Photo by Lynn Johnson

One of our fabulous Photo Camp instructors – photographer Lynn Johnson is working on this amazing project, PLEASE READ!!

Koraput Survivors Project

The attacks came in the night—in Daringbarhi, Koraput, Kandhamal, India—men armed with guns, machetes, fire. First the pastors were targeted, then any Christians who refused to convert back to Hinduism. All fled for their lives. Hundreds of villagers ran into the forest with nothing but their clothes and children, turning only to see their homes in flames. Then, the blur of days without food or water—running at night, hiding from mobs during the day, sleeping in the rain, coiled around their children.

In their native village, these families once prospered: proud of their homes, successful jobs, and access to good education. Now both men and women must work as day laborers, scraping for every grain of rice. Dozens of people share a room the size of a walk-in closet. People grow ill from contaminated water, poor food, no access to medicine, and the stress of living as unwelcome outliers. Nonetheless they cling to each other, knowing their power will come first from their faith, and then from the community they have forged as refugees. Several years have passed and the survivors of the attacks still remember. Mrs. Sumitra Patra, mother of three, will never forget rescuing her children,
“At night when I think of that time, the bed is soaked with tears.”

We are building a new village—one that will be safe for those who have suffered and a model of peace and justice for all. Please help us.

Working in collaboration with Community House Presbyterian Church.

the links:

http://www.facebook.com/HelpKoraputSurvivors

http://www.communityhousepittsburgh.org/Koraput/

National Geographic Photo Camp Haiti / Photo by Ernst Orisme

VisionWorkshops and our partners at National Geographic and Mercy Corps have been trying to make this Photo Camp happen since the devastation of the 2010 earthquake, and it finally came to fruition this year!  Led by National Geographic staffers Susan Poulton and Katel LeDu, and photographers Lynn Johnson and Jon Brack, in a small country riveted with enormous challenges, Photo Camp Haiti was a touching success.

From February 16th – 20th, during Carnaval, 17 students of the 2000 earthquake-effected children of Haiti, learned about self-expression through photography.  These students were participants in Mercy Corps’ 18-month Art Therapy project which supports photography, storytelling, and psychosocial rehabilitation.  For part of the Photo Camp, the youth worked with National Geographic Emerging Explorer Sasha Kramer’s SOIL project, working to improve public health and sanitation in Haiti.

National Geographic Photo Camp Haiti / Photo by Marco Salem Berry Fils

National Geographic Photo Camp Haiti / Photo by Marco Salem Berry Fils

National Geographic Photo Camp Haiti / Photo by Renel Junior Labousse

National Geographic Photo Camp Haiti / Photo by Renel Junior Labousse

National Geographic Photo Camp Haiti / Photo by Insky Pierre-Louis

National Geographic Photo Camp Haiti / Photo by Lynn Johnson (Staff)

For the final show in Port au Prince, participants were asked to present two of their photos in the exhibition: one photo of something they want to change in Haiti and one photo of something they want to celebrate.

Photographer/Mentor Lynn Johnson said of the camp, “Everyone carries an image of Haiti as a blasted-out and depressing place.  During this camp, the kids used photography to look without blinking at the difficulties of their country, and they addressed it and acknowledged it.  They used the cameras and the community that we created as tools in their exploration.”

National Geographic Photo Camp Haiti / Photo by Samuel Lamery

National Geographic Photo Camp Haiti / Photo by Jackson Hector

National Geographic Photo Camp Haiti / Photo by Christelle Chery

National Geographic Photo Camp Haiti / Photo by Susan Poulton (Staff)

National Geographic Photo Camp Haiti / Photo by Lynn Johnson (Staff)

National Geographic Photo Camp Haiti / Photo by Jon Brack (Staff)

National Geographic Photo Camp Haiti / Photo by Jon Brack (Staff)

National Geographic Photo Camp Haiti / Photo by Magdaline Clermont

National Geographic Photo Camp Doha / Photo by Mansour Al Mansouri

Portraits are such an integral part of story-telling.  Human beings are naturally drawn to portraits where they can regard another human through eye contact, or portraits that illustrate the environment in which a person lives.  Having our students make portraits of themselves, each other, and people they encounter in the environments they experience during a Photo Camp is one of the most revealing teaching tools we can utilize.  The process of taking your own portrait can be therapeutic and empowering as you are forced to truthfully regard yourself, inside and out.  The process of taking a photo of another person is a great lesson in social interaction as you must compassionately engage with that person and treat them with respect as you humbly request to make their portrait.  Both experiences require student and professional photographers alike to set aside ego and become fully aware of their surroundings.  Here are some great examples of the portraits made during Photo Camp Doha.

National Geographic Photo Camp Doha / Photo by Daniella Mieko Nisimura

One of the things I really loved was the moment when the girls of Brazil and Qatar are together on the bus, they sing, dance, and laugh.  After this trip pictures became a part of my life, everything is a picture.  Now memories will not be forgotten.

