APOGEE
In September of 2007, I volunteered for a building trip in Lilongwe, Malawi, with Habitat for Humanity. Although I brought a camera, it was my original intention to leave photography behind so I could commit my complete attention to the needs of the program.
As a symbol of our appreciation for the hospitality and help we received, our team wanted to offer a small token of our respect to the local community. As part of this offering, I shot a series of pictures of the various people who shared our time working with Habitat. In a community where few people have mirrors, let alone cameras, it was taken as a sign of great respect to have one's portrait taken. This was a stark difference from our image conscious western culture.
The experience motivated me to continue taking pictures during my down time, on lunch breaks or walking between sites, focusing on portraits of the carpenters and laborers that worked with us everyday to complete the three homes we had started. The following are images from my experience in Malawi, including the ever-present children that came each day to watch the "nzungus" work.
As a symbol of our appreciation for the hospitality and help we received, our team wanted to offer a small token of our respect to the local community. As part of this offering, I shot a series of pictures of the various people who shared our time working with Habitat. In a community where few people have mirrors, let alone cameras, it was taken as a sign of great respect to have one's portrait taken. This was a stark difference from our image conscious western culture.
The experience motivated me to continue taking pictures during my down time, on lunch breaks or walking between sites, focusing on portraits of the carpenters and laborers that worked with us everyday to complete the three homes we had started. The following are images from my experience in Malawi, including the ever-present children that came each day to watch the "nzungus" work.
