From my backyard to world and back

Photos: My Scholarship entry - A Cathedral in my backyard

sflynn — Tue, 1 Jan 2013 15:54:00 GMT

I received my first camera when I was 16-years-old. I immediately began photographing the salamanders, frogs, and lady slippers in the New Hampshire woods that surrounded my house. I’ve always been curious about my environment, but with a camera in hand I found a new focus to discover things I never knew existed. Over the years photography has helped me experience places on a deeper, more personal level. When I take photographs I want the images to reflect the experience that I’m having in that moment. I feel only in this way the image might provoke a similar response for whoever is viewing it. Consequently, one of my favorite aspects of photography is the sharing process. Although my current audience consists mainly of friends and family, I love returning from a trip, be it New Zealand or my own backyard, and sharing the awe I felt discovering something new. This is what drives my photography and inspires me to take better photos. I feel the World Nomads scholarship would give me the opportunity to develop and hone my photography to bring it to the next level—hopefully one day as a professional.

My Scholarship entry - Through Local Eyes

sflynn — Tue, 9 Oct 2012 04:57:00 GMT

I was selected to represent AustraLearn study abroad programs as their flip cam video blogger while studying abroad at the University of Otago in NZ. I was inspired to make this film because I am an ardent supporter of learning by doing, and leaving large lecture halls and getting your hands dirty in the field. I recently graduated from American University with a BS in biology. I found I learned the most in the time I spent outside the classroom, and filmmaking has been a very useful tool for me in this learning process. I traveled to the Galapagos to study environmental education on the islands, as well as filming several webisodes on the schools there. I also took a backpack documentary course in which I followed a homeless man as he made his way through a DC health and rehabilitation clinic. I am currently at a crossroads though. I am working at the National Institutes of Health and applying to medical school, but I still feel a strong tug towards pursuing a career in filmmaking and travel. I envision myself one day combining my passions of medicine and filmmaking, and I feel that the World Nomads scholarship can help me achieve this goal.