Papuan bookends

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Worldwide | Wednesday, October 6, 2010 | 5 photos

My name is Michael Harris, I’m 24 years old, I live on the south coast of New South Wales in Australia and I’m passionate about photography. My passion for photography first started around 10 years ago and since then I’ve slowly developed my style and technique to where I am today. The 5 photos in this series were taken during a 155km trek through the mountains in Papua New Guinea. They sum up my experience, the people I met and the extremes of emotion felt over the course of the 10 days. A smile, a wave and the invitation for a friendly game of volleyball is what greeted me to Abuari, a village perched high on an exposed mountain top amongst the clouds. There’s a genuine sense of happiness and joy exists among the local people that live here. This is passed onto everyone else who visits their remote community. The following 3 photographs are of some of the young people I met during my trek. Some are only days old, many offer a cautious handshake and others brandish a machete with more skill than your average six year old. They are the innocence that still exists in this astoundingly beautiful, but unforgiving country. In contrast to the joy and beauty there’s an underlying feeling of sadness. From the helmet rusting away on a tree stump, the mortar shells that litter the jungle or the white marble headstones of the thousands of young men who gave their lives fighting, the constant reminder of the bloodshed, suffering and loss of life that took place in the area during the WW2 is all to prominent. I believe my prior experience trekking and passion for photography will hopefully make me an ideal choice for the scholarship. I’m always excited by any opportunity to develop what I know about photography and the world, photographing and trekking Bhutan would be no exception.