(ABOVE)  A small cemetery dedicated to the Japanese Americans who volunteered to join the fight for Europe in WWII. Nisei, from all the camps who volunteered formed the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and is one of the most highly decorated combat teams in the history of the US Army. It was nicknamed the ‘Purple Heart Battalion.’ Combat team member Pvt. 1st Class Kiyoshi Muranaga was killed in fighting near Suvereto, Italy on June 26, 1944. He was posthumously award the Medal of Honor in June 2000. Read more about Pvt. Muranaga and his valor.

BRIEF:

1. DECEMBER 7, 1941: The Imperial Japanese Navy attacks and bombs the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor Oahu, Hawaii.
2. DECEMBER 8, 1941: The United States declares war on the Empire of Japan, leading entry into World War II.
3. DECEMBER 11, 1941: The United States declares war on Germany and Italy.
4. EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066 is signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt February 19, 1942. Transcript of Executive Order 9066
5. ONE-HUNDRED & TEN THOUSAND men, woman and children of Japanese heritage living on the US Pacific Coast are forced from homes and to walk away from businesses and into “War Relocation Camps.”
6. TWO-THIRDS OF INTERNEES are in fact, American Citizens.
   
7. TEN INTERNMENT CAMPS are overseen by the War Relocation Authority.
8. JUNE 29, 1942: Construction begins on the Granada War Relocation Center. It will encompass 16 square miles.
9. OVER SEVENTY-FIVE HUNDRED ‘relocated’ men, women and children are interred at Camp Amache by mid-October 1942.
   
10. OCTOBER 15, 1944: The last internees leave Camp Amache.

The following black and white photographs have been researched through the US National Archives along with their original caption information. The accompanying color photographs were taken on a recent trip to the lands that were once the forced home to the subjects occupying these archived images.

(LEFT) Granada Relocation Center, Amache, Colorado. Two little girls are shown descending from one of the trucks on arrival at the Granada station where they will entrain for the west coast. Scenes at the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad depot, Granada, Colorado, as 170 evacuees from the Amache Center entrain for their former homes in California, October 6, 1945. Four special coaches and one Pullman, reserved for the aged, invalids and mothers with small infants, were provided for the returnees. In addition to center departees, passengers on the special included servicemen on furlough and other family members, already located, who returned to help relatives pack, then accompanied them back to California. Two more special trains are scheduled for the Amache Center, the last special coaches on October 15, when the remaining residents (about 85) will start westward for Sacramento and nearby points. This will mark the closing date of the Granada Project, the first of the War Relocation Authority centers to be closed.

(RIGHT) Granada Relocation Center, Amache, Colorado. Center residents arrive by truck from Amache to board the trains for California or other sections of the country in which they have decided to relocate. A total of nearly 15,000 evacuees were inducted into the Granada Project, Amache, Colorado, since August 27, 1942, when the first group arrived from the Merced Assembly Center to prepare the camp for those to follow. The Relocation Center, as its name implies, was a temporary residence for those of Japanese ancestry who were transferred from their homes along the west coast under a war emergency measure of 1942. Many of the evacuees during the past three years were able to resettle and find new homes in the Middle West and eastern states. From September 1, 1945, to the closing date of October 15, 3,105 persons have gone back to their former homes or have relocated elsewhere. The last to leave the center a group of 126, left on two special coaches for Sacramento and nearby towns. At the peak of its population, Amache had 7,567 residents. 412 births were recorded and 107 deaths during the three years of its existence.

(LEFT) The remaining shell of what was once a storage facility for the camp co-op store. The crumbling concrete is made worse by the countless deep craters created by pistol and rifle rounds. Many spent shell casings where found within range of the structure.

(RIGHT) Bricks lay scattered along the cracked foundation of Camp Amache High School. The school for interned Japanese American teenagers caused national controversy only when Americans learned of the construction costs: $301,000.00

(LEFT) Overlooking the Amache Relocation Center near Granada, Colorado. In the foreground is a typical barracks unit consisting of 12 six room apartment barracks buildings, a recreation hall, laundry and bathhouse, and the mess hall. The center is made up of 30 such blocks, complemented by hospital buildings, administrative office buildings, living quarters, general warehouse structures and Military Police quarters.

