Keepers of Tradition by Ron Cooper

I began making portraits of Native Americans several years ago when I was introduced to Anthony Parker. Anthony is a member of the Omaha tribe and a celebrated pow wow dancer. I photographed him near Santa Fe, New Mexico, not far from his home in Albuquerque.

I began making portraits of Native Americans several years ago when I was introduced to Anthony Parker. Anthony is a member of the Omaha tribe and a celebrated pow wow dancer. I photographed him near Santa Fe, New Mexico, not far from his home in Albuquerque.

He arrived in street clothes and unloaded several big bins and suitcases from his car. Inside was his collection of traditional costumes, headdresses, jewelry and regalia, all of the items handmade by local artisans and members of the Native American community. Off he went to change. And, some thirty minutes later, Anthony re-emerged totally transformed. The materials, craftsmanship, colors, designs and beauty of his garments and regalia amazed me. That photo session sparked my interest in Native American culture and, over the last several years, I’ve had the good fortune to meet and photograph members of many of the tribes and pueblos in New México, Colorado and Arizona. 

Some of the people that I’ve photographed participate in pow-wows and other celebrations as dancers or musicians. Others are talented craftspeople that make beautiful traditional clothing, jewelry and regalia. Some are teachers, storytellers, IT professionals, horse trainers, cowboys, rodeo competitors, community leaders, activists or students.  Although they come from different tribes and pueblos, have different jobs and careers, they all share a strongly held commitment to celebrate, maintain and pass along to future generations the fundamental elements of their tribal culture, language, religion and practice. They are keepers of tradition.

Many of my early Native American portraits were in color to showcase the brilliant designs, beautiful materials and extraordinary craftsmanship of the traditional clothing worn by my subjects. Over time, however, I came to realize that my color photographs were as much about the clothing as they were about the people themselves. I was reminded of the words of legendary Canadian photographer Ted Grant:

“When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls.”

I began processing my images in monochrome and loved the resulting simplicity, elegance and focus on the subject.  That isn’t to say the costumes and regalia are unimportant. Quite the contrary. They are an integral part of the Native American tradition and culture. And I believe that the beauty, intricacy, patterns and textures are fully revealed through these monochrome images. But not in a way that distracts from the subject.

These portraits are meant to document, honor and celebrate Native American culture through the people I’ve photographed. I hope the images in this collection communicate the pride that each subject carries for their heritage and their community, and honors their commitment to keep traditions from vanishing.

About Ron Cooper

Ron Cooper’s photographs celebrate humanity. Cooper travels extensively to explore places and cultures, and to meet and photograph people who he “introduces” to viewers through portraiture. Since 2016, Cooper’s award-winning images have been featured in more than thirty-five juried group exhibitions in the United States and Europe. In addition, his work has been presented in five solo exhibitions.

His photographs have been published in consumer magazines, trade publications and photography journals. His new book, We Are Santa, features portraits and profiles of more than 50 professional Santa Clauses and will be released by Princeton Architectural Press (N.Y.) in mid-2020. [Official Website]

More Stories

Odd buildings by Olivia Hathaway

Odd buildings by Olivia Hathaway

The theme of the collection is "odd buildings," whether they're odd for their paint job, their architectural design, their graffiti, or their relation to other buildings.
Mexico; Trick or treat by Susan De Witt

Mexico; Trick or treat by Susan De Witt

The last day of October is also traditionally the time for Halloween costumes and trick-or-treaters running from door to door in search of candy.
Conceptual artist; The Lost Road by Francisco Diaz

Conceptual artist; The Lost Road by Francisco Diaz

The photographs I create are what I call cinematic narrative photomontages, fictions meant to seem like snapshots of "reality." The implication is that our reality is created through the limitations of our perceptions.
https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/bannerpr.jpg

We invite you to participate in the first edition of the Portrait Photography Awards. Our call is open to any artistic interpretation of portrait photography.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/BAnImage.jpg

ImageRights provides intelligent image search and copyright enforcement services to photo agencies and professional photographers worldwide.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/mono2022.jpg

The best 100 images along with the winning images published in the yearly book “Monochromatic – Best Photographers of 2022”

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/banner24.jpg

Call For Entries #24 | After 23 editions and more than 100 published photographers, our print edition has proven to be a simply effective promotional channel.

