{"id":3975,"date":"2018-03-24T21:04:05","date_gmt":"2018-03-24T21:04:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pj.rit.edu\/nppa\/?p=3975"},"modified":"2018-04-14T20:32:16","modified_gmt":"2018-04-14T20:32:16","slug":"category-portfolio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pj.rit.edu\/nppa\/2018\/03\/24\/category-portfolio\/","title":{"rendered":"Category: Portfolio"},"content":{"rendered":"

Congratulations to the winners of the portfolio category! The Nikon Portfolio Award goes to Brittainy Newman, and the Gitner Family Award goes to Traci Westcott. Congratulations to all!<\/p>\n

Nikon Portfolio Award: Brittainy\u00a0Newman<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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“I can cry in front of them, I can tell them my secrets. I buy them things and they calm me down. I just feel comfortable around them,” says twenty-six-year-old Lisa Schalm as she poses for a portrait inside of her bedroom in Brockport, N.Y., on Oct. 14, 2017. Lisa suffers from depression, anxiety, and borderline personality disorder and said that these reborn dolls are the only solution to help calm her symptoms. A reborn doll is a manufactured skin doll that has been transformed by an artist to resemble a human infant with as much realism as possible.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Nomi Allen, 18, and Isaiah Malaria, 15, crashed their friends car (not present during the scene) on a state highway in Jeffersonville, N.Y., on Oct. 7, 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Dave Paskell, 56, poses for a portrait in the backyard of his home in Rochester, N.Y., on Sept. 10, 2017. “Sometimes I feel as though I was born at the wrong time. My mannerisms, sensibilities and moral compass seem those of the past. Yet at the same time, I’m inexorably part of the present looking through an open door to the future,” said Dave.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Attendees participate in throwing hay during a hayride at the Hofstee Farm located in Bethel, N.Y. on Oct. 7, 2017. Designed to be an enjoyable country day, the hayride is also an educational experience for people wanting to learn about sustainability and farms.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Inside an abandoned movie theater in a working-class section of Havana, a girl practices a handstand during a circus training session in Marianao, Cuba on Jun. 21, 2017. As a Cuban, the circus is a lucrative career path and a rare opportunity for Cubans to make real money on the communist-led island.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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New Politics performs at the Main Street Armory in Rochester, N.Y. on Sept. 8, 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Joan Fernandez Cabrera poses for a portrait as Cantata the clown in Santiago, Cuba on Jul. 15, 2017. After becoming the first Cuban circus clown to perform with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Joan Fernandez Cabrera, 30, saw that dream disappear this past May when he learned that the 146-year-old circus closed its curtains for good. He and 500 clowns, acrobats, and stage crew members were left scrambling for new jobs at the end of an era. Motivated by the American value system, he looks for success back in his home country of Cuba by joining the Cuban National Circus.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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After 146 years, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus took its final bow on May 21, 2017, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y. “From the bottom of our hearts we want to say thank you all very much, and please enjoy and celebrate the Greatest Show on Earth one last time,” says Kenneth Feld, CEO of Feld Entertainment. The iconic circus declined in recent years due to high operating costs and long, costly legal battles with animal rights groups, such as the one to eliminate elephant acts.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NO FUNNY BUSINESS<\/strong> – After becoming the first Cuban circus clown to perform with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Joan Fernandez Cabrera, 30, saw that dream disappear this past May when he learned that the 146-year-old circus closed its curtains for good. He and 500 clowns, acrobats, and stage crew members were left scrambling for new jobs at the end of an era. Motivated by the American value system, he looks for success back in his home country of Cuba by joining the Cuban National Circus.<\/p>\n

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Joan Fernandez Cabrera assists in tearing down equipment after the final show of the Ringling. Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus on May 21, 2017, in Uniondale, N.Y. “Being at Ringling Bros. and in the United States are the best things to ever happen to me. I am the first Cuban clown to perform with The Greatest Show on Earth,” says Joan Fernandez Cabrera. After 146 years, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus took its final bow on May 21, 2017, in Uniondale, NY.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Joan balances a wooden pole on his nose on the roof of his home in Havana, Cuba on June 21, 2017. “My clown acts have changed throughout the years in different ways. It’s like a tree; a little seed you plant and it grows and grows. You see how it nourishes with the water, with the sun. You realize that intuitively, you’ve changed,” says Joan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Joan plays dominos with his family outside of his home in Havana, Cuba on June 20, 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Joan looks in the mirror after receiving his haircut in Santiago, Cuba on July 13, 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Yunier Lopez (left) and Joan Fernandez (right) look out the window as they depart for their tour with the Cuban National Circus on July 4, 2017. “I think it cannot be ignored, that superhuman effort that they do when they leave their countries, their home, their people, their customs and come to Cuba to adapt, and even if they have here all their expenses covered they do not receive a cent for workings,” says circus director Jose Manuel (not pictured).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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“I think it is extremely fascinating being able to work with my brother,” says Yunier Lopez (front). “A duo we are regenerating again, in Cuba, in our country, where we were raised, where we grew up, where we still have an audience that follows us. An audience that is anxious and eager to see the duo of Cantaleta and Petunio in the circus ring once again”. Yunier Lopez and J.F.C. put their makeup as they prepare for a show in Sancti Spiritus Cuba on July 5, 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A clown is reflected in a motorcycle mirror while waiting backstage during the International Circuba Festival in Havana, Cuba on June 27, 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Circus performers peak through the curtains backstage during the International Circuba Festival in Havana, Cuba on June 26, 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Joan and Yunier performs for an audience during the International Circuba Festival in Havana, Cuba on June 27, 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The audience laughs at the Yayabo Theater in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba on July 10, 2017. “There isn’t a more satisfying thing for a clown than seeing the audience he is performing for having a blast. It is enough energy to fuel a gasoline truck,” says Yunier Lopez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A trapeze artist’s shadow is cast upon the audience during the International Circuba Festival Tour at the Yayabo Theater in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba on July 8, 2017. “There are cities in Cuba that don’t have the same economic situation as others. And when there’s a political, social, economic problem or any situation, the circus is the only instrument to relieve tensions,” says circus director Jose Manuel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Yunier Lopez lifts his two-year-old nephew Lucas Cabrera while waiting backstage during the International Circuba Festival in Havana, Cuba on June 28, 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

THE LOVE SHACK<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Nancy B.B. Meyer is a firm believer that animals are angels. Meyer has been adopting and helping to place animals from shelters for over 30 years. From dogs and cats to snakes, goats, and pigs, Meyer has been able to find a home for every animal brought to her attention. And she\u2019s never given up on an animal because it\u2019s old or sick or has been abused.<\/p>\n

Additional Drone Footage by Bryan Bennett<\/em><\/p>\n

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