Iraqi Voices Amplification Project
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Causes, Faith Based Production, Middle East, Peace and Justice, Politics, Travel
In October 2009, a small group of artists-photographers, filmmakers, musicians, and new media specialists traveled to Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria with Intersections International to meet and interact with displaced Iraqi refugees and to hear their stories.
(Short Version 7:38)
(Long Version 16:00 ) (Turn off the HD button if you experience buffering issues.)
Tags: Iraq, Middle East, Refugee, Tim Frakes Productions, Video
Manistique Harbor Light
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Interesting Places, Nature, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel
The Manistique Harbor Light in Manistique, Michigan
Micro Enterprise and Silk Production in Bangladesh
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Asia, Culture, Education, Interesting Places, Nature, Peace and Justice, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel
Have you ever wondered how silk is made? Outside Saidpur, Bangladesh I toured a silk production facility. The small factory is a non-profit operation (RDRS) that provides jobs and economic opportunity for women in this poor nation.
The silkworm is the caterpillar of Bombyx mori, the domesticated silk moth. The silk moth is entirely dependent on humans for its reproduction and no longer occurs naturally in the wild.
At the factory, the women, dressed in colorful saris, collect and sort huge piles of golden silkworm cocoons. Once sorted, the cocoons are immersed large into vats of boiling hot water.
This is bad news for the silkworms inside the cocoons! The hot water sparks a chemical reaction that allows the spun cocoon to unravel. Silkworm cocoons are natural bobbins made of one continuous strand of silk thread. After boiling, the cocoons are cooled and taken to a loom and unraveled.
The raw silk thread is then wound onto a spindle, dried and shipped to a textile factory.
Tags: Bangladesh, Production, RDRS, Silk
Glory to God Alone: The Life of J.S. Bach
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Europe, History, Music, Travel
Tags: Classical, Eisenach, Germany, History, J.S.Bach, Leipzig, Music, Weimar
Eskimo Testimonies
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Faith Based Production, Interesting Places, Spiritual Journey, Travel
Every now and then, I think back on a visit Jim Quattrocki, Bob Elliott and I made to Alaska’s Seward Peninsula in September, 1994. Eskimo Testimonies is a 7-minute video we produced for Mosaic, the video magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
We spent 12 days touring Eskimo villages like Brevig Mission, Wales and Shishmaref, meeting its people and recording their stories.
Tags: Alaska, Education, ELCA, Eskimo, Seward Peninsula, Spiritual Journey, Tim Frakes Productions, Video
Faithful Travel with Rick Steves
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Faith Based Production, Travel
My friend Rick Steves is on the cover of the February Christian Century. Check out his interview and then check out the video I did with him a while back titled: Faithful Travel. The video links Rick’s travel philosophy with his faith.
Tags: ELCA, Rick Steves, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel, Video
Wrapping Things up in Haiti
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Carribean, Disaster, News, Travel
Tim Frakes pauses on the grounds of a golf course now converted into a massive tent city following the January 2010 Haiti earthquakes.
Packing up my equipment and belongings as my time in Haiti draws to a close, thoughts and emotions percolate. I was invited to come to Haiti two weeks after the January 2010 earthquake that leveled much of Port Au Prince and the surrounding countryside by the ELCA Disaster Response and the Lutheran World Federation.
As a videographer, I was charged with recording footage related to the combined response efforts of the Act Alliance, a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide.
Most of my time was spent working along side photojournalist Paul Jeffrey from the United Methodist Church and Chris Herlinger, a reporter from Church Word Service. Paul and Chris are top-notch professionals that work with courage, passion and accuracy.
Together we spent time in the demolished city center, tent cities, worship services and food distributions. Back at the LWF offices in Peiton Ville, we spent the evening hours editing stories and photos. Fortunately LWF has blazing fast internet, so our job was made much easier.
The people of Haiti are really in a bind. Apparently things were slowly improving before the earth quake. The scope of devastation and loss of life will make the goal of building a stable, healthy Haiti much more difficult.
The global relief effort is amazing. I witnessed Brazilians, Hungarians, French, Sri Lankan, Finns, Scotts, Cubans, Dominicans, and many Americans working together. I hear that Americans are complaining about the apparent lack of coordination and slow pace of relief response. I can only say that the enormity of this disaster cannot be underestimated. It is really bad. This is not a problem that you can simply “fix.”
That said, the world community is doing their best. No matter what happens, Haitians will reach down and draw from and endless well of determination and find a way to go on.
Tags: Haiti, Tim Frakes Productions
Heading to Haiti
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Carribean, Pro Bono, Travel
A Haitian boy plays a home-made guitar. This photo was taken several years ago while in Haiti on a shoot.
ELCA Disaster Response, ACT Alliance and the Lutheran World Federation are sending me to Haiti to record images and reflections following the January 2010 earthquake. I will travel via convoy through the Dominican Republic to Port Au Prince.
Your prayers for those affected and for myself as I travel are greatly appreciated! After you pray, support Haiti relief.
Tags: Faith, Haiti, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel
Chicago Winter
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Tim Frakes Productions, Travel
In winter, Chicago’s lakefront beauty is apparent. These shots were recorded on the lakefront trail near North Avenue Beach.
Tags: Chicago, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel
Brookfield Zoo, Holiday Magic
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Culture, Education, Interesting Places, Nature, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel
Each December, the Brookfield Zoo, Brookfield, Illinois hosts Holiday Magic, a festival of lights, ice and animals.
Tags: Brookfield Zoo, Holiday Magic, Tim Frakes Productions, Video