A 'place' I Have Visited

A 'place' I have visited

thefearlesspereles — Mon, 8 Jul 2013 12:12:53 GMT

In my life I have been blessed. I grew up in an upper middle class suburb of Milwaukee; the kind of place where people are happy and children protected from the realities of the outside world. There was no need to be conscious of the human struggle because it never seemed to be apart of my life—not until I visited China. On that trip, I visited factories and saw the very workers that manufactured the goods that made my lifestyle possible in the United States. For the first time in my life, not only was the human struggle right in front of me, but also I realized it had been present all along even if myself, and those around me chose to ignore it. The reality of the human condition – its hardships, its pain – exists regardless of whether we are looking or not. As a photographer and storyteller, my role is to be a catalyst of culture. I am not going to tell you what to think, or how to feel. I will, however, provoke thought and get people talking. The human experience is a narrative that doesn’t need any altering; it simply needs someone to preserve its authenticity. To do this, I need the support of National Geographic. Help me give a voice to this human experience.

Photos: A 'Place' I Have Visited

thefearlesspereles — Fri, 5 Jul 2013 14:37:00 GMT

Scholarship Photographs

A 'Place' I have Visited

thefearlesspereles — Fri, 5 Jul 2013 14:31:00 GMT

If there is anything I am, it is a storyteller. My favorite stories are not told using pen and paper though; they are narrated through imagery. Unlike the written word a photograph allows a person to peek into the rare, details of life. Cameras allow us to transcend time, and immortalize memories.

A photo of my Spanish host family around the dinner table brings me back; and once again I can hear their laughter, see their smiles, and smell the wine on their breath. This is my goal. To, quite literally, still life; so I can relive it, so I can share it. The Jimenez Family graciously opened their home, and shared their story with me. I became family. I joined their story, and it became our story. I long to capture this phenomena of humanity and share our stories.

These images reflect my passion for the human experience—how we, as humanity, tap into our senses to form a perspective about the world around us. I listen to the smaller details in life—the ones that reveal the most intimate story of ‘place’—the family-centric culture, the eloquent language, and centuries old history. Spain is more than just a place. It, too, is a rich story, waiting to be told—waiting to be photographed.

I long to tell these stories of the human experience. I aspire to curate culture like Joseph Campbell, contextualize imagination like Grace Coddington, and develop a signature style like Ansel Adams. But I need help. I need far more experience. And most of all, I need a mentor.

Cheers,

Zach