Beautiful photography. You've captured the essence of a moment so very well, so much that the energy transfers beyond the photo.
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- Kendrell Sampson 05/09/2011
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I saw your 'Stars of Ethiopia' exhibit at NYU this weekend and it was just breathtaking. Those people, it was like they weren't just people, the way you captured their images made them each look like something otherworldly. And I've never seen wrinkles look so beautiful whether in person or photographed. I have always dreaded the thought of wrinkles to come, but your photos made me worry less about them, even looking forward to them; maybe I'll look like artwork too. Thank you for making those photographs.
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- Linda Obasi 05/09/2011
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Your photography is impressive. I feel so much spirit from your photos.
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- Toshifumi Matsushita 04/26/2011
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Came across a review of your new exhibition, 'Stars of Ethiopia' on television today. What breath taking photos! Deeply moving and so beautiful... Stay well and keep showing us all the majesty that is in the world that thru your lenses which allows us to travel the world thru your work.
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- Coral Caporale 04/24/2011
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Your 'Stars of Ethiopia' exhibition at New York University has certainly broken the stereotype. Many photographers do not seem to take the time and care you do to create what you seem to see inside the person. They take pretty pictures. You capture the world within the subject, by somehow (hard work and magic) revealing the nature of "the spirit." It is written in dignity your subjects reveal, without really trying. You are the one who does all the heavy lifting. Not one time did I feel your subjects could ever think: "I feel pretty." If anything, it might be: "I feel connected to the stars and all that lies beyond, and there is still room for me to love you, too." The young woman with the half-shut eyes and the bones around her neck is my favorite -- but the guy with the sunglasses is growing on me, too!
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- Jack Scaparro 04/24/2011
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Several years ago a friend gave me an autographed copy of Feeling The Spirit and it has brought pleasure and a deepening appreciation of your work. It has held a visible place in my living rooms in Los Angeles and now in Tennessee for my guests to thumb through at will. Thanks for the many photographs that capture the beauty of our people. One of my favorites is "In Our Manner" on page 191. Many times I've asked friends what they see in it and it's meaning to them; very interesting comments have been made over the years. I'm glad you do what you do. THANKS!!!
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- Estella Clements 04/14/2011
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I had a chance to see the exhibit of your photos at the NYU Kimmel Center and wanted you to know how much I enjoyed it. The instillation was so striking and the work itself of course continued the high standard that you have maintained for so many years. I wish you continues success in presenting these extraordinary images that are so meaningful to people of all colors.
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- John Morning 04/14/2011
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I really appreciate what you've done. It was beautiful and moving. I really appreciate the work and sweat and tears you've dedicated to representing the beauty you see in us. To see Ethiopians in a way that was so elegant and proud .... it's how I always have seen us, but never felt like other people in the world got to see us, and it was so encouraging and moving to see people get it through your work. It was beautiful.
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- Aeden Keffelew 04/14/2011
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I marvel at the gift you have for capturing the very essence of people in a photo.
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- Elwanda Young 04/14/2011
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My daughter and I took a tour of your 'Stars of Ethiopia' exhibition at New York University's Kimmel Hall (corner of LaGuardia Place & West 3rd Street). What a terrific idea to have the pictures mounted facing the outside! They are magnificent. Seeing the faces of these beautiful African people looking out on the world in such vivid color gives them a presence and a humanity that is palpable. My favorite is the Mursi woman. I was very moved by the hues, the texture and colors of her skin contrasted by the ivory and adornment, rich and weathered; the look of pensive power in her eyes, as if she is appraising this haven of students and teachers who may think theirs is a world away from hers. And yet, there she is, staking a claim to our attention and demanding our respect as we are forced to contemplate her and her kin. Wow.
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- Isisara Bey 03/15/2011
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What strikes me as remarkable about Chester Higgins is not only his clear sense of mission and breadth of work, but his dedication to sharing his insights with other photographers.
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- Brian Wengrofsky 03/05/2011
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Your exhibition, 'Stars of Ethiopia' really brightens my day as I pass by coming to work. Thank you.
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- Pamela Bolen 03/05/2011
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CONGRATULATIONS!!! SPECTACULAR!!! I just returned from NYU where I visited your outstanding photographs that are on display at the Kimmel Center. You really captured the diversity of the Ethiopian population. The subjects are so handsome and their expressions are so quietly pensive. Your photographs were positively uplifting.
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- Irving Fish 03/05/2011
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'The Stars of Ethiopia' outdoor exhibition at NYU/Kimmel Center in the West Village is superb! Strong, meaningful, simply beautiful. It embraces the whole West Village neighborhood and beyond! Bravo dear photographer extraordinaire! Thank you for all of us, your people.
