Pop My Cherry

My Photo scholarship 2011 entry

Ecuador | Tuesday, November 8, 2011 | 5 photos

SPONGE! This is the best way to describe me. I want to learn as much as I can, improve my technique and hopefully infuse you with some of the passion and inspiration I get from South Africa! I believe there needs always to be a trade off in any relationship even between mentor and student. I am a kiwi who currently lives in South Africa. My three main passions are photography, travel and conservation (social and environmental) and I am lucky enough to be able to two of these currently but if I can combine all three….JACKPOT! I work for a non-profit organisation creating partnerships and developing volunteer projects in Southern Africa. I love this part of the world and even though I have seen most of the country I will never get tired of it! My background is in fine art photography and film and I have to admit I am not totally up to play with digital even though I use it as a medium now. Pinhole is my favourite medium.

This series of work was shot in a monkey sanctuary in Ecuador. The monkeys/animals housed here were kept as pets and then became too much for their owners and many had suffered deformities due to living conditions. I think it is so much more powerful to anthropomorphise the animals in order to create a connection between the viewer and the picture as to draw the viewer into the story and therefore the plight of the animals involved. This particular sanctuary I was impressed with, there were no fences (with the exception for animals in breeding season) and the monkeys lived very well. Any animals that could be rehabilitated into the wild were. This is a subject very close to my heart.

TEACH ME!