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 CHILDREN & 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:

Children's similarities across cultures. Children & innocence. Children & play. Mother & child. Fatherhood. Father & son. Mother & daughter. Twins. Toys. Curiosity. Funny things kids do. How children embody & absorb culture. Comforting Children. Teaching children. Grandparents & children. Difficulties & joys in parenting. Birth. Coming of age. Learning, building, reading, climbing.

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!

by Jacob Maentz.
IGVP Peacemaker Profile | Personal website & short bio

Can photos save our indigenous cultures? I believe they can.

Last July I traveled to a remote part of the Sierra Madre mountains in northern Luzon where I spent two weeks with the indigenous Agta and Dumagat communities of the area. Being a travel and documentary photographer based in the Philippines I do a good amount of traveling around the country, but visiting this part of Isabela was different and truly eye opening. During my time there I witnessed an authentic way of life that I have rarely seen throughout my travels. The indigenous Agta and Dumagat communities there are still very much practicing their nomadic lifestyle, living off the land and ocean using traditional hunting and fishing methods passed down from generation to generation. The forest and rivers which provides food for these communities is the cleanest and most pristine I have seen in the country. The main reason for this is because of their isolation, there are no roads going there. A small part of Philippine cultural heritage is tucked away being preserved.

In the next decade, however, this way of life that the Agta and Dumagats have lived for centuries could very well change. There are currently plans to develop a road that would transverse the Sierra Madre mountains connecting the two small isolated towns of Divilican and Maconacon to "main land" Luzon. Building a road through the middle of the country's last remaining and largest track of primary forest would be a disaster. The pressure a road will bring on the forest resources and influx of people will slowly plunder what biological diversity remains. Aside from the irreversible environmental impacts a road like this would bring, the Agtas and Dumagats in the area will surely lose their way of life. For indigenous peoples who depend on the forest for their food, pharmaceuticals and peace of mind, taking away their land, as history shows, will diminish their way of life. After hearing about this plan to build a road I realized something needed to be done. We had to let people know about the remaining indigenous cultures throughout the Philippines, before it's too late.

"Today, there are 110 recognized indigenous groups remaining in the Philippines making up ten percent of the total population."

After returning from Isabela, I started to gather more ideas and brainstormed for months before my wife and I launched the Katutubong Filipino Project. The Katutubong Filipino Project aims to bring about awareness of the Philippine archipelago’s indigenous peoples’ by visually documenting their slowly disappearing cultural heritages. For me, creating meaningful photographs to better the world is why I decided to become a professional photographer and this project is just an extension of this. Images can be an incredibly powerful and compelling tool for communication. Strong photographs can cause people to stop and think for a moment letting them generate emotions about a subject while getting a glimpse into a different world. Likewise, photographs have a way of showing our common humanity, despite our many differences, and can help people unite and generate respect toward each other. 

From my own experience, many Filipinos know very little about the diversity and cultural richness of their ancestors, but by no fault of their own. Filipinos are taught very little in the public school system about their indigenous history and many come to know indigenous peoples only as beggars on city streets. They are treated as second class citizens. It's a sad reality, but similar to many western countries in how their native peoples were treated during times of development and expansion. Perhaps if every Filipino could see their ancestors in a new light they would slowly change their perception of them. If people had more respect for indigenous cultures it's more likely they would support programs or even elect officials working toward their good.

"The Katutubong Filipino Project aims to bring about awareness of the Philippine archipelago’s indigenous peoples’ by visually documenting their slowly disappearing cultural heritages."

Here are two contrasting stories, one of the Tagbanuas in Palawan and one from the Mamanwas in Mindanao.

1. In 1998, the Tagbanuas of Palawan were given the first-ever claim on ancestral waters by an indigenous community in the Philippines. This 22,000 hectares of sea and land includes Coron island, which is considered a sacred island to the Tagbanuas. Currently, 10% of Coron island is open for tourists to visit and the Tagbanua collect a fee from all the visitors. The remaining 90% of the island is considered sacred by the Tagbanua and they do not allow visitors to go there. The Tagbanua still collect swift nests in the limestone cliffs of Coron island, like they have done for centuries, and sell them to Chinese traders. This is a success story because the Tagbanua have control over a part of their ancestral land and have made the decisions themselves on how to manage it. If more indigenous groups throughout the Philippines were given their rights and had a stronger voice I know there would be many more success stories like this one.