(RIGHT) The Ninomiya family in their barracks room at the Amache Center. The mother’s handiwork in preparing drapes, fashioning furniture out of scrap material, plus the boys’ ingenuity in preparing double deck bunks have made this bare brick floored barracks room a fairly comfortable duration home. Tosh Ninomiya left, is charged with the responsibility of documenting the history of the Amache Center.

(ABOVE) Remains of an entryway garden and koi pond at Camp Amache. Entryway gardens were viewed with pride and the small bridge would have been the centerpiece for the garden that once surrounded it. Smooth stones from the Arkansas River outline the long empty pond.

(LEFT) Little Peggy and Bobby Miyake won’t have a Christmas tree in their barracks room home at the Granada Relocation Center. There just weren’t any trees. But Christmas is still Santa Claus to them, as mother unwraps early gifts, among them, a picture of their father, Bill Miyaki, who is a soldier in the Army of the United States. The family was evacuated from the west coast along with all other persons of Japanese ancestry.

(RIGHT) The youngest of the Kobayashi family, out for an afternoon sunning with a neighbor.

“All ten [Japanese American internment camps] sites can only be called godforsaken. They were in places where nobody lived before and no one has lived since.” ​- Roger Daniels, leading authority on the Japanese interment.

(ABOVE) A shell of a building (once part of the camp’s co-op) stands in the dense scrub brush near Granada, Colorado.

(LEFT) Henry Inouye, evacuee supervisor of the Granada Relocation Center farm, and a field of onions produced on the center farm.

(RIGHT) Miss Marion Konishi, who made the commencement speech at the Granada Relocation Center High School.

CLICK PHOTOGRAPH FOR LARGER VIEW

(LEFT) A small structure at the entrance to a trash dump which sits just off the grounds of Camp Amache. This view looks north toward the small rise where the US Government built one of the camp’s guard towers.

(RIGHT) The footprints to one of the camp’s guard towers. The photo looks south, past the small blue structure and to the small rise where 560 buildings once housed over 7000 Japanese Americans. The guard towers featured a search light, heavy machine gun and was staffed by U.S. Army Military Police.

(LEFT) Junior High School students at their first social hour, cut loose with a bit of “rug cutting”.

(RIGHT) High school physics class. Harry Williams, instructor at right.

(LEFT) Trumpet section of the Granada High School Band giving out at a center carnival dance.

(RIGHT) Chief Steward Matsumoto of Block 7-H at the Granada Relocation Center dons some red pajamas and a Santa Claus mask to make Christmas real for the children whose barracks room homes have no Christmas trees. They are the children of persons of Japanese ancestry evacuated from the west coast. The gifts, provided by Churches througout the United States for the children of the ten relocation centers, are distributed on Christmas Eve.

Using GPS, Google Maps and original blueprints I believe this to be a barrack in Block 8E. As with all but one structure, only the foundation remains and a row of hand planted landscaping.

FURTHER READING:

1. Amache Building Stock Research and Inventory
2. Japanese American Research
3. Archival Research Catalog: Japanese American Experience during WII
4. Amache.org: Remembering the wrongful imprisonment of Japanese Americans

Cheers,

Nathan W. Armes
Editorial and Commercial Photographer
Denver, Colorado
+1.303.478.8484

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These items have no intrinsic value other than that of pricelessness. These items serve as the tangible and rough outline of my life that doesn’t need hard drive space or need to live in a cloud.

Taking up the most space are letters from my brother, who, 10-years ago last month, was sitting in a godforsaken Kuwaiti desert then weeks later, Baghdad. A U.S. Marine Corps Major at the time, he recently wrote in support of this post and quickly summed up his perspective of the situation:

Hope that folks can understand the context of those letters, at least the ones you have from my perspective.
We knew the Iraqis outnumbered us, fighting on their own turf. We anticipated they would most likely use chemical weapons and the casualty rate would be staggering.
I guess in my mind it felt like a dead man walking, but I had made peace with all that, and for a reason that I cannot explain was OK with the potential outcomes. In the days and fights that came, there was an unexplainable calm amongst the chaos.”

The chaos is easy to explain. We all watched it on CNN as waves of RPG (rocket propelled grenade) and machine gun fire came violently, washing over the extraordinarly outnumbered 1st Battalion 5th Marines (1/5) battling their way into Baghdad and Saddam’s Al Azimiyah Palace.

