The Ark

My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

Laos | Tuesday, November 27, 2012 | 5 photos

Like my fellow applicants, I have long desired to become a globe-trotting photojournalist.

Specifically, though, I am interested in photographing nations that have suffered widespread trauma. While I do not have the chops for war photography, I wish to document the complex healing process. In recent visits to Bosnia and Laos, I had the opportunity to explore postwar environments and converse with survivors.

My principal interest in the Travel Photography Scholarship is to study with Mr. Edwards. I am naturally drawn to Oman and will jump at the chance to explore the sultanate, but I particularly like that Oman will serve as a training ground for National Geographic-style photojournalism. I would not treat Oman as a vacation destination, but rather as a challenging new environment. I think of this scholarship as a kind of bootcamp, and I am an eager recruit.

I am specifically interested in Mr. Edwards' aesthetic, for two reasons: First, the unflinching realism, both beautiful and disturbing (Antarctican ice fields, Tororo District). To learn from his process will drastically improve my work, and make my larger mission that much more possible.