Odeh Muhawesh spent the first 18 years of his life living in Jordan and now lives in the United States.  In his own words, he was a Middle Easterner, and is now a MidWesterner.  He travels often and has been to four continents. Odeh believes that deep down we are all the same.  If you put John Doe from Iowa next to Abdallah Mohamed in a room and they got to know one another, they would find that they both have the same fears and the same dreams.  It is imperative that we get to know one another if we are going to get along in this world.

Right click to download audio

About the Project:

A Peace of My Mind began out of the belief that if a single voice can make a small difference, then together, many voices can make a tremendous impact.

In early 2009, photographer John Noltner began interviewing people about their thoughts on peace.  The interviews were recorded digitally and combined with a B&W portrait.

The goal is to create a collection of thoughts on peace from people with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences and to use that collection of interviews to foster a larger public conversation on the subject.

The project is based on the premise that we all have important thoughts to share.  We all have a view of peace that is very personal...whether that means political peace, spiritual peace, inner peace or something entirely unexpected.  And the belief is that at the core, we are all the same...we all long for and dream for the same things.

More than 50 people have been interviewed for A Peace of My Mind.  I am currently in the process of producing an exhibit that can be used by school and community groups to help foster dialogue about issues such as conflict resolution, tolerance, diversity and civic responsibility. 

So the hope is that through conversation, we will begin to understand each other a little better.  By sharing, we will create a sense of community, and in our own way , make a stand for peace...in our own lives, in our communities, and in the world that we share.

It’s that simple...join us...and share A Peace of Your Mind.

Subcribe to this blog

Subscribe to our Buzz blog, too!

Disclaimer: While IGVP strives for unity and clarity of vision, each blog author is responsible for his or her own words, links, and references. They do not necessarily represent the many voices and opinions of individuals within the visual peacemakers movement, the Guild, or the IGVP Founders.

From January to June 2012 we're offering the chance to hone your skills, contribute to Visual Peacemaking, & win a Blackrapid Strap---the original camera sling.

Take the prompter below & interpret it according to your unique vision. Consider IGVP's Editorial Guidelines as you serve the common good through your photographic expression.

This month we challenge you to take the broad topic of TOUCH & refine it to a series of images that possess a theme. Use the theme to highlight shared human experience. How might viewers relate to your subjects' actions, feelings, & choices? Create empathy in viewers & thereby bring humans closer together.

Ideas:

Touch between friends (handshakes, etc), between couples, children & parents, young & old, sick & healthy. How children learn through touch.

Inspiration:

The bridge between ideas & production is self-discipline. Do what you gotta do to express yourself---dream it up, write it down, schedule it, do it. Follow your passion.

Instructions:

Once your project is uploaded to your Peacemaker Profile send a Direct Message via twitter to @IGVP or email submissions(-at-)visualpeacemakers.org. Provide a link & mention both the month & "Project Prompter". We will award a Blackrapid R-Strap to our favorite. In some cases, we might even top feature your work on our homepage. Galleries, photo stories, & documentaries are all acceptable formats. Have fun!

Fred and Judy Baron are survivors of Nazi death camps in World War II.  They met after they were liberated, as they were recovering in a hospital.  They moved to America, got married and started a family.

They talk about the absolute absence of peace in the camps, how they found peace again in their lives and how it is our obligation to look after one another in this world, especially those less fortunate than ourselves.

Right click to download audio

About the Project:

A Peace of My Mind began out of the belief that if a single voice can make a small difference, then together, many voices can make a tremendous impact.

In early 2009, photographer John Noltner began interviewing people about their thoughts on peace.  The interviews were recorded digitally and combined with a B&W portrait.

The goal is to create a collection of thoughts on peace from people with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences and to use that collection of interviews to foster a larger public conversation on the subject.

The project is based on the premise that we all have important thoughts to share.  We all have a view of peace that is very personal...whether that means political peace, spiritual peace, inner peace or something entirely unexpected.  And the belief is that at the core, we are all the same...we all long for and dream for the same things.

More than 50 people have been interviewed for A Peace of My Mind.  I am currently in the process of producing an exhibit that can be used by school and community groups to help foster dialogue about issues such as conflict resolution, tolerance, diversity and civic responsibility. 

So the hope is that through conversation, we will begin to understand each other a little better.  By sharing, we will create a sense of community, and in our own way , make a stand for peace...in our own lives, in our communities, and in the world that we share.

It’s that simple...join us...and share A Peace of Your Mind.

