"I shoot almost everything that goes on in the neighborhood," said Hernandez, whose photographs of the Mount Pleasant community recently went on display at the Mount Pleasant Library. "I sort of became the neighborhood photographer."

The Photography exhibit, entitled "Portrait of a Neighborhood," continues through Aug. 3 at the library at 16th and Lamont streets in Northwest Washington.

While the exhibit features people and events the D.C. native has photographed in the Mount Pleasant area since he moved there nine years ago, Hernanadez’s portfolio proves him much more accomplished at his art than simply being the unassuming "neighborhood photographer."

Hernandez has made photography his profession for 15 years. Since teach he basics in high school, his photographic journeys have taken him across the street. His photographs of traditional Kente weavers in Ghana, West Africa, will be included in an upcoming children’s book, "Kwekou, the Wearver"s Son," to be published by Open Hand Publishing. The D.C. Photographer, who is Afro_Cuban descent, also was recently among exhibitors in a major show in Havana, Cuba, called" Entre Cubanos (Among Cubans)."

Local photography buffs may recognize some of Hernandez’s work from other exhibits throughout the District. His photographs also have been display in Wilmington, Del., and Springfield, Mass.

Over the years, Hernandez has worked with several children programs in the District, including one at the Capital Children’s Museum that help teach children about photography. During a three-year period, he and the children documented the H Street corridor, "sort of tracing the history of the neighborhood," Hernandez said.

He was also a project director for shooting Back a nationally known community photography project designed to give children in at-risk neighborhoods exposure to photography. Hernandez took his experience from Shoot Back and became the director of the photography program at Bancroft Elementary School in Mount Pleasant. While living in other local neighborhoods, Hernandez helped document the Capitol Hill area and Alexandria, Va., neighborhoods in photographs.

As photographers, Hernandez has long been in a position to document people and events in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood.

"The exhibit includes photographs from 1989 to last Saturday," he said.

"The diversity in this community has always appealed to me, and since this is my neighborhood, I knew I wanted to present a balanced picture through my photography.

"Although there have been some major negative events in this area, Mount Pleasant has a lot to celebrate," he added.

Copyright 1998, The Common Denominator