2. In Surigao, Mindanao, the Mamanwa's have been given a different history. This area is home to one of the world's largest nickel deposits and mining companies have come to rule the land. The mining companies provide housing and a small percent share to the Mamanwas in return for their most precious asset, their land. The Mamanwas no longer have a voice and are dictated by what the government and mining companies say. When I went to Surigao last June I visited a remote Mamanwa village 3km into the mountains. It was a sad picture to see and I was treated pretty harshly. I was asked to give 6,000Php to take a few pictures around their community. It wasn't the issue really of them asking for money to photograph their community, but it was their attitude. Everything now to the Mamanwas revolves around money and they have experienced a loss of their culture and traditions because of it. Perhaps sustainable tourism would be a better option for a place like this, following a similar example of the Tagbanuas. Whatever the case indigenous peoples should have control of their land and have decision making power over it.

Change is inevitable in the modern world that we live, but change can happen without force and with input from all parties. Like in the case of the Tagbanuas, my hope is there will still be many more success stories from our indigenous peoples.

So can photos help save our Filipino indigenous cultures? If you believe that awareness and changing peoples perceptions about their ancestors can be a start for positive change, then yes, photography is a very powerful medium to do this.

You can read more about the Katutubong Filipino Project at: www.katutuboproject.org
 

From IGVP Founders & Staff: "We believe this is a noble project containing several strands of Visual Peacemaking values. The Katutubong Filipino Project is worth spreading awareness for & financially backing via the project's Kickstarter campaign."

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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 MUSIC & 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:

Listening to music. Life's soundtrack. Music & memory. Music as escape. Music & identity. Music & culture or sub-culture. Creating Music. Solo creation. Group creation. Music & driving or during activity. Music & holidays. Dance. Music as inspiration. Music joining strangers. Music venues. Local scene. Music from the streets to concert halls.

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!

Duncan McNicholl is a member of Engineers Without Borders Canada as African Programs Staff on the Water and Sanitation (WatSan) team, based in Malawi, in Southern Africa.  Although he works mostly with water and sanitation issues, Duncan is also interested in good food, good people, Malawian culture, and a whole host of other topics related to human development and the development sector.  He is also an avid photographer and musician.

We’ve all seen it: the photo of a teary-eyed African child, dressed in rags, smothered in flies, with a look of desperation that the caption all too readily points out.  Some organization has made a poster that tells you about the realities of poverty, what they are doing about it, and how your donation will change things.

I reacted very strongly to these kinds of photos when I returned from Africa in 2008.  I compared these photos to my own memories of Malawian friends and felt lied to.  How had these photos failed so spectacularly to capture the intelligence, the laughter, the resilience, and the capabilities of so many incredible people?

The truth is that the development sector, just like any other business, needs revenue to survive.  Too frequently, this quest for funding uses these kind of dehumanizing images to draw pity, charity, and eventually donations from a largely unsuspecting public.  I found it outrageous that such an incomplete and often inaccurate story was being so widely perpetuated by the organizations on the ground – the very ones with the ability and the responsibility to communicate the realities of rural Africa accurately.

This is not to say that people do not struggle, far from it, but the photos I was seeing only told part of the story.  I thought that these images were robbing people of their dignity, and I felt that the rest of the story should be told as well.  Out of this came the idea for a photography project, which I am tentatively calling “Perspectives of Poverty”.  I am taking two photos of the same person; one photo with the typical symbols of poverty (dejected look, ripped clothes, etc.), and another of this person looking their very finest, to show how an image can be carefully constructed to present the same person in very different ways.  I want to bring to light some of the different assumptions we make about a person, especially when we see an image of “poverty” from rural Africa.  So far, I have finished two sets in the series and I want to share them with you to get reactions and hopefully generate some discussion around this in the early stages of this project.

