Exposures -
Three Weeks in South Dakota at the Pine Ridge Reservation

Overview by Chris Miller Oh my God. Where does one even begin? A bunch of students from Marlboro College, several photo students from In-Sight and local schools, three members of the ICP program at the Point in the Bronx, the original founders of In-Sight and the founder of Hall Farm -- seven o’clock in the morning. We all arrived at Marlboro, bleary eyed and far from bushy tailed, to begin our excursion into the unknown. As the odometer spun ceaselessly in the vans so generously donated by Marlboro College, excitement was in the air. Who has time to be bored while bathing in hot mineral water, fresh from the center of the earth? What about touring the quarries of red rock which has been removed from the earth for centuries to be shaped into ceremonial peace pipes? The days literally flew by. And then it was teaching time.

The SuAnne Big Crow Boys and Girls Club. What a place. The cameras never stopped clicking and Polaroid film flowed like water. We found no shortage of stuff for the kids to do. They learned to use many different cameras, from 35 mm to 4x5, and we had a cyanotype party that never ended. Ever. We also were able to attend some culturally enlightening events, such as the Sundance, and another occasion the Pow Wow, where we were privy to traditional dancing and regalia. Eventually we had to pack up and head back east. A sad day it was, and hot too. 120 degrees if I remember . Three weeks and several hours after we had begun, it was over. Goodbyes littered the air as hugs and handshakes were presented to old and new friends, as everyone braced themselves for the inescapable return to the real world. Over the course of the trip, three strangers served as our teachers and mentors, our disciplinarians, our friends, but most importantly our drivers. Scott Browning, Bill Ledger, John Willis, you’re my boys.

The Portrait Project We took the kids downtown and set up shop with our 4x5 view camera in front of the Sioux Nation, the happening local grocer and hardware store, which the local students all knew well. The kids saw relatives, friends and neighbors, and were inspired to make their portraits. – Brent Smith

“Watching the bright and fiery sunset framed by the huge, layered, sandpaper textured, barren, rock figures, carved by the sea water that once filled that area, was an image I'll never forget.” -- Vida King

Pine Ridge - Images of Teaching “By conjuring up and making images of various emotions and conditions, the students were able to think about, voice, and play with moments of feeling in their lives, and further, to frame and capture those moments in a picture.” --Nora Zale