That “unexplainable calm” is often overlooked by history, overshadowed by the dulling politics of war. That “unexplainable calm” is one of the most imperative aspects of warfare and underlying protocol for survival, but I know my brother too well to explain his words away with the broad and clinical stroke of strategy.

He understood his death was certain. This level of self-awareness is only reached by having faith in something larger and more powerful than self or chaos could ever be and for that my family is forever grateful.

The first letter I received was scribbled on the back of a discarded cardboard MRE (Meals Ready to Eat) box, and written in late February 2003, more than a month until the Marines of 1/5 crossed the Iraqi boarder and into the breach.

Simply noting how surreal it is to receive something like this in the mail is a waste of words. My first thought was not how thankful I was to receive a letter from my brother about to go to war, rather it was a thinly veiled, “Holy shit! On the back of an MRE?”. It was like set dressing in shitty war movies that I used to watch, before experiencing the sheer terror felt every time my mother or father would randomly call during my brother’s service in Iraq.

Movies will never get that feeling right.

*****

These letters have never been published nor read outside the circle of my closest confidants. This post is dedicated to my brother, Colonel Stephen P. Armes, USMC, and to all the Marines who now forever stand on his left and his right.

My brother returned home safely, carrying only memories of war. For many soldiers, sailors and Marines, who still carry those memories, home is never reached but without the support of foundations like Team Red, White & Blue taking the big steps to help connect America’s veterans back to their community.

Though many will never ask, America’s veterans do need and will continue to need our help so please help when and where you can. Many have wounds that are not always visible or will take years to heal and your simple but honest ‘thank you’ can reach deeper than you could ever imagine.

If you would like to recognize a veteran or an organization doing good works please add your note in the comment section.

Click here for more information on Team Red, White & Blue

Cheers,

Nathan W. Armes
Editorial and Commercial Photographer
Denver, Colorado
+1.303.478.8484

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Not included in the rollout? No worries, because your day is coming and it’s actually really near. December 12, 2012 near. Below is a quick guide walking you through the header image update. It’s valuable real estate that can be used very creatively (or not) should you think strategically and chose an image that represents you or your brand.

The story behind my header image is simple but it’s not just a random map. It’s a map of a rural corner of Macon Co., North Carolina – an area of the country where I can trace almost 90% of my family linage dating back almost 200 years. The map reminds me of the family who carved a life from this rugged and mountainous region of the United States and provided me an epic example of solid work ethic.

To everyone else, it’s a map.

Step One: Select representative image and use photo editing software to crop to 1252px x 626px
Step Two: Log onto Twitter and navigate to ‘Edit Profile’

Step Three: Navigate to ‘Change Header’ then ‘Choose Existing Image’

TECHNICAL BRIEF:
Location: Twitter
Needs: Image representative of you or your brand. Photo editing software.
Time Estimate: 5-10 minutes.
Difficulty: Super Easy.

Cheers,

Nathan W. Armes
Editorial and Commercial Photographer
Denver, Colorado
+1.303.478.8484

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Suicide, it may seem like it’s your only choice but think about the loved ones you leave behind.”

Produced and edited to live on the web, the basic strategy was to share the video via the numerous visual social media outlets available to most internet users but also with a heavy presence on YouTube and Facebook. Below is a screen grab documenting the number of comments, likes and shares this particular video has received since being posted on the campaign’s Facebook page, Let It Out.

As of today (Oct. 12, 2012) Allysha’s video has over 403 organic shares, has been ‘liked’ over 970 times and has received over 90 comments.

Thank you Allysha for sharing your story with me and most importantly with so many people that needed to hear your words.

Cheers,

Nathan W. Armes
Editorial and Commercial Photographer
Denver, Colorado
+1.303.478.8484

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But that’s just never going to happen.

Blair, her only surviving son, gave both of his brother’s eulogies before he turned 25. I don’t care who you are. There is nothing fair about that at all she says.

Her boys didn’t want to die. Nobody wants to die, they just didn’t know how to deal with the pain associated with depression and mental illness. We have to talk, talk, talk she repeats.

BJ once told me that she used to cry in the shower so no one would hear the sobbing.

Though her heart will never be the same, she now fights her grief publicly. She fights with words, education and by telling her story to anyone who will listen.

BJ AYERS – JUST LET IT OUT from ARMES PHOTOGRAPHY on Vimeo.

