"Photography helps people to see." -Berenice Abbott
Earlier this month I wrote a post about storytelling and how a good story always invites you in to participate and moves you to action. A lot of people enjoyed the post and were kind enough to send me some great feedback. If you missed it you can find it here https://bit.ly/2Y9zYl , and as always I would love to hear your thoughts. The picture with this post is one that I took in Ghana of a little kid sitting in front of his home. In the moment I took the picture, I really saw this child and his life. I am not a photographer (I point, shoot and hope for the best), but I fell in love with this picture and the story it told.
Sometime you do not have the words to articulate the joy, pain, love, hope, or connection that you felt in a singular moment. What happens when you tell your story of service and community without words? You use pictures. And not just your mama’s Polaroids but, images that grab you by the heart and make you sit up to pay attention That make you laugh and make you weep. These images are HOLY.
And because you are moved,you share these images with your friends.
Yesterday I was introduced to a wonderful photographer named Gary Chapman https://garyschapman.com. His photos are beautiful, poignant moments frozen in time. The images are gripping, and powerful and soulful. These images are the TRUTH.
His website says he is “Helping Non-profits, NGO’s & Corporations share their vision through photography” These are images that help us understand what life is like in a refugee camp in Africa or offers a peek into the life of a remote village in Indonesia being serviced by a medical relief team. They are powerful tools for educating donors and potential volunteers that will help them connect with an organization’s work in a more meaningful way.
These pictures and the stories they evoke call you to do something. Maybe after viewing them you will research and learn more about indigenous tribes in Guatemala, plan a volunteer trip to Sri Lanka to help tutor kids or to donate money to help pay school fees for an orphan in Mozambique. I hope you visit the site and view his work. I know you will be moved.
I want to thank Gary for evoking an emotion and connection with communities that are invisible for the majority of the world. Thank you for bearing witness to their triumph and struggles.
Those children are OUR children, their problems are OUR problems and Gary’s gift is a powerful way to help build community and tear down the walls that separates us.