‘It's from the soul': Veterans share stories through photography project
It's a project that's been near and dear to Maurice Henri's heart for a long time.
The renowned Moncton photographer has started a new project called Veterans in Focus that puts a spotlight on local veterans through portraits and stories.
'A lot of these people, especially the men, never really talk about it. So, it was my way of trying to get them to open up. To talk to them and hang out with them and honour them. The project is about honour,' said Henri.
Arice LeBlanc
Arice LeBlanc, a subject for the Veterans in Focus project. (Source: Maurice Henri)
Henri and photography students from McKenzie College visit with veterans to document their lives, hear their stories and capture their images through black and white portraits.
Not only does it honour the sacrifices of veterans, it's educational for the students, many of them are the same age now as when the veterans set off to war.
'There's a connection there age-wise, but a very disconnect in the sense of understanding the different generations,' said Henri.
Eight students are involved and six veterans, men and women, have been interviewed. Some of them over 100-years-old.
One of those students is Stacy MacKenzie who said she's learning more than just the technical aspect of portrait photography.
'He's teaching me a lot about storytelling and the images are more than just a picture. Being able to capture those moments and being able to find the humanity and the vision in the person as well,' said MacKenzie.
Meeting the veterans was an overwhelming experience for MacKenzie who was deeply moved by the emotion in their stories.
'I was thinking that these stories would be sad. I'm overwhelmed by how happy these people are,' said MacKenzie.
Hubert Smith
Hubert Smith, a subject for the Veterans in Focus project. (Source: Maurice Henri)
Henri is the founder of Cameras for Healing, a not-for-profit organization that helps people experiencing trauma, grief and stress deal with their pain through photography.
Dozens of his photos from war zones around the world hang on the walls of his Moncton studio.
Many of his photographs are people who have suffered from extreme Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and he recognized it with some of the veterans.
'A lot of these people, even when they were raising their families, were never talking about this. They weren't talking to their kids,' said Henri. 'A lot of them resorted to alcohol. A lot of depression, a lot of PTSD,' said Henri.
He recalled one photo shoot with a 102-year-old veteran where the man's son came to watch.
'At the end when we were done and packing up all of our gear and we were walking out, he became quite emotional. He said to me, he pulled me aside and he said, 'I can't believe you pulled out some of these stories. I never heard them before,' he couldn't believe some of the stories his own father was saying for this project,' said Henri.
Finding all the veterans has been quite a process for Henri and the students.
They've had help from the Moncton Legion, the Veterans Association in Riverview and the public.
Frederick Hawthrone
Frederick Hawthrone, a subject for the Veterans in Focus project. (Source: Maurice Henri)
The 67-year-old photographer can feel the emotion in the veterans when they share their stories.
'You can see the water in their eyes,' said Henri. 'The pride that they have still. Even though they're in wheelchairs and some of them have difficulty walking, but you can still feel and see that pride of what they did for us.'
A mature student, MacKenzie spoke about how some of her classmates, many of them 18 or 19-years-old, can learn about this important part of Canadian history.
'So, for them to actually see and visualize for the first time maybe with a veteran is really going to help them see that it's from the soul. It's definitely from the soul,' said MacKenzie.
Henri has the lofty goal of meeting and photographing 40 veterans before the exhibit will go on display in November in the lobby of the Hotel Beausejour in downtown Moncton.
'I want to put them on a pedestal,' said Henri.
For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
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