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- Muriel Wiltord 03/05/2011
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Many photographers inspire me, educate me, encourage me and challenge me to be better. But the photographer who has truly challenged my ideas of photography, enlightened my mind, heightened my senses, challenged the image of who I am and who people like me are, is Chester Higgins Jr. He is the master of capturing character in the African-American/Black aesthetic. Black people are often portrayed in photography as sexual beings or suffering beings. Sex and suffering is a part of all cultures and races, yet it is over-represented in imagery of us. However, Higgins Jr. does more than this. He shows us as people with character. You look at the images of Alice Walker and Nelson Mandela that he has created and you see that. You see passion, spirit, resilience, knowledge, honesty, mystery and integrity in so many of his images. He tells true stories with every capture that we all should know. Though he tells stories of reality, which does incorporate suffering, it doesn't have that disaster voyeurism feel to it. I feel empowered and inspired every time I look at his work. I never tire of looking at his work. I am fortunate that he and other artists like him exist and have created such amazing work that will last for generations to come and will be shared as stories for generations to come.
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- Trudy Hamilton 02/08/2011
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Your magnificent work continues to inspire us all.
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- Ademola Olugebe 02/05/2011
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After seeing your 'Silver Fox' portrait of Jo-Ani, I decided to embrace what nature gave me and go with my natural color. I am 42. Anyway, your images are beautiful, extremely inspiring.
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- Tamara 01/29/2011
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Your photographs speak to me greatly and I've incorporated your words and imagery into my writing and research. I especially draw inspiration from your photos and your story about Aunt Shugg. Thank you for the great work you've done documenting the African presence throughout the Diaspora.
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- Jean Young 01/21/2011
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You don't know me, but I just wanted to tell you that I'm a huge fan of your work and, more important, was truly moved a few years back by your openness about discovering God's purpose and ministry for you (behind the camera) in your book, Echo of the Spirit. Thank you so much for your art and for sharing your inspiration!
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- Donna Lynne Brock 01/15/2011
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I have loved your artistry throughout the years... my spirit has been touched.
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- Mary Chang 12/30/2010
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The Tana fisherman; Wow! It's absolutely enchanting, like suspended in time and space. It's beautiful, beautiful.
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- Sylviane Diouf 12/30/2010
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The Tana fisherman image is lovely. It is work of this quality that drove me from photography after college and into the law.
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- Derrick Bell 12/30/2010
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The Tana fisherman image; it's so peaceful and poetic that the world seems to be a timeless place in which the soul lives before it's called bnack home.
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- Jack Scaparro 12/30/2010
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As always you capture the sublime and spiritual.
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- Coreen Simpson 12/30/2010
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I'm a longtime humble admirer of your work. Love your photography.
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- Duane Deterville 11/01/2010
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And then there is Chester Higgins. What can you say about Chester Higgins except that he is one of the most profound chroniclers of black world images ever and in particular its spirit world. Chester Higgins is deep and every time I visit his website, its more primetime than ever. He must have somebody working on that site, otherwise he wouldn't have the time to make photographs in the first place. His website itself is a work of art.
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- Arthur Flowers 11/01/2010
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You work shows that you are a great worker of the lIght expressing knowledge of thy self. I am just amazed by your website.
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- Djibril Gassama 09/08/2010
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The world is blessed by your body of work. Keep shining!
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- Sabrina Lamb 09/07/2010
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I have long admired your work and the rich stories your photos tell. I am on the west coast, I was just dreaming about storytelling and its role in our life. Your book "Feeling The Spirit" has long been a guide of discovering who I am and who we are....thank you! Theresa Polley-Shellcroft, Fellow artist and storyteller!
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- Theresa Polley-Shellcroft 08/23/2010
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Chester Higgins Jr. and Gordon Parks are my all time favorite photographers. Their images never fail to speak to the love in me and the hate in me, the fear in me and the confidence in me sometimes all at once. When looking through their work, I feel them. I mean I really feel them. And I can understand what it is that theyre trying to tell me. I hear them when I look at the photo. I see who a person really is when I look through the eyes of a person photographed by one of these super conscious and powerful men.
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- Ayesha Walker 08/18/2010
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Thank you for feeding our minds, stirring our senses, healing our hearts.
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- Laura Pegram 08/16/2010
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I've viewed your photos and love them all! You have a special eye. I loved silver foxes and Ethiopian photos - they were so special. Have a great day.
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- Shirley Monestier 08/16/2010
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back in 2009 you were so gracious to give a lecture to me and some of my student while i was doing a residency at the Shomburg....you truly affected all of us creatively especially your theory on light (male and female). i am sending you some links to some work i have done since then. i hope all is well with you,and the creator continues to bring you new and exiting ways to see.
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- M Scott Johnson 07/26/2010
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"Mr Higgins, I cant express here how moving and inspirational I have found your work to be, especially Elder Grace, which I discovered while working for the National Visionary Leadership Project. Thank you!"