Subcribe to this blog

Subscribe to our Buzz blog, too!

Disclaimer: While IGVP strives for unity and clarity of vision, each blog author is responsible for his or her own words, links, and references. They do not necessarily represent the many voices and opinions of individuals within the visual peacemakers movement, the Guild, or the IGVP Founders.

David Galalis is a documentary and street photographer based in Brooklyn, New York whose work is devoted to following beauty, mystery, and the longing for the infinite, particularly as these aspects of human existence find expression in religious and cultural experience. www.davidgalalis.com. We welcome David again to the blog, now for his 6th thoughtful guest blog post.

Mario asked me if I could share some "lessons learned" from my latest photo story. Go check it out and read the background first so that what follows will make sense.

By all expectations, the making of this story was a series of failures. Nothing worked as I had planned. My original concept was this: to show up and mingle for an hour or so, interviewing guests and Seeds about "why is there hope for peace in the world?" I would record their answers on my digital voice recorder, make a portrait of each person I interviewed, and then publish it all as a series.

Then the reality of the situation broke in. Here's the quick replay:

First, the party is too loud, too crowded, and too all-consuming of its guests to get anyone's undivided attention or make a clear recording of a conversation.

Luckily though, chance comes to the rescue: my media contact tells me about a conversation between three Seeds and the band happening in the green room. I am invited.

People are already talking and introducing themselves as I arrive. I am hesitant to interrupt, so I recede to a corner and quietly set up my voice recorder and start shooting. It's a great hour of conversation about peacemaking, with fairly decent light for making fairly decent candid portraits from my cramped and immobile location in the corner. So I'm thinking, "okay, this isn't too bad -- I'll transcribe the audio and match select quotations with their speakers, and that will be the photo story."

The conversation ends. I finally introduce myself in the chaos of everyone taking leave -- they are happy to meet me, but somewhat taken aback that I had been recording audio. Not angry, just surprised. I realize then with shame that I should have been more assertive in introducing myself upfront and stating my intentions. I fear that I have alienated my subjects.

I get home. I listen to the audio. It is unintelligible, due either to the noise of the party outside the room, my position in the room, the technical limitations of my recorder, or a combination of all three.

Plan C. I email the band and the Seeds to re-introduce myself and ask for written responses to the question. I wait. The responses all eventually trickle in and I begin putting together the story that you see here.

So, my take-away lessons:

(1) Know what the environment will be like, and be honest with yourself about what you likely will and won't be able to accomplish.
(2) Be ready to have your best-laid plans dashed and accept whatever new opportunities present themselves.
(3) At an organized event, introduce yourself to the organizers or media contacts (ahead of time if possible) so that they can help you make connections and find opportunities. Here, I applied for a media pass before the event and explained my project.
(4) Have a really good voice recorder and know where to place it in the room.
(5) Always introduce yourself to your subjects, or potential subjects, ahead of time, even if it means interrupting what is already happening. THEN go be a fly on the wall if the situation calls for it.
(6) This one is from Mario, and is well-taken: when putting the pieces of your story together, don't lead with a big blast of background information. First, catch the reader up with an intrigue, a provocation, a mystery, etc., and then give the background necessary to ground them, perhaps even in small pieces as the story develops, if the length allows.

And now, on to the next one.

Have you experienced anything like this? How have you overcome obstacles? Let us know in the comments below.

Subcribe to this blog

Subscribe to our Buzz blog, too!

Disclaimer: While IGVP strives for unity and clarity of vision, each blog author is responsible for his or her own words, links, and references. They do not necessarily represent the many voices and opinions of individuals within the visual peacemakers movement, the Guild, or the IGVP Founders.

"Living in a foreign country can be a real mix of experiences and emotions.  Most of the time I love where I live and am happy to be here in Central Asia.  But there are times when it feels really hard," says Cheri Magarrell, visual peacemaker and former wedding / portrait photographer.  She's discovered her calling in Central Asia and is enjoying developing as a cultural photographer.  She loves connecting with people in an empathetic and genuine manner and desires to show the true beauty of these people and the places she visits.  You can see more of her work at deepsoulphotography.com. 

Cheri's words below encourage us to be intentaional about seeing beauty & they show us what this idea actually might look like. Enjoy...

I don’t live in the “prettiest” of cities and occasionally it can really get to me.   It is a city full of box like buildings covered in years’ worth of dirt and grime.  The sky is often gray with smog.  Things are run down and just aren’t that “pretty”.  So what do you do when your soul longs for beauty?  How do you find contentment in a place that, outwardly at least, seems less than satisfying?

