tiradentes photo exhibit, “To Belém” book launch, and film debut


The last big event of the year was a delight. I’ve been working on it since February, and it turned out to be a great way to finish up a full year of book-related events, eleven all told.

This one returned To Belém & Back to its roots, in the colonial, mountain town in Brazil where the journey began. The evening included the opening for a month-long photo exhibition named “Tiradentes: Becos e Berços” (Tiradentes: Alleys & Cradles), including 26 B&W images mostly taken while on morning walks with my black Lab. The images were entirely hand-made, without any digital processing, from negative developing to photo enlarging, in my backyard laundry darkroom that is only dark at night.  [see thumbnails for captions]

For the Mineiro launch of To Belém & Back, I created a 20 minute film “Tiradentes 2 Belém” that bridges the transition from living in Tiradentes to the book’s journey, which debuted in the Cultural Center’s auditorium. Over three dozen people signed the exhibition’s guest book, which was a terrific turnout for a rainy night!

A Q&A followed, with a book signing during which we showed the book’s 4 minute trailer. (Zeno, my black Lab, as usual hogged most of the attention.)

Thanks to so many people who contributed so much and supported all my scattered efforts, including Earthdog Press!

(The event received good media coverage, from the region’s main newspaper in São João, to Tiradentes’s radio station, and also from our regional TV station, which aired an interview with me, in Portuguese, below.)


About ben

Ben Batchelder has traveled some of the world's most remote roads. Nothing in his background, from a degree in Visual & Environmental Studies at Harvard to an MBA from Wharton, adequately prepared him for the experiences. Yet he persists, for through such journeys life unfolds. Having published four books that map the inner and exterior geographies of meaningful travel, he is a mountain man in Minas Gerais, Brazil who comes down to the sea at Miami Beach, Florida. His second travel yarn, To Belém & Back, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. For more, visit www.benbatchelder.com.

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