Please check out the following wonderful article about our very own Fr. Charles Cherry. The text of the article is included below. Photos can be viewed by clicking on the link.

Great work, Charles!
http://www.wahpetondailynews.com/articles/2010/03/29/news/doc4bb0cded0f948263447883.txt

‘An advanced amateur’

by Jennifer Johnson

Daily NewsPublished/Last Modified on Monday, March 29, 2010 11:09 AM CDT

Local galleries have never featured the photographic work of Charles Cherry. None of his photos can be found online, and not once has he even thought to enter any contests. That's due to the Wahpeton resident's low-key approach to his photographs, many of which cover several trips he's made to Guatemala over the years.

"I don't promote myself as a photographer, I just love to take pictures," said Cherry, 75.

Referring to himself as "an advanced amateur," Cherry has documented two trips he's made to the Central American country through church mission trips and plans to make a third this summer. His job there is twofold: he is a chaplain and a basic translator for the medical team. Although the official language of the country is Spanish, 70 percent of population instead uses their native dialect. Twenty of the dialects are Mayan, he said, and in some cases a second translator is required.

In contrast to his communicative role, Cherry's photos capture moments that don't require deciphering. Vivid landscapes and bright colors define his view of Guatemala, and the natives frequently profiled in his photographs are traveling through the rhythm of their daily life. Caught in various stages of emotion - surprise, consternation, somber reflection - Cherry has taken what we imagine in our mind's eye of humanity and framed it on paper.

Although most of his subjects don't even realize they're being photographed - an intentional move by Cherry, who hates posed pictures - he has no intention of exploiting them.

"I believe a good photographer captures the meaning of life, especially when the photograph is a vignette of human life," he said. "The picture becomes a narrative in the mind of the viewer."

An example of this can be found in a photo of a young Guatemalan boy, leaning thoughtfully against a large rock pile on land 11,000 feet above sea level. The rolling hills behind him hold native crops such as corn and beans, and he's obviously lost "in his own little world" but seems to be gazing directly at the camera, said Cherry. But in fact, Cherry was stationed 100 yards away."I wasn't trying to be furtive," he said. "He didn’t even see me.

"The photo was the subject of a recent writing assignment for his students at North Dakota State University's TRIO department, where Cherry used this photo and others to spark creativity. Although the moniker abbreviates nothing, TRIO programs provide federally-funded educational opportunity outreach designed to motivate and support college kids from disadvantaged backgrounds. Cherry secured a teaching position at the department 22 years ago, holding sessions with English as a Second Language students who need study skills and reading improvement. He also tutors individual students on writing, classical and modern languages, history and religion.

Cherry arrived in Wahpeton on Dec. 2, 1985, after he was plucked from his native state of North Carolina and chosen to be a clergyman at Trinity Episcopal Church. At one point, he was appointed editor of the state Episcopal newspaper and was often required to take photos.

He stayed at the Wahpeton church a brief time before he accepted his position at NDSU, and several years later married his wife, Shirley Hunkins.

"The only two things that bring a man to North Dakota are a job or a woman," said Cherry, who still speaks in a Southern drawl. "In my case, it was both."

Despite his exotic travels, Cherry is inspired to take photos every time he walks out of his house. Although he doesn't intend to show his photography in a gallery anytime soon, he will head back to Guatemala in July."Maybe some more responsible individual will encourage me to do something with (the photos), but I don't have any plans at the moment," he said.