For me that contentment has come, in large part, through my photography.  Often when I am feeling down and “culture stressed”, I will deliberately take my camera out and go searching for beauty.  By doing this, I find that my perspective gradually changes.  I learn to see things differently.  I see that the exterior of that building that I thought was so ugly actually has the coolest texture, or I see colours and lines that I know will make an amazing shot.  Sometimes I photograph a local person on the street and end up having a wonderful time visiting with them.  All these help me to find the beauty that IS here and to enjoy where I am and the people that live here.  They lead me to contentment in this place.  And I think when I feel more content, and feel connected to a place and its people, I am able to take better photographs…photographs that really capture the true beauty of the place.  I think it is harder to show beauty if your mindset says “This place is so ugly and I don’t like these people!”  If you can overcome these thoughts and feelings and come to appreciate a place and find the beauty in it and its people, your photographs will reflect that and have deeper emotion to them.

Let me give you an example.   One day, I was feeling down, and so I began to think of going out to photograph.  I chose to go to a market area that I had found a few months before.  I had stuck my head in through a shrouded doorway and realized the interior was a gold mine, photographically speaking, but I didn’t have my camera with me at the time.  So this day I returned.  I walked in the door and immediately my creative juices began to stir and I started to get excited.  There were so many possibilities!  I started to work near the front door, and began with a long exposure shot of the entire market.  A woman walked towards me as I was shooting and I got a lovely ghosting through the image.

I looked at my viewfinder and exclaimed to myself “Wow!”  My despondency was replaced with an excitement that I was HERE, in this place, at this moment.  What a privilege.  There was nowhere else I wanted to be.  I continued through the market, photographing the produce, the proprietors of the shops, and customers purchasing their various goods.  The fishmonger allowed me to watch him help his customers for quite a long time.  Many of the shopkeepers were laughing at me…wondering why on earth I would want to be photographing what, in their minds, was a very ordinary place!  I laughed along with them, which helped me build a bit of camaraderie with them and as a result I was also able to shoot more freely because now, I was becoming a friend, not just a nuisance.

I left the market after finishing, thrilled with the images I had.  But more than that, I felt joy.  I had had positive interactions with locals, which helped me to appreciate them.  I had found loveliness in a city often lacking in beauty.  I was able to overcome my despondency and focus on the beauty waiting to be found around me, and my photographs reflected that.  And in the midst of all of that, I found contentment. It is a constant journey, and I certainly haven’t “arrived”, so I know that my search for beauty will continue as my emotions continue to fluctuate.  But I am learning to love the journey, and I am committed to the search.

Subcribe to this blog

Subscribe to our Buzz blog, too!

Disclaimer: While IGVP strives for unity and clarity of vision, each blog author is responsible for his or her own words, links, and references. They do not necessarily represent the many voices and opinions of individuals within the visual peacemakers movement, the Guild, or the IGVP Founders.

Hans Early-Nelson is a metal sculptor and artist.  He is an avid biker and swimmer, and talks of learning to live in community.

Hans sees himself as a mediator and he shares a story of urban justice when he witnessed a robbery take place.  He tracked down the thief, and convinced him to return the money to the rightful owner.  In the process he learned a little bit of the thief’s history and wound up giving him ten dollars of his own money as a reward for returning the money he had just stolen.

About the Project:

A Peace of My Mind began out of the belief that if a single voice can make a small difference, then together, many voices can make a tremendous impact.

In early 2009, photographer John Noltner began interviewing people about their thoughts on peace.  The interviews were recorded digitally and combined with a B&W portrait.

The goal is to create a collection of thoughts on peace from people with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences and to use that collection of interviews to foster a larger public conversation on the subject.

The project is based on the premise that we all have important thoughts to share.  We all have a view of peace that is very personal...whether that means political peace, spiritual peace, inner peace or something entirely unexpected.  And the belief is that at the core, we are all the same...we all long for and dream for the same things.

More than 50 people have been interviewed for A Peace of My Mind.  I am currently in the process of producing an exhibit that can be used by school and community groups to help foster dialogue about issues such as conflict resolution, tolerance, diversity and civic responsibility. 

So the hope is that through conversation, we will begin to understand each other a little better.  By sharing, we will create a sense of community, and in our own way , make a stand for peace...in our own lives, in our communities, and in the world that we share.

It’s that simple...join us...and share A Peace of Your Mind.

Subcribe to this blog

Subscribe to our Buzz blog, too!

