Travel Photography Scholarship 2012

My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited - Lewis and Harris, Scotland

United Kingdom | Sunday, January 13, 2013 | 5 photos

I am a Brit living in the USA, enjoying daily stumbling blocks of learning a new way of life.

Why should be chosen? Because I am not a great photographer.

I know that.

I am not a great photographer… yet.

I bought my DSLR second hand from a photographer friend about 18 months ago. I've played with it almost every day. At first it was a hobby I embarked on alone while I waited for my Green Card to the USA - my first foray into 'real photography'.

I'm entirely self-taught. I try to take everything in manual now: Snapshots, landscapes, close-ups. Everything. I need to improve my skills, but also to learn to get 'in there' and capture it all. Raw photos, raw emotion.

I traveled all over Europe with disposable cameras, point and shoots, cell phones. I loved snapping unusual things that probably seem usual to others.

What I love about traveling is the naive, dumbstruck feeling of being in a strange new world. It's like being a three year old all over again: You don't understand the language, the customs, the social norms.

Things that are everyday to locals are new and fascinating to me. I study journalism - telling peoples' stories in words.

But I have never been to Asia, and never been abroad with my old DSLR. I would relish the opportunity, truly, to stretch my new skills, to test my talent. To take those next steps, literally and figuratively. To tell people's stories in pictures.