First Journal

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Worldwide | Friday, August 13, 2010 | 10 photos

My name is Kathryn Cooke, I live in Brisbane and I’m in my second year of a Bachelor of Journalism at UQ. I’d love to win this competition because my father got me a National Geographic subscription in high school and I read the articles and say, ‘I wish I could do that’. To travel, take amazing field photos of local people and their customs and learn the intricacies of their cultures has been my dream job for years. I’m a travel nut because I’ve grown up in a family who loves to explore different corners of the world. My grandparents worked for the Leprosy mission (1986) in Bhutan and have some amazing photos but I would love to see it all for myself, especially the differences and similarities.

Although I’m not a professional photographer, I have a thirst to discover my potential in this area. I’ve travelled to Asia, Europe and New Zealand, and I always come home with more photos than people care to sit through. Ever since I was 18months old I’ve been travelling, and ever since I was old enough to work, I’ve gone somewhere exciting most years and it’s really helped me to be more aware of myself as a person. I love going to areas that aren’t your ‘typical’ tourist destinations, which are off the ‘beaten track’. I find the locals are more open in their culture in such areas and it fascinates me. If I win this scholarship I hope to gain not only priceless hands-on mentoring from one of National Geographic’s own, Jason Edwards, but also get a head start in what I’m hoping will be a long career in photojournalism. My highest aspirations for my future would be to love my job and be able to travel anywhere with it.

ps: I put this in a blog also because I thought we were meant to, as well as my photos and captions. Not sure which is right, so I'm doing both.