Disclaimer: While IGVP strives for unity and clarity of vision, each blog author is responsible for his or her own words, links, and references. They do not necessarily represent the many voices and opinions of individuals within the visual peacemakers movement, the Guild, or the IGVP Founders.

From January to June 2012 we're offering the chance to hone your skills, contribute to Visual Peacemaking, & win a Blackrapid Strap---the original camera sling.

Take the prompter below & interpret it according to your unique vision. Consider IGVP's Editorial Guidelines as you serve the common good through your photographic expression.

This month we challenge you to take the broad topic of TRADITIONS / CUSTOMS & refine it to a series of images that possess a theme. Use the theme to highlight shared human experience. How might viewers relate to your subjects' actions, feelings, & choices? Create empathy in viewers & thereby bring humans closer together.

Ideas:

The importance of tradition. Why tradition? Creation of tradition. Meaning behind tradition. Loss of meaning in tradition. Marriage, birth, holiday, death. Tradition v. progression tension. Passing on tradition. Human attachment to tradition. Shared traditions. Different meanings in one shared tradition. Similar meanings across different traditions. Your family tradition, or your grandparents'. Sub-culture traditions & customs: ie crowd-surfing or battle raps. Location-specific customs: ie church, mosque, bar/pub, disco/dance club, skate park, camp fire, coffee house, or workplace.

Inspiration:

The bridge between ideas & production is self-discipline. Do what you gotta do to express yourself---dream it up, write it down, schedule it, do it. Follow your passion.

Instructions:

Once your project is uploaded to your Peacemaker Profile send a Direct Message via twitter to @IGVP or email submissions(-at-)visualpeacemakers.org. Provide a link & mention both the month & "Project Prompter". We will award a Blackrapid R-Strap to our favorite. In some cases, we might even top feature your work on our homepage. Galleries, photo stories, & documentaries are all acceptable formats. Have fun!

Profound wisdom is generally simple and always widely applicable. Consider the 2,500+ year old proverb of King Solomon, "Where there is no vision, the people perish."

I've recently discovered another profound wisdom relevant to us all. Ironically, I've lived it out for years without ever articulating it. This one simple belief has protected me from discouragement and despair. It has fueled improvement in everything from my relationships to my photography.

Have you ever noticed that an image you once prized slowly gets demoted from portfolio to gallery, down to a sentimental "keeper" that takes up hard drive space? On the flip side, have you ever gone out photographing one week and then the next week improved by 5,000%? I mean you go from doubting your images to confidently submitting to National Geographic's "Best of". If you answer "yes", sorry, you're delusional. We don't improve like that in one week.

For example, look at this image below from 2004. Eight years ago I snapped this photo in Srinagar, Kashmir, India. I rated it 4 stars. What?!? Today, when reviewing images I'd pass right over this one. I'm not moved by the geometry, the gestures, colors, nor the distractingly bright dirt hill. 4 stars was relative to me, to where I was at then. I worked with Matt Brandon in 2004. If I were comparing myself to the images he produced at the same time I would have given this a 1 star or zero. Nothing I could do would transform me into a photographer at Matt Brandon's level in a week's time.

THEN, 2004

Now 8 years later consider this image below from last week. Remarkably a more powerful image. And I rated it only 3 stars. Nonetheless, I'm drawn to it's color, texture, contrast, geometry and gesture. Also, the story behind this image is sweet. This woman is the aunt of a new friend I made. We talked and shared tea together. She was genuinely interested to know about us "outsiders" and we truly valued her "old school" way of life. Despite the social distance often maintained between male and females in Turkey, especially in a remote village, Mehmet's aunty trusted me. This opened up the opportunity to make this image when she wasn't necessarily expecting it. Instead of being startled, she chuckled at me and wanted to see the image. She loved it.

NOW, 2012

The transition to making better images--which never ends--came not by waking up one morning determining that I'd improve 5,000% or by following some gimmicky method. Not through positive thinking, meditation, or a $20,000 workshop. It came through Consistent, Unceasing Commitment to Small Improvements Over Time.

I heard a pastor once say that young people expect too much too soon and don't expect enough in the long run. Put me in the "guilty" crowd for that one. In the short run we get discouraged and then don't live to our potential.

If you believe firmly in the wisdom of Consistent, Unceasing Commitment to Small Improvements Over Time then you'll rarely get discouraged. The belief produces action and endurance as you affirm minuscule progressions. These progressions compound into deeper and deeper fulfillment in your work, relationships, and so on.

