After completing my review and reflection of the projects i completed in September looking at both documentary photography and tableaux images, i have decided that i really enjoyed the documenting side of photography and would like to continue this type of photography in my personal investigation. I have been inspired by charity work and a project i will be taking part in africa on an aid trip. The images below are just a few of the images which i found inspired me too want to take similar images over there, however i am going to link it to a wider story and make it specific to the locals and community where i am going.
There are a variety of styles of images below and i would like to keep my options open in this project to capture a variety of images and look at how documentary photography can come in lots of different styles. One of my biggest inspirations is photojournalist Steve McCurry, as i love the intense vibrant coloured portraits that he captures. Although i think it’d be a challenge i definitely want to attempt to capture these story telling portraits.
My personal investigation is going to be based around environmental photography as well as photojournalism. On 27th-13th of November i am taking part in an Africa aid trip to Burkina Faso with a non government charitable organisation, linked with freedom church. The community over there is lively and energetic even though it is in the top five poorest countries in the world. In my photography i want to document the local communities lives focusing on third world countries issues, focusing on truthful portraits and environmental images of the communities daily life, jobs, family etc. Therefore the main focus of the story i am trying to tell through my photographs will be the community, linking into family and looking at similar family styled photographers and how community to them is much closer in their rural villages then it is in our big cities in the modern world where people tend to stick to the blood related families. I would also like to link into it the story of whether chariable organisation really help these communities or if they just disrupt their local way and try to modernise what shouldn’t be because it has a negative impact.
Burkina Faso Project Info
The Burkina Faso charity project started back in 1999 when Pasteur of Freedom church jersey, met Samuel the Pastor of Temple Elim, Burkina Faso at bible college. The friendship that grew between these individuals has been long lasting and in 2007 the project which linked jersey with Burkina Faso was started. A team has gone out to Africa every year since building toilet blocks, primary school classrooms, a pharmacy and a playground. The impact that this small based charity has made is incredible and nearly 500 of the local children attend primary school. This year the team return to Burkina Faso and i am extremely excited to be one of the twelve members which will be going out there this year to build a nursery. I’m extremely excited to help reduce poverty and illness in the area as well as experience their way of life but also document the community and share some of the locals stories of their past and what family and community really means to them.
Linking to previous work i have done envolving family and looking at family archives and how they tell a story of the past. i have spoken to previous team members who have gathered images of the project in Burkina over the past 8 years. These can now be seen as archival images and i think it is important to know the background of where am going and what to expect to be photographing. Therefore i have also done background research on the country to get a general knowledge of the location and areas history.
