My Scholarship entry - A local encounter that changed my life

lindsaysimo09 — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 22:33:10 GMT

As the sunlight gleamed across the water of the rice terraces and a cool breeze hit my neck, tears slid down my face as I sat dangling my feet off of the bungalow porch. I stared at the luminous mountains in front of me. The buffalo that was hard at work with his farmer plowing the rice terrace went about following its orders. I came to Sapa expecting the incredible scenery but it was hard to expect its charm to tell tales of darkness.

A few day before, I had trekked around the steep and muddy mountains with a cheerful Hmong girl named Chi. She wore an indigo embroidered outfit. A bond formed as we shared life stories, loss and dreams. We laughed and joked as friends do. Chi invited me to trek off the beaten path to visit her family. The trek was tough and we made our way slowly along the thin rims of the green, lush rice paddies until we arrived.

The stick house was situated next to the paddies. It was dark inside except for the tiny glimmer of a small camp fire on the dirt floor where Chi’s skinny mother sat cooking rice. She didn’t speak english but her crooked smile told me I was welcome. A flock of yellow chicks ran through the house.

A teary-eyed Chi told me that she grew up with many siblings, eating only rice and cabbage. When there was a rice famine, they survived on cornflour and water. A larger worry involving Chinese men stealing women from Hmong families in order to sell them was ever present. Chi told me that her sister had been taken. I was shocked to see this bubbly girl cry and it broke my heart. She said that she rarely cries, wiped her tears and smiled again.

This is what I thought about as I watched the farmer smile at me. I realised I was crying because the biggest thing that Chi and I shared in common was that we are only human. Despite our cultural differences, there was no difference in the emotions we felt. Chi taught me that if nothing else, we all deserve happiness. Good spirits allow the villages of Sapa to shine through the dark.

Photos: My Photo scholarship 2011 entry

lindsaysimo09 — Fri, 4 Nov 2011 09:22:00 GMT

It all began back in 2007 when I fell head over heels in love with travel during my first trip overseas to Australia. I was experiencing the most incredible places that were indescribable to my friends and family in the United States. I used my camera lens to document the world as I was viewing it through my eyes. I wanted nothing more than my family to be there experiencing these marvels with me. Travelling opens my eyes to a new frame or way of viewing things. I will look at my subject and frame it in the way in which I deem important to me, what I am feeling that exact moment. I long in that moment to capture exactly how I feel and permanently document the view that deeply grabbed my full attention. There is nothing more rewarding than taking a solo trip to a foreign land, as I did through Vietnam this year, with just my camera as my companion. Photography to me is exploration and the discovery of people and places, an experience separate from travel itself. It is a time capsule, allowing me to record the most intimate moments. Travel and photography are my passion. They are what inspires me and drives me to become who I am today. My photos are kept as authentic as possible. I do not use too much manipulation, just the basics when needed. After all, I am recording the world as I see it in a particular space and time. Photography makes me feel at one with the beauty of the world that I discovered. My dream is to use my skills and become a travel photographer or photojournalist along with working for a humanitarian organisation. I hope that my skills can connect the subject that I document to the world, allowing them to experience what I experienced at the time of taking the photo. I am searching for every opportunity that will help me accomplish this dream.

Faces of Vietnam

My Scholarship entry - A local encounter that changed my life

Photos: My Photo scholarship 2011 entry