- Brenda Camila Reck de Olivera

National Geographic Photo Camp Doha / Photo by Allan Dos Santos Silva

National Geographic Photo Camp Doha / Photo by Mariane Matschinske De Almeida

National Geographic Photo Camp Doha / Photo by Khalid Al Ibrahim

National Geographic Photo Camp Doha / Photo by Ghada Al Kuwari

All of us Brazilian girls thought that the Qatari girls would be quiet, not as cheerful as we are.  We finally discovered that they are cheerful like us, excited like we are, laughing as we are, talking too much , julst like we do.  The difference between our culture, that seemed to be enormous, now is just tiny.

- Priscila Bellini Carmona

National Geographic Photo Camp Doha / Photo by Caio Cesar Mateus Ferreira

National Geographic Photo Camp Doha / Photo by Debora Mayumi Komukai

National Geographic Photo Camp Doha / Photo by Alexandre Koscianski Vidal

National Geographic Photo Camp Doha / Photo by Alessandra Rodrigues Lemos A. Carvalho

National Geographic Photo Camp Doha / Photo by Abdul Rahmane Ajjawi

National Geographic Photo Camp Doha / Photo by Turki Al Rajahi

Despite Qatar being a rich country with many foreigners, we still look after our culture, heritage, and religion.  I don’t want Qataris to be ashamed of who they really are.

- Shahad Fakhrod & Alia Al Khater

Congratulations to Bashmah Al-Mesad (Kuwait), Tomas Fuentes-Afflick (California), Erica Haasen Knox (Illinois), Nasser Marzook (Qatar), Molly Struble (Arizona) and Hala Kamil Zahr (Lebanon) with the assistance of National Geographic Photo Camp mentors.

I was trying to dig into what I jokingly call my “calling the elephant in the room an elephant” theme, being “Women” in a country which does not represent women on photo or film easily. I did a fashion show for the one morning I had with the girls at the hotel. They brought out their makeup, one Brazilian girl (featured in this photograph) named Kharime, ran upstairs to get her fancy high heels – with immediate and resounding approval from the Qatari girls. She started to model her shoes off, and then I asked “Can we do that with an Abaya?” and one of the Qatari girls, Anood, immediately volunteered hers and gave it to Kharime to wear. Kharime then struggled on how to walk around with 5 inch heels and a lot of fabric around her, and the girls – both Brazilian and Qatari – were giving her advice and wrapping the sheila (the headscarf) around her head properly, and the whole thing turned into a big team effort to make Kharime look as Qatari as possible, and essentially, represent them on this photoshoot. The Qatari girls kept expressing over and over again, “Kharime! You look so Qatari! You could be Qatari!” Everyone loved the shoot, thought it was fun, and it was the most teamwork I’d seen from my team, and essentially in the end it was largely a work of culture – bridging two ideals of beauty into one.

National Geographic staffer and Doha mentor/instructor, Sadie Quarrier, writes of the above image:

This image is mysterious and powerful, graphically strong and nicely composed.  Light perfectly highlights just a hint of the woman’s face, hand and ankles. The hint of a pool, the light and shadows playing across the frame, and the interesting architecture behind her all make for a simple yet arresting image.

More images from the female students on Photo Camp Doha:

At the end of January, twenty-two high school students from the Qatar Foundation International-supported Arabic language and culture programs in Sao Paulo and Curitiba, Brazil, run by BibliASPA, were paired with students from the Qatar Leadership Academy and Qatar Academy on an educational exploration of Doha, Qatar.

National Geographic Photo Camp partnered with QFI to teach digital storytelling during this 10-day exchange trip.  Photo Camp and QFI staff mentored the students to document their experience in photos, videos, and journal entries and we will be sharing those findings here over the next week.

Click to play through images.

We were excited to have Photo Camp – Doha, Lead Instructor and National Geographic photographer Tyrone Turner on board as this was his first Photo Camp experience.  Below he shares his favorite images and critiques.

A strong moment, not only of the sunset and Doha in the background, but having an interesting figure in the foreground to create a relationship between the elements.

National Geographic Photo Camp Doha / Photo by Raul Montecinos Figueiredo

When I saw that shot by Raul Montecinos of the three shadows on the broken-down wall and the Qatari girl walking through, I was really happy with the shot. When Raul said that he was making a composition of the three shadows and then saw the girl walking into the frame and waited to make the picture, well, I was just floored. It takes a lot of experience to develop a sense of anticipation in photography, that you can see what is going on in the frame and you can choose the moments to press the shutter. Raul was making images at this point, and not just taking pictures.

It is a beautiful frame, using the window of the boat and catching a sense of the sea.

Wonderful framing of the city with the ornate doorway of the mosque.

A beautiful moment catching the pigeon mid-flight- with the lines of the building adding to the composition.

Wonderful seeing here- using the reflectiveness of the walkway to see the minaret of the mosque and the figure of a person in traditional garb.

National Geographic Photo Camp Doha / Photo by Turki Al Jaser

I love the clean composition and the moment where he caught the swinging climber in just the right moment.

National Geographic Photo Camp Doha / Photo by Qais Al Kharusi

I like the simple composition, and the blue background, how we focus right on the subject- and it was right in our theme of people and nature.