Photographer Christopher Porche West, however, has achieved the rare and possibly singular distinction of luring numerous represenatives of the generally press-shy tribes into his studio to have their portraits taken in a controlled enviornment. West's honesty with the casmera reflects his own personal convictions and his honesty with the people with whom he works manifest in their trust towards him. My philosophical interests in photography are to find threads that bond peoples of difference backgrounds who collectively are sustained by faith in life itself. For in each personal visage their is a connection with its origins, its sense of faith, its practices in crafts and arts, in human relations, in healing and meditation which reflect that faith. Thus they are released from the burden of the past and without the fear of the future.
Faces are approachable, for they hold something that invites reflection.
The purpose my work is to advance education, awareness and appreaciation of the background of the many ethnic communities today. The New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation unless otherwise specified herein.