Manlio Cosimo De Pasquale ; Photographer and Traveller

Manlio Cosimo De Pasquale ; Photographer and Traveller

The passion for photography was born by traveling, for the need to freeze an emotion, to fix it forever and to have the chance to revive it, then matured also in an emotional quest for the daily life, but the journey gives me the opportunity to tell and remember the places through always unknown emotions,
Another Way of Looking at Love  by Janelle Lynch

Another Way of Looking at Love by Janelle Lynch

Another Way of Looking at Love (2015-2018) explores the interconnectedness of all life forms and supports a renewal of human relationships to each other, and to the natural and the spiritual worlds.
Filmy Reality by Subhajit Naskar

Filmy Reality by Subhajit Naskar

In India movies not only represents a mere art form it constitutes a virtually alternative lifestyle. Film posters have always fascinated me with their surreal like imagery.
The invisible man by Marius Surleac

The invisible man by Marius Surleac

The invisible man was selected and published in our print edition 22. Unexpressed emotions, hidden from the eye of the crowd, waiting to be found, like a gold nugget in the mud, sitting, unattended but pulsing, pumping every second until someone could sense that vibe.
Exclusive interview with Ralph Gibson

Exclusive interview with Ralph Gibson

Ralph Gibson is one of the most celebrated American photographers, having achieved worldwide recognition in his career for more than four decades.
Presence by Daniel Murtagh

Presence by Daniel Murtagh

For Daniel Murtagh, the essence of a good portrait is ‘Presence’ , the experience of a person not merely seen, but felt . "I like to compare it to the experience in music , a certain combination of sounds expresses the intent of the composer"
Urban photography; Shadows and Silhouettes by Richard Heersmink

Urban photography; Shadows and Silhouettes by Richard Heersmink

Some of the shots in this series are about what Henri Cartier-Bresson called the “decisive moment”. But most of them are concerned with shadows, silhouettes or unusual configurations of people in urban contexts.
Street Photography; Man in the city by Edgaras Vaicikevicius

Street Photography; Man in the city by Edgaras Vaicikevicius

Man in the city

,What is a city? The city is a rush, speed, noise. The city is a place where many people live. The city connect these people. But we become individually in the city. 


Living with albinism; Nude by Justine Tjallinks

Living with albinism; Nude by Justine Tjallinks

Living with albinism not only means an absence of pigmentation in the skin and hair, but also impairment in vision.
Where the Magdalena River Ceases by Karen Arango

Where the Magdalena River Ceases by Karen Arango

The murky waters of the river flush through the train of rocks standing on the embankment. As the louder and unstable motor of the small train overwhelms the passengers, the ride becomes an experience for those who visit for the first time.
We could be Heroes. Just for one day by Alain Licari

We could be Heroes. Just for one day by Alain Licari

A place on the edge of a deserted area, a little further away from the California State Road 111. According to the map, it’s a city. But in reality, it is not a city like any other.
Time and space; Suspended by Claudia Orsetti

Time and space; Suspended by Claudia Orsetti

These photos are part of an ongoing series called Suspended. During the quarantine – somehow a forced situation of suspended time – I’ve had the chance of reflecting on my own relationship with time and space.
Migrant Behind Lockdown by Jittrapon Kaicome

Migrant Behind Lockdown by Jittrapon Kaicome

Uncertainty and Distress in Myanmar Migrant Workers Behind Thailand Lockdown. They Are Out of Work and left with no Options During COVID-19
Psyche of Saudade by Alex Righetti

Psyche of Saudade by Alex Righetti

The people relationship always caught my interest, especially as a photographer of street portraits.I could tell you about the experiences I had with strangers for hours, being able to shutter the barrier and understand how perfectly
Anti-Global Security Law protests by Florence Gallez

Anti-Global Security Law protests by Florence Gallez

Thousands of Parisians protested France’s proposed ‘Global Security Law’ at Place de La République on January 30, together with other restrictive government measures in the face of Covid-19
The Great Red Paranoia by Revaz Kacharava

The Great Red Paranoia by Revaz Kacharava

I have always wondered whether such historical figures as Stalin experienced any remorse. How did those cruel decisions made by them influence their psyche?

