Local photographer switches gears with book and exhibit
Nancy Bruno, a freelance photographer from Clifton Park, expresses herself through documentary photography. The way some people use words, music or paint to tell stories, Bruno uses her photos. It was one of her many projects that prompted a very powerful response from her son, which paved the way for Genuine Men, originally published as a book and modified to be presented as an art exhibit at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library for the month of June.
Five years ago, Bruno produced a `Beautiful Women` project, which was a photo documentary and exhibition that featured 35 women who represented the concept that the sum of a woman’s life experiences is what makes her beautiful. Her oldest son, five at the time, walked into her home office one day soon after the project debuted and let her know, in no uncertain terms, that he was not pleased with her.
`He came in and said, ‘you know, it’s not fair you do girls and don’t do boys,’` said Bruno. `He was very angry at me, felt slighted and slammed the door. I thought about it and I got what he was saying.`
Bruno said she knew if she was going to do such a similar project, it had to be done differently. So instead of jumping in right away, she took some time and observed the little boy who made a very loud demand.
`He wanted to be just like his favorite soccer star because he would see him on the street, he went to fancy restaurants, had a fancy car and that’s why he wanted to be like him; not because of who he was as a person. I’m sure he’s a great guy, but we don’t really know,` said Bruno. `I really wanted to find men who if my sons spent 20 minutes with any of them, I know they’d walk away with tools or lessons to make better people.`
Like her documentaries are a journey, Bruno embarked on her own in order to find her genuine men. She found many through word-of-mouth and others were randomly plucked from the community, spotted by Bruno as she people watched.
`I watch people, I listen and if I saw things, especially when two people were interacting; the way someone would respond to a particular man and his behaviors, I’d just know they were right for the project,` said Bruno. `Most were complete strangers to me. I didn’t know anything about them at all.`
Bruno sat down with each man and had them fill out some questions. Then she started in on long interviews, sometimes several hours, and she learned just what made them genuine men whom boys like her own sons could look up to. The men ranged in age from 12 to 91. When it came time to photograph them, she put them in scenes where they were doing something that showed who they really were.
`They got to choose how they were photographed and which ones would be used,` said Bruno.
The collection of black and white photographs worked together with brief stories about each man, bound together in a hardcover book. For the library exhibit, Bruno said she cut down the stories to work more as long captions, displayed beside each photo.
The stories told range from ordinary to extraordinary. There’s Leighton, a Vietnamese American who is one of seven children who grew up in Southern California. He got involved with gang life and spent time in detention centers and jail before moving to the area. He’s a genuine man because he uses his past to give even more meaning to his new outlook on life and accomplishments.
Humberto is a Mexican American who uses his Spanish and English skills to serve as chaplain in the backstretch at Saratoga race track. He spent much time building trust among those he helps and handles a different crisis every day, from marriage counseling to visas, work permits, hospital visits, car repair, helping with homework or making sure children have clothes and school supplies.
James lives in a wheelchair after an accident years ago. He plays single father to a young son and works with middle school students in an inner city school. He coaches basketball and uses his wheelchair, which he considers his gift, to motivate, advocate and relate to kids.
And there’s Jim, 20 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. He epitomizes `courage` in what he endured during his time as a Marine, dodging enemy fire and airplane bombings in the jungles of the Solomon Islands. He learned to never give up and applied this to the parcel of land he turned into a family resort.
These stories and dozens more will be displayed at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library for a month. Bruno, who has been shooting documentaries for about 15 years, said she’s traveled the country and spent time in Canada sharing her `genuine men.` Displaying them back at home means everything, she said.
`People may not agree with all my choices for men, but it gets them talking about who is a good role model and what qualities about themselves do they want people to look at as a role model,` said Bruno. `The thing I like most is men and boys get really excited because there’s not a lot of art that’s about them and for them. They actually say things like ‘thank you for doing this.’`
For more information about the `Genuine Men` project, visit www.thegenuinemen.com.“
