Cherry blossoms of Kakunodate

My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

Japan | Monday, January 14, 2013 | flickr photos

I can't remember life without a camera. As a child I was given one-time-use cameras that had 24 pictures in them. I would cautiously look for my motives, terrified of wasting film. I was ecstatic, ready to capture what was important to me. When I was 16, I went to Spain. My father lent me his digital camera. Again I felt an urgent desire to capture the moment, beauty and life. I would spend 40 minutes on a 20 minute walk, afraid to not see everything or to miss out. The passion grew too deep to be ignored.

I see value in photography as art, but also as something to inspire. I want my pictures to show the aspects of the world far from home. The pictures could show that difference is not scary, it’s incredibly beautiful. I am still young, trying to find my path. I want to find an occupation where I can help strengthen the acceptance of differences between people. The dream is to do it through traveling and photography.

This program will help me believe in my own work and push me forwards towards achieving my goals. Through working with my mentor I would do all I might to learn and gain as much as possible from the experience. This would be a once in a lifetime opportunity for me.