Sju goda fotoår har blivit tio

2013 var ett bra fotoår för mig i år och framförallt gavs jag möjlighet att slipa på bredden i mitt fotograferande. Som dokumentärfotograf är det bra att ha en bra bredd och kunna behärska olika områden för att kunna väva samman en berättelse i bilder. Nu fuskar jag i och för sig lite grann eftersom jag även skriver. En bra bild säger som bekant mer än 1000 ord med en bra bild tillsammans med en kärnfull text säger betydligt mer. Framförallt får man svaret på frågorna när, var, hur, vem och varför som en bra bild alltid väcker.



Jag tror att 2014 kommer att bli ett riktigt bra fotoår för min del och det ska bli spännande att se vart det bär. I Bibeln talar man om sju goda år men jag är övertygad om att detta året kommer att bli mitt tionde goda år räknat från den nytändningen som jag fick i och med kinaresan i slutet av 2004. Sedan den resan har jag haft en hel del olika frilansuppdrag som reporter och fotograf och mina bilder och texter har publicerats i ett stort antal tidningar och magasin. Jag har även haft ett par större separatutställningar som har setts av runt 10.000 personer.



Tro inte att kommer att slå mig till ro och njuta av min "framgång". Jag kommer givetvis att fortsätta att arbeta för en bättre värld tillsammans med min kamera och mitt anteckningsblock. Jag har inte tjänat så mycket  på mitt fotograferande men jag har fått tjäna många fattiga och utsatta människor genom mina bilder och texter. Genom åren har jag fått vara med och dra in mångmiljonbelopp till behövande. Trots det tänker jag inte slå mig själv för bröstet. Så länge som det finns mängder av människor som behöver lite extra stöd och hjälp att hålla näsan ovanför vattenytan kommer jag att fortsätta med mitt arbete.

Meetings In The Middle of China - 青海
從中間的古村 - From the middle of the Middle Kingdom

"Nej, när du skall hålla fest, bjud fattiga och krymplingar, lama och blinda. Salig är du då, eftersom de inte kan ge dig något tillbaka. Du skall få din lön vid de rättfärdigas uppståndelse." - Jesus

"Och glöm inte att göra gott och dela med er, ty sådana offer har Gud behag till". - Hebreerbrevet

Text och foto © Mikael Good, All Rights Reserved.

Utan mina blågula glasögon

När jag skriver försöker jag att böja mina texter rätt. Jag försöker att betrakta omvärlden utan mina blågula glasögon som klär allt jag ser och upplever i blåa och gula nyanser. Istället försöker jag att se världen i samma färger som dem jag möter.

Personligen är jag främst intresserad av att berätta om människor som kanske inte har gjort så mycket väsen av sig. Även om jag har intervjuat ett par så kallade kändisar genom åren, tror jag ändå att de mest spännande berättelserna finns att hitta bland vanligt folk. För ett par år sedan gjorde jag en intervju med ett helt till synes vanligt lettiskt par i 70-årsåldern. När jag fick ta del av deras livshistoria var det nästan som att jag baxnade.

Jag har berättelsen i min dator, den är lång, ja till och med längre än vanligt och bilderna är starka och personliga. Men ändå har jag valt att inte publicera repet trots att det mycket väl skulle kunna vara mitt starkaste reportage hittills. Att få repet publicerat i sin helhet är nog lönlöst då det skulle ta upp för mycket spaltutrymme och därmed ta plats från de livgivande annonserna.

Det blir nog som så att reportaget dyker upp i min blogg framgent. Eventuellt kommer ett urval av de repen som jag publicerat i min blogg, i tidningar och magasin att tryckas upp i bokform. Någon ren fotobok kommer jag inte att göra. Om jag gör en bok så ska text och bild få samspela annars är jag inte intresserad av att göra bok.

För er som inte orkar vänta på en bok har jag sammanställt en länklista som innehåller de flesta reportagen som jag har publicerat i min blogg genom åren. Även om listan är ganska så lång kan jag lugna er med att jag har ungefär lika mycket material liggande som inte är publicerat ännu. Som skribent är jag extremt produktiv.

