Madagascar Expedition

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Worldwide | Sunday, October 17, 2010 | 5 photos

This travel photography scholarship represents the synergy of my three biggest passions: immersing myself in new cultures, developing my photography skills, and making a difference by helping to protect endangered wildlife. As a photographer, I strive to capture images that transport people to new places, mentally, emotionally and geographically; such images often compel people to think, learn, and feel, which ultimately inspires action. These 5 photos are from a recent trip to Madagascar (April to July, 2010), where I volunteered with a conservation education organization and spent time traveling around the country.

In Madagascar, it is said that humans have two stomachs, one for rice and one for all other foods; you are truly satiated only when the rice stomach is full. One photo captures a rice farmer’s slow trip in his pirogue through rice paddies. Another photo depicts transportation in the busy capital city of Tana and shows a taxi driver waiting at an intersection. The lemur photo captures a happy, relaxed Eulemur fulvus about to take a nap in a tree, while another photo shows a strong man in the midst of cutting down a tree because it was his only source of income. These two pictures symbolize the age-old conflict between preservation and destruction of the habitat of vulnerable and threatened wildlife. The fifth picture captures a scene as children learn about the importance of preserving the forests by imitating how difficult it is for lemurs to jump longer distances from tree to tree as deforestation continues. In general, I hope that my pictures tell stories that instill an appreciation for the uniqueness of all aspects of life on the planet: humans, plants and animals.