The next time you photograph or produce a story, be intentional about learning one new thing and making one new improvement each shoot. You might learn something about people as you interact with them, about what the eye communicates if you wait long enough to listen to its glimmer. You might improve your ability--just a smidgen--to predict moments. Or you may simply improve how strategically you pack your bag. Or figure out that Eneloop batteries are better than Energizer and therefore NOT miss that moment next time!

Your improvement is like an hour glass, one granule a day. Relax, be patient, don't be so hard on yourself… but be very intentional about Consistent, Unceasing Commitment to Small Improvements Over Time.

Subcribe to this blog

Subscribe to our Buzz blog, too!

Disclaimer: While IGVP strives for unity and clarity of vision, each blog author is responsible for his or her own words, links, and references. They do not necessarily represent the many voices and opinions of individuals within the visual peacemakers movement, the Guild, or the IGVP Founders.

Kimberley Lueck is a Shambhala Buddhist Minister.  She is active in interfaith dialogues and helps organize an annual interfaith Thanksgiving celebration.

Kimberley talks about conflict arising out of the desire to control something...to make something solid.  If we are able to understand that about ourselves, there is a greater chance that we can recognize it in others.  And if we are able to develop compassion for ourselves, there is a greater chance that we can offer it to others as well.

About the Project:

A Peace of My Mind began out of the belief that if a single voice can make a small difference, then together, many voices can make a tremendous impact.

In early 2009, photographer John Noltner began interviewing people about their thoughts on peace.  The interviews were recorded digitally and combined with a B&W portrait.

The goal is to create a collection of thoughts on peace from people with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences and to use that collection of interviews to foster a larger public conversation on the subject.

The project is based on the premise that we all have important thoughts to share.  We all have a view of peace that is very personal...whether that means political peace, spiritual peace, inner peace or something entirely unexpected.  And the belief is that at the core, we are all the same...we all long for and dream for the same things.

More than 50 people have been interviewed for A Peace of My Mind.  I am currently in the process of producing an exhibit that can be used by school and community groups to help foster dialogue about issues such as conflict resolution, tolerance, diversity and civic responsibility. 

So the hope is that through conversation, we will begin to understand each other a little better.  By sharing, we will create a sense of community, and in our own way , make a stand for peace...in our own lives, in our communities, and in the world that we share.

It’s that simple...join us...and share A Peace of Your Mind.

Subcribe to this blog

Subscribe to our Buzz blog, too!

Disclaimer: While IGVP strives for unity and clarity of vision, each blog author is responsible for his or her own words, links, and references. They do not necessarily represent the many voices and opinions of individuals within the visual peacemakers movement, the Guild, or the IGVP Founders.

David A. De Lampert, Jr. has been living on the streets for the past 30 years.  A veteran, he survives on his disability checks and through gratuities people offer him.

David spends his days asking people to sign his coat with a permanent marker.  When they sign, they will often give him a dollar or two “to help keep me going.”  He has filled up more than 100 coats over the past decade, as well as hats, umbrellas and canes.

For David, collecting signatures began as a way to survive, but became a way of life and a way for him to reach out to people.

About the Project:

A Peace of My Mind began out of the belief that if a single voice can make a small difference, then together, many voices can make a tremendous impact.

In early 2009, photographer John Noltner began interviewing people about their thoughts on peace.  The interviews were recorded digitally and combined with a B&W portrait.

The goal is to create a collection of thoughts on peace from people with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences and to use that collection of interviews to foster a larger public conversation on the subject.

The project is based on the premise that we all have important thoughts to share.  We all have a view of peace that is very personal...whether that means political peace, spiritual peace, inner peace or something entirely unexpected.  And the belief is that at the core, we are all the same...we all long for and dream for the same things.

More than 50 people have been interviewed for A Peace of My Mind.  I am currently in the process of producing an exhibit that can be used by school and community groups to help foster dialogue about issues such as conflict resolution, tolerance, diversity and civic responsibility. 

So the hope is that through conversation, we will begin to understand each other a little better.  By sharing, we will create a sense of community, and in our own way , make a stand for peace...in our own lives, in our communities, and in the world that we share.

It’s that simple...join us...and share A Peace of Your Mind.

Subcribe to this blog

Subscribe to our Buzz blog, too!

Disclaimer: While IGVP strives for unity and clarity of vision, each blog author is responsible for his or her own words, links, and references. They do not necessarily represent the many voices and opinions of individuals within the visual peacemakers movement, the Guild, or the IGVP Founders.