Bauleni Banda – Chikandwe Village, Malawi

In 2008 I lived with Bauleni Banda and his family in Chikandwe village for 3 months. In many ways, the Bandas represent a fairly typical low-income rural household, who are dependent on subsistence maize farming for their livelihood.

Last month I was able to visit them for a wonderful, 5-day stay in the village.    During this stay I decided to ask Bauleni about my proposed photography project.  He only speaks Chichewa, so my explanation was probably muddled at best, but he reacted very strongly on the topic of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) taking photos and was keen to try something out.

I left the decisions about how Bauleni would present himself entirely up to him.  I only told him that I wanted to take one photo of him “wochena” (the Chichewa equivalent of “dressed to kill”) and another of him “wosachena,” or “dressed very poorly.”  Bauleni got right into character and we ended up having a lot of fun taking the photos.

As Bauleni went into his house to find his prized umbrella, I began to wonder how unique these photos might be.  Do many organizations ask people how they want to be represented before the photographs start being taken?

Edward Kabzela – Chagunda Village, Malawi

Edward Kabzela is an area borehole maintenance mechanic who I had the privilege of staying with for five days to learn a bit about his work.  As an area mechanic, he helps village committees keep their water points functioning by doing repairs and preventative maintenance.

Edward is quite successful, both as an area mechanic and through other business initiatives. He grows tobacco, works with a basket weaving business, collects rent from a shop he rents out in the market, and services over 60 water points in his area. Next year, he is thinking of investing in a truck to start a transportation business. He is a great example of how little a thatched roof says about someone’s livelihood.

Edward was pretty excited about the project, but he had a pretty hard time keeping a straight face for the photos of him trying to look "poor." He looked so ridiculous that I’ve included one of the photos in the set. The photos of Bauleni Banda had the same kind of hilarity, with community members shouting out helpful hints on how to "look more poor." Neither had any trouble putting on their best and looking sharp.

Edward trying (and failing) to put on a serious face while looking “poor”

Edward had this to say about NGO photos in his village of Chagunda [translated from Chichewa]:

"NGOs come to the village here to take pictures of people. At church, at the market, on the road, at meetings. Only people who are dressed poorly."

I’m still not sure of exactly what the final project will look like, but I think that there is valuable discussion to be had around these images and about the assumptions and inferences we make when we see images of rural Africa.  Over the next year, I will continue to take photos and develop this idea, possibly towards some kind of exhibit.

In the meantime, I would love to hear what you think.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM US TO YOU!

In each our own way, we can be the one described here in this short poem below, It Couldn't Be Done. What do you want to do in 2012? If you say "it can't be done," then you will fulfill your self-fulfiling prophecy. But consider what can happen if you say "it can and will be done." Put your mind, body, and soul into it. Turn fear to fire and have a blazingly bright new year. Cheers!

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We all want our photographs to have impact, to leave a lasting impression of some sort. If the impact you seek is social impact, then I have good news. There's a time-tested way to have meaningful and memorable influence on your peers and society: Storytelling. Turbo charge that by adding visuals. Embrace Story. Learn it. Wield it.

The first Muslim to be elected to the United States Congress, Keith Ellison, is a peacemaker. He is also one who understands the power of story and its important role in conflict peacemaking. In his podcast interview with photographer John Nolter, Ellison notes that a major barrier to peace in Israel-Palestine stems from each side's need to make sense of their own peoples' narrative. Or for some, it is: "Who's story will win?" He asserts that while borders and water rights can be negotiated it is equally essential to preserve the dignity of each side's story. 

In a TIME poll of 1,002 registered voters, about 30% of respondents said a movie had changed their mind about an issue. More and more, Hollywood is betting on its powers of social engineering. Stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney and Charlize Theron have taken pay cuts and strolled red carpets for features that further humanitarian or political agendas. (TIME article) I'll be the first to admit that both narrative films and documentaries influence me. I enjoy contemplating and wrestling with their themes, agendas, and messages. I walk away changed every time.