Featured Stories

The corsair project by Samuka Marinho

The corsair project by Samuka Marinho

This is a personal project developed by photographer Samuka Marinho as an original portfolio presentation. It is composed of over 400 images and has taken around a year and a half to be completed.
Acid Survivors by Jan Møller Hansen

Acid Survivors by Jan Møller Hansen

Acid attacks in Bangladesh are usually the result of land disputes, rejected marriage proposals, refusal or inability to pay dowry, resistance of being trafficked as sex worker or simply the desire for revenge.
Homeless people; On the street by Zoltán Molnár

Homeless people; On the street by Zoltán Molnár

In the EU, the number of homeless people has grown by seventy percent in one decade. Nowadays more than 700 thousand people have to face the fact daily that they have no roof above their heads.
Animeyed by Flora Borsi

Animeyed by Flora Borsi

Flora Borsi is a young fine art photographer from Hungary. She uses exquisite photo manipulation to create surreal images that are thematically focused on identity, relationships, emotions and dreams.
Ordinary days is beautiful  by Takako Fukaya

Ordinary days is beautiful by Takako Fukaya

Takako Fukaya has three daughters. They are so special to her. Also she thinks “Children” like them is a hope and a future in this world.
Swimmers; Spirit above waves by Jan Caga

Swimmers; Spirit above waves by Jan Caga

Spirit above Waves The project shows disabled swimmers in a pool. Almost all people enjoy competing, because it belongs to our human nature, to our animalistic status.
Jovana Rikalo ; Fine Art Series

Jovana Rikalo ; Fine Art Series

Jovana Rikalo is a fine art and portrait photographer based in Serbia. She loves to capture emotions and feelings, outdoors, in breathtaking scenery. 
Thuis by Susanne Middelberg

Thuis by Susanne Middelberg

“Thuis” is the Dutch translation for “Home”. “Thuis" for me stands literally for “home", but also for the feeling of being at home in my life and in my body.
Saving Orangutans by Alain Schroeder

Saving Orangutans by Alain Schroeder

This series documents the incongruous behavior between man and the environment in Sumatra. On the one hand, humans destroy virgin forests wounding and killing animals, while on the other, they do everything possible to save them.
Delhi … where life never stops 
by Victoria Knobloch & Jagdev Singh

Delhi … where life never stops 
by Victoria Knobloch & Jagdev Singh

Monochrome Photoart is a joint venture of the german photographer Victoria Knobloch and the indian photographer Jagdev Singh. Their work highlights the essence of human existence with the same loving eyes yet individualy different.
Portraits by Justina Soulas

Portraits by Justina Soulas

The pictures that I make are my way to travel to the past. I make these pictures to reconnect with who I was. With a slower pace. With the colors of yesterday. With my childhood and with those games.
Iceland by Alvaro Tejero

Iceland by Alvaro Tejero

Iceland, a paradise for photographers and lovers of nature and landscape. A unique and wonderful country. For those of us who live in Europe it is fortunate to have such a relatively close territory.
Urban sprawl, emptiness by Emmanuel Monzon

Urban sprawl, emptiness by Emmanuel Monzon

This project was selected and published in our print edition 19. Deserts of the American West and their poetic and chaotic processions of motorway interchanges, cities without centers, residential zones without inhabitants.
Portraits with Wet Plate Collodion by Paul Alsop & Luke White

Portraits with Wet Plate Collodion by Paul Alsop & Luke White

Wet Plate Collodion is a historic photographic process that was pioneered and used in the In the mid to late 1800's by an English photographer called Frederick Scott Archer.
Being a child in a mundari camp by Elena Molina

Being a child in a mundari camp by Elena Molina

This project was selected and published in our print edition 19. Being a child in a Mundari camp is synonymous with working tirelessly from dawn to dusk. From their earliest age, they actively participate in the care of their livestock
Joxe Inazio Kuesta ; Just a simple glance trapped in an image?

Joxe Inazio Kuesta ; Just a simple glance trapped in an image?

This reality can be a landscape for some, a portrait for others, a building for others, etc. ... In my case, the type of photography I do is street photography and documentary, and the main goal of almost all of them is the human being, and more specifically their glances.