Bokmärk gärna det här blogginlägget och återkom till det då jag kommer att uppdatera länklistan med jämna mellanrum.

• • Meetings in the middle of China
• • Regina är arbetslös och utförsäkrad
• • Den ekonomiska krisens stora förlorare
• • Jag bor som en drottning i mitt palats
• • Lettland går en svår vinter till mötes
• • Sprid lite ljus i mörkret!
• • Den lyckliga familjen är nu ett minne blott
• • En varm hälsning från ett kallt och vintrigt Lettland
• • Sanna hjältar
• • Ängeln i Riga
• • Greetings from Latvia
• • Det har varit en kall hård vinter i Lettland (sid 1, 4-11)
• • Lettland går en svår vinter till mötes (sid 38-43)
• • En trygg famn för Lisa
• • There was a girl named Lisa
• • Drömmen som gick i tusen bitar
• • Greetings from Latvia - Sveicieni no Latvijas
• • Saving Grace - How to make a good investment
• • De glömda barnen i Ryssland
• • Bei mir bist Du schejn
• • Grace is a thought that can change the world
• • Exklusiva dokumentärfoton från mitten av mittens rike
• • JAYER - Dödens hus
• • A Oasis Of Grace In The Darkness
• • Mirakelbabyn som gav sin mamma ett nytt liv
• • The Miracle Baby From St. Petersburg
  • Miracles take place around the Christmas Angel Tree
  • Änglabesök på ryska fängelser och straffkolonier
  • Jag vill bo tillsammans med min mamma

A Oasis Of Grace In The Wilderness

Places like Jayer in St. Petersburg are dark places that make far too early graves for young people who never stood a real chance in life. Even if the situation is tough for young adults who´s graduated from institutions in Russia there are some oases of Grace to be found in the Wilderness.

When orphans turn 18 they are dropped from the institutions where they grew up. One day they where kids and the other day they were grownups who don´t know how to live in the real world on their own. The problem is that they have not learned to deal with the various problems of life that they now encounter. They are completly left alone and don´t have any parents, siblings, grandparent or other persons who care about them and can help them in this new situation. They often lack the everyday knowledge that others children learn in their families, such as washing clothes, cooking, managing household cash. They often feel lonely and left out, and in reality, they really are.

The statistics for orphans who graduate from institutions in Russia is very dark. Only 10% of them can adopt to a normal life in the society after graduation. The other 90% are doomed to a life in misery which often puts them in far too early graves. Some of them are lured into prostitution and criminality, some of them becomes alcohol or drug addicts. some of them end up as homeless or couch surfers and some of them take their lifes.

Jayer is street talk for a girl who is willing to do any kind of sexual act with everybody she meets. It´s also the name of a unfinished hospital in S:t Petersburg. Jayer is a house of death were young prostitutes sell their bodies for drug money and they spread HIV to customers who often refuses to use condoms. It´s a place where heroin addicts injects slow death into their veins. Most of them are HIV-positive and when they share their needles they also share their deadly disease. Jayer is also a place were homeless people live and young hipsters get together to have Squat Parties in the weekends. Those who come to Jayer are exposed for GHB and heroin and many of them end up as addicts.

Nearly 70% of all heroin addicts in Russia are young people and you can find places like Jayer all over the country. It´s estimated that between 1.5 to 3 million out of 142 millions Russians are heroin addicts. The Russian authorities are not powerless before the big drug problem in the country. In recent years, the authorities have invested a lot of money on drug prevention among young people. And they try to limit the supply roats of heroin and other drugs flowing in from Afghanistan. 21% of the heroin produced in Afghanistan goes to Russia. Even if the future for former orphans are very dark. There are some oasis of Grace to be found in Russia.

One such oasis are Grace Family Center which is located in a Russian Orthodox monastery in St. Petersburg. The work at Grace is very successful and according to Valentina who is the volunteer director at Grace 90% of the orphans who have received help and support at Grace after their graduation have been able to adapt to a normal life. For orphans who has never had a family of they own, places like Grace Family Center must be worth one's weight in gold.

At Grace Family Center, orphans meet and spend time with adults who give them support and encouragement and help them develop into independent people with strong self-worth. The staff, at the project, prepare an individual plan for each young person who comes to it. The work is based on Christian principles. They live and work in an environment where they can meet and know the saving grace of Jesus. Even if the work at Grace Family Center is very successful. They are in a desperate need of money so that they can continue with their important job.

Maybe it's you who read this article that shall provide an economic miracle so that Grace Family Center can continue with their important work among the least of our brothers and sisters. Star of Hope USA concentrates their efforts on different countries than Russia. However if you wish to donate they will be happy to funnel your gift to Grace Family Center. Click the following link if you want to donate money via Star of Hope: Grace St. Petersburg

"Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done". - Proverbs 19:17

"We can find Calcutta all over the world, if you have eyes to see. Everywhere, wherever you go, you find people who are unwanted, unloved, uncared for, just rejected by the society - completely forgotten, completely left alone. That is the greatest poverty of the rich countries." - Mother Teresa

Klick the following link if you want to see the pictures in the slide-show on your cell phone or on your pad: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chasid68/sets/72157633493146234/

Text and Photo © Mikael Good, All Rights Reserved

Former foster kids struggle with homelessness

According to a new article from the US NGO Children´s Rights as many as 31 precent of former foster youth end up as homeless our couch surfers when they are dropped from the foster-care at the age of 18.

I´m currently working on a article about the situation for former foster kids in Russia. It seems that the situation for the kids are roughly the same in Russia as in USA. But the big difference between the two countries is that the Russian authorities is trying to do something about the situation for former foster kids. Of course it still much to be done for former foster kids in Russia but where there's a will, there's often a way.

Children´s Rights has been fighting for the rights for neglected and abused children in the USA since 1995. You can read the whole article from Children´s Rights here: http://www.childrensrights.org/news-events/cr-blog/former-foster-kids-struggle-with-homelessness/

Check out my newest set on flickr: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjEwWJ15

Text and Photo: © Mikael Good, All Rights Reserved.

Grace is a thought that can change the world

Grace can be a name of a girl. Grace finds beauty in every face. Grace finds goodness in everyone. Grace is a thought that can change the world. Grace is also the name of a Russian Orthodox Family Center for orphans in St. Petersburg.

Over 2000 of the verses in the Bible encourages us to support orphans, poor people, widows and those who are oppressed. Grace Family Center in St. Petersburg work hard to help young adult orphans to adopt to a normal family life after they graduated from their orphanages. The work is very successful but the Family Center are in a desperate need of money so that they can continue with their important job among orphans and young single mothers.

When I visited Grace Family Center in march 2011, it was like coming home to my own family. Taking photos at Grace was like taking photos of my own family and not of strangers. For orphans who have never had a family of they own, places like Grace Family Center must be worth one's weight in gold. Even if it´s one of my hallmarks to make people feel comfortable in front of my camera, it usually take a while for me to get the pictures that I want. But at Grace that comfortable feeling was right there as soon as i crossed the doorstep.

The work at the Family Center is very successful and according to Valentina who is the volunteer director at Grace Family Center the majority of the orphans and the young mothers who have received help and support has been able to adapt to a normal life. The statistics for other orphans who didn´t get the same opportunities are very dark. Only 10% of them can adapt to a normal life and many of them end up as criminals, prostitutes or homeless.

Although the work at the Family Center is very sucessful, they are in a desperate need of money so that they can continue with their important job among all the orphans and young mothers that are in their care. For the volunteers at the Family Center. Grace is not just a thought that can change the world . Grace is something that they live,  breathe and share.



You can read more about the important work at Grace Family Center here: www.chasid68.blogspot.se/2013/03/saving-grace.html

You can also donate money to Grace Family Center via the NGO Star of Hope, USA:  www.starofhope.us/give/donate-now/670-donate-now-2.html

Text and Photo: © Mikael Good 2011, 2013, All Rights Reserved