The world's major religions are narrative-based. It is stories---both historical and mythical--- that define and breath life into their ethics, philosophies, and rituals. For example, stories of Krishna, Mohammed's story at Mecca and Medina, Jesus' use of parables, and the Hebrew peoples' story of miraculous exodus from slavery in Egypt. These stories take root and embed into group identity. They are memorable and become a guiding force in one's life and a means to train the next generation.

Our grandparents tell us stories. We tell stories at parties. We get stories in the news that help us understand current affairs. Stories are intrinsically human. Dear Visual Peacemaker, embrace story, learn it, wield it.

Every person has a story with thousands of smaller embedded stories. In non-fiction storytelling our characters' lives are like a slab of marble. You cannot tell a person's entire story. In fact, we cannot even remember every detail of our own story. There are, however, ingredients and tools to storytelling that we can use to chip away the marble stone until a recognizable story is sculpted. Just as with a marble slab, a variety of diverse stories can be constructed from the same truths and facts.
 

So stories are powerful, but how can I make them?

Like all rules, you can break them when you understand why and how you're breaking them. But in general, a story begins with an inciting incident, aka a hook. The hook answers "Why should I pay attention to this?" Then, the beginning of the story gives context and establishes a character with a goal or mission. For example, seeking justice for water rights in a local village or Frodo throwing the Ring into a volcano. The beginning might answer "Where and when, as well as who, what are they after, and what is stopping them?"

The middle of a story builds tension, surprises us, adds depth to characters, and complicates the conflict. The conflict can be anything from conflicting sides of an opinion or issue to an opposing force working to stop the character from their goal. The climax is the high point---a realization, an accomplishment, a solution, a failure or success. It is the most intense point in the story. And finally, the story must end with some type of satisfying resolution. Even if there's no happy ending or closure, the open-endedness needs to make sense. In the end, flat characters don't change and rich characters undergo transformation. Your audience connects to characters and their transformation.

Universal themes can be effective in Visual Peacemaking. Themes of love, purpose, forgiveness, redemption, self-discovery, and overcoming adversity cause us to recognize our place in the shared Human Experience. In this way, audiences become part of the story, taking ownership and action themselves.

Documentary filmmaker Michael Jorgensen simplifies story to an equation.

Character + Active Quest + (Stakes)2 = Story

The quest involves both inner and physical quest. When searching for your next non-fiction story, try keeping this equation in mind along with universal themes.
 

I now leave you with 5 more resources to help you think about and create story.

1. Cinematic Documentary Storytelling - a webinar with Michael Jorgensen. 
2. The Hero's Journey - a basic pattern found in narratives throughout time and the world. And Joseph Campbell's book The Hero With a Thousand Faces, which was followed by George Lucas in creating Star Wars as well as many other successful storytellers. 
3. Finding Joe is a documentary about how real people embody "The Hero's Journey" and how we can each turn our own lives into an adventure. Will you respond to the call? Can you find someone who has and document their story? 
4. The Story - Nina Rosenblum, acclaimed documentary film director, guides you through the basics of how to make a documentary film treatment. 
5. Not All Photo Stories are Created Equal by Matt Brandon 
    

Share your thoughts below! And let us know if you've found other resources or benefited from what's here.

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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.

Heber Vega is a freelance humanitarian photographer and IGVP member based in northern Iraq, specializing in documenting the work of NGOs and non-profit organizations.

© Heber Vega | Assignment work for Prosperity Candle 2010

A couple of weeks ago, one of my good friends, Canadian photographer Erin Wilson, suggested I write about this topic after revising my 2010 portfolio. This was the second time that another photographer mentioned this to me. I guess in all these years I have found my own way, as male photographer, to photograph women in Iraq.

I must say though that after almost eight years in Iraq, photographing local islamic women still represents a big challenge for me and I always need to be cautious and thoughtful in the way I approach women here. This post is not a manual or recipe to be followed exactly. The way I see it, this post shares the insights behind the photographs I have made of women in Iraq. I have also traveled all around the Middle East, and know these thoughts will help you in most of these countries as well. This blog post was specially made for male photographers dealing with this issue in their assignments.

But before we even start, I’d advise you to check with people in the country where you want to shoot, to find out what’s alright (or not) to do. