Thanks for the kind words.
I haven't been doing much photography at all over the last few years purely because I just can't afford the film and darkroom set-up costs. I would like to get a digital set-up, but again I don't have the ready cash, plus B&W is my preferred medium and digital still doesn't really cut it monochrome-wise (well, not in my opinion anyway). At very least I need to get another film scanner.
I've been tossing around the idea of trying to make even just a bit of income on the side with photojournalist-esq images. I don't really have the skill, knowledge (I only use available light and have no real idea how to use a flash), or desire to do full-on commercial photography. Just have to wait and see, but having some positive feedback is certainly encouraging. Cheers.
dozer wrote:Those are some really nice shots man. The second one in Cambodia of the smiling kids is great. Do you care to share a bit more how you ended up working for some NGOs in that part of the world? Just curious, it'd be something I'd love to do too.
I was pretty lucky how it all came about. When I was living in Korea I used to go everywhere with at least one camera. A friend of mine there knew of a Korean medical team that regularly visit Cambodia. Turns out they were hoping to have someone document the work they were doing for promotional/fundraising purposes and he gave them my name. That trip was kind of pivotal for me because that experience gave me connections which led to the other trips and also helped me improve photographically (I told myself that I had to shoot at least 10 rolls a day. That made for excellent practice! Although that is another reason to go digital; I would spend about a grand each trip just on film and development).
So basically I stumbled upon the whole thing. I'm not really sure how you would go about instigating it yourself, but my suggestion would be to either a) think of a people group that interest you and/or b) a focus that you have interest or experience with, beit clean water resources, education, farming training, etc., and start searching the web for NGOs that are out in the field. I found that people were often very willing to have someone join their ranks even for a short period of time, especially if you have something tangible to offer them and are willing to get your hands dirty and put the needs of others above your own.
You may find that a lot of NGOs out there are related to one religious group or another. I don't have a problem with them so long as their purpose is to truly serve the community where they are working and not just to serve an agenda. In fact, non-religious groups can often serve the program before the people, too.
I must say, though, that these have been some of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. My second trip to Cambodia was a well digging project that I helped to organise with a connection I made there during my first trip. It just blew me away that we were able to provide fresh water to 12 rural communities. Being a part of something like that just blew me away.
A highly recommended, life changing experience.