Trending Stories

Timo Heiny ; My Africa

Timo Heiny ; My Africa

He felt immediately in love with this "paradise which respired greatness and freedom", as Tanja Blixen described in her poetic souvenirs in "Out of Africa".
Night Photography: Finding your way in the dark

Night Photography: Finding your way in the dark

Night Photography: Finding your way in the dark documents a Full Moon Night Photography Workshop in the Big Bend region of West Texas led by photographers Scott Martin and Lance Keimig.
Vegetable Peddler by Yoshitaka Masuda

Vegetable Peddler by Yoshitaka Masuda

In Japan, baby boomers continue to grow older, and the population 75 years or older has grown to be 13.3% of the total population. 6.1% of these women and 2.7% of these men cannot go out shopping or ask a relative living elsewhere to assist them.
B&W : 40 days of high and low tides by Ekaterina Vasilyeva

B&W : 40 days of high and low tides by Ekaterina Vasilyeva

It happened that exactly the place of the last 40 days of my residence in UK became a small town at the North Sea coast Herne Bay.
Behind the obstacles by Vladimir Tereshkov

Behind the obstacles by Vladimir Tereshkov

Iranian hip-hop culture traces back to 1990s. Orinally rap artists were aimed at politics and social life. Pretty soon it resulted in stern measures and the following government control. Today anyone bringing the politics in their texts lives outsie Iran. 
Isolated with Covid 19 by Anirban Mandal

Isolated with Covid 19 by Anirban Mandal

I was diagnosed positive with Covid 19 along with symptoms of headache, complete loss of smell, coughing and a lot of tiredness on May 2nd 2021. Life changed somewhat and I shifted myself to an isolated stay in the apartment in Newtown, Kolkata.
Street Photography; Abyssurbs by Daniel Agra

Street Photography; Abyssurbs by Daniel Agra

Reasonably big territory, densely occupied by living, sentient beings and crowded architecture that humans build their lives around, according to a social and economic structure, as well as their cultural activity.
Watchout the inside by Benjamin Scharf

Watchout the inside by Benjamin Scharf

What does the issue of flight and equal rights have to do with a tomato crate? How do you reconcile drops of water with exclusion? Can the ease of children playing on the beach be a call for the future? Can not every moment influence or change our lives.
Interpretation of Dreams by Elena Chernyshova

Interpretation of Dreams by Elena Chernyshova

This series started as an illustration or, more certainly, a screenplay of my friend's dreams. We first met after her return from the US. She had a big dream to make films, so she went there to make it come true.
Emre Kuheylan – Founder & director of international kontinent photography awards

Emre Kuheylan – Founder & director of international kontinent photography awards

Kontinent Awards is an annual international photography competition. It became one of the most important events in the world of photography.
Documentary photographer; Hazaribagh by Kosuke Ryujin

Documentary photographer; Hazaribagh by Kosuke Ryujin

Hazaribagh in Bangladesh isone of the most polluted places in the world. The city, situated in the southwest of Dhaka, is an industrial area that flourished as a result of its leather industry which dates back to the pre-independence East Pakistan era.
Quotidian Life by Daniel Castonguay

Quotidian Life by Daniel Castonguay

Quotidian Life “ Series “ Living in a great city, I was naturally driven to street photography and depicting the quotidian life in its simplest form. I admit being very audacious not necessarily following the rules surrounding this type of photography in the pure sense of its definition.

Other Stories

stay in touch
Join our mailing list and we'll keep you up to date with all the latest stories, opportunities, calls and more.
We use Sendinblue as our marketing platform. By Clicking below to submit this form, you acknowledge that the information you provided will be transferred to Sendinblue for processing in accordance with their terms of use
We’d love to
Thank you for subscribing!
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted.
- Between 10/30 images of your best images, in case your project contains a greater number of images which are part of the same indivisible body of work will also be accepted. You must send the images in jpg format to 1200px and 72dpi and quality 9. (No borders or watermarks)
- A short biography along with your photograph. (It must be written in the third person)
- Title and full text of the project with a minimum length of 300 words. (Texts with lesser number of words will not be accepted)
This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Contact
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted. This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation.
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Get in Touch
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.