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- Skip Coblyn 07/06/2010
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Mr. Higgins, I am inspiried by your work to take photographs that are meaningful and that leave a lasting impression on people. I have carried a camera for more than 30 years and am still learning. I have been familar with your name and work for a number of years. You, Gordon Parks, Ansel Adams and James Van Derzee have kept me motivated to keep on keeping on. I saw Elder Grace in Philadelphia great photos poorly lit space. I had a choice to eat or go to Emory University to see the Nubian installation, didn't eat......
Thank You for being you and allowing me to dream big.
Debora Clark Fairfax, Harlem USA
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- Debora Clark Fairfax 07/01/2010
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Your images capture the emotional landscape, in people as well as in geography.
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- Marie Ponsot 06/24/2010
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Your imagery on ancient Nubian and Kushite sites in Sudan is astonishingly beautiful and evokes so wonderfully the distant mystery of the fabulous monuments of antiquity along the river Nile. You are a real artist. Your images look certainly inspired! Raymond Johnson
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- Raymond Johnson 06/15/2010
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I am very grateful for your beautiful presentation today to my photojournalism workshop. Your images and words moved me and all of my students very much. There are few contemporary photographers whose works speaks to me as much as yours. Your images are so elegant, clear and complex. Thank you so much also for your wonderful book, 'Feeling the Spirit,' I will cherish and look at and show others often. I look forward to staying in touch. With warm regards, Peter Turnley, www.peterturnley.com
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- Peter Turnley 06/03/2010
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We have been "Facebook friends" for quite a bit but today was the first time I viewed your site... I am deeply impressed - the photos are warm, beautifully composed and executed sensitive portraits. I felt privileged to be there, plus I had the added pleasure of knowing well many of the people portrayed - mostly as close family friends, so the whole experience was very evocative.
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- Susan Gardner 06/01/2010
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"Your photographs took me back to so many places that I've visited over the years. Your work is awesome, a dream come true. Viewing your work, made my day. What a pleasure! Keep me posted on events and exhibits, books etc. It's a honor and pleasure to be your Facebook friend."
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- Ingrid Calvert 05/31/2010
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Hetepu, Chester. Your photos on your website allowed me to travel to many places, meeting many faces without leaving my studio. Thank you for the treat.
(Snt Urt) Kaitha Het Heru.
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- Kaitha Het Heru 05/29/2010
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I was so glad and honored to have the assignment to research photographer Chester Higgins Jr. I had seen the photos 'Morning Coffee and 'Diner in Harlem.' I soon found his website that tells and shows so much. I am proud of his genuine work. I am in such awe of the many pictures that encourage me to continue to learn about photography. I want to thank him for his wonderful and pricelss work. I am inspired to carry my camera everywhere. I must learn more about photography so that I can capture images in the same way!!! Sincerely, Marlisha Portier, San Mateo, CA
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- Marlisha Portier 05/08/2010
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Thank you so very much for your video on Geoffrey Canada of the Harlem Children Zone. I read that Mr P.H. Polk was your professor. I saw his original work and Mr. Van Der Zee's at Atlanta University's Trevor Arnett Library. I want you to know that you have inspired me to photograph. Someone is giving me a 35mm camera. I always wanted to develop film. I will be reading your recommended writings on photography (Reflections). Thank you for having a meaningful life.
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- Gwen Gilliam 03/02/2010
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"What a great man U R. Your work is ultimate testament that Africans are ONE, and: the artist makes the camera, not the camera the artist. Thank you for embodying Coltrane's AfroBlue in Light & Darkness." Malcolm Cash
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- Malcolm Cash 01/15/2010
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The Lalilbela, Ethiopia rock-hewn Church of Saint Giyorgis is awesome!!! It must be amazing to see in person. The incredible history behind many of the photos is very exciting. Thank you for sharing your wonderful and meaningful experiences through your photography on Facebook (Chester Higgins Fine Art Fan page). You are so blessed to lead such an interesting life that gives so much to others. You and your achievements honor New Brockton in many special ways. Thank you so much!!! Judy of Dothan
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- Judy Bailey Wise 01/05/2010
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Your photographs are totally Spirit-filled. Thank you for your artistry and good heart.
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- Judith Jamieson 12/26/2009
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"I'm so glad that you gave yourself a chance to blossom outside the confines of The New York Times. Saw your most recent book, 'Echo of the Spirit' -- just fabulous!"
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- Sonia Katchian of Chapel Hill 12/21/2009
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Wonderful work! Thank you for what you do.
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- Leah Reeder 11/12/2009
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Over the years, I pull 'Feeling the Spirit' off my shelf, quietly thumb through it, and think.
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- Cheryl Renee Gooch 11/10/2009
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Not a day goes by when I don't either look at or think about your images and their significance to our people. Thank-you!
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- Dana Tomlinson 11/01/2009
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