Read more about BJ Ayers and the non-profit organization she helped found.

Cheers,

Nathan W. Armes
Editorial and Commercial Photographer
Denver, Colorado
+1.303.478.8484

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Over the years I’ve learned that enjoyment is rarely purchased and if so, it’s most likely illegal.

That said, it would be melodramatic to account that a recent eBay purchase of a POLAROID EE100 SPECIAL changed my life … but it’s getting close to right.

Sure, as technology improves and file sizes increase the purchase of a 20 or 30 year-old instant film camera – with questionable lens quality and film availability – could be viewed as a mistake, misstep or $20 donation to the eBay ether.

She, ‘the SPECIAL’, is not really special to look at. She’s chunky. She’s kind of awkward and kind of smells like the musty New Jersey basement she was housed before her Colorado delivery.

Purchased during what would become a 36 hour long marathon video production session I quickly forgot that a bid was even made but I’m thankful that it had.

This year has been a year of transition and change. Visually, I was bored and this camera helped me to slow down and enjoy photography as a hobby once again.

This EE100 forced me to focus on why a photograph was being taken in the first place. It even forced me to reevaluate the word ‘take’ in regard to photography. This instant film camera leaves behind not a hard drive full of ones and zeros but a physical artifact that you can hold, touch and pass along to others.

I’ve written about the artifacts photographers leave behind before and still believe that it’s a deeply important factor to calculate when evaluating your own work and why you do it.

Since my own work and career started with a fascination of recording events, launched by the documentation of my own family, I find it fitting and noteworthy that the EE100′s first images – in presumably decades – would be of my family and those artifacts that they have passed along to me.

TECHNICAL BRIEF:
Location: Grandmother’s house, Franklin, NC 2012.
POLAROID EE100 SPECIAL.
Film purchased through THE IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT.
Type 100 Film: POLAROID 100 SEPIA GIAMBARBA EXPIRED.
Film scanned via Canon MP620, cropped to size via PHOTOSHOP.

Cheers,

Nathan W. Armes
Editorial and Commercial Photographer
Denver, Colorado
+1.303.478.8484

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“Life really sucks. It’s still a work in progress and probably always will be,” she says as a reminder to those watching. But the more I get to know Kyla and understand mental illness the more I understand that it’s also an important reminder to herself.

KYLA BAUMFALK – JUST LET IT OUT from ARMES PHOTOGRAPHY on Vimeo.

Cheers,

Nathan W. Armes
Editorial and Commercial Photographer
Denver, Colorado
+1.303.478.8484

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When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776

You can see more of my archive photos here.

Cheers,

Nathan W. Armes
Editorial and Commercial Photographer
Denver, Colorado
+1.303.478.8484

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Their stories are meant to speak to Wyoming youth and young adults about the ramifications of suicide and how it effects those left behind.

ARMES PHOTOGRAPHY worked in conjunction with Denver advertising agency Barnhart Communications on behalf of the Wyoming Department of Health Youth Suicide Prevention Program.

JUSTLETITOUT.ORG TRAILER from Nathan W. Armes on Vimeo.

I would also like to take this opportunity to announce a revamped and refocused ARMES PHOTOGRAPHY. We are still a Colorado-based editorial, commercial and lifestyle media company but now incorporating digital and social media image strategy to our service roster.

Utilizing an expertise in digital and traditional publishing methods, ARMES PHOTOGRAPHY now develops, produces and implements tailored digital and social media image strategies for its clients’ visual communication needs.

The new website outlines the inclusion of digital and traditional image strategy, as well as its foundational photography and video production services, and latest projects.

Photos and videos are becoming increasingly important for organizations and brands to tell their stories, obtain new business and market their products or services, but identifying how, where, when and if to utilize those visuals through digital and traditional resources can often be difficult.

ARMES PHOTOGRAPHY will help clients develop and apply a digital and social media image strategy that both integrates with and enhances its current marketing program.

Over the next few weeks, our website will publish the above mentioned JUST LET IT OUT campaign vignettes along with new projects and case studies.

Thanks to everyone who helped launch our new services and a special thank you to everyone involved in the JUST LET IT OUT campaign.

Cheers,

Nathan W. Armes
Editorial and Commercial Photographer
Denver, Colorado
+1.303.478.8484

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