will be able to realized we are all human. No matter where you go, people are people.”

A Story of Hope: Spoken Through Their Eyes will be held at ArtisticEfex, 411 Route 206, Suite 5, Saturday at 1, 3, 5 and 7 p.m. The presentations are free, however, prints and books will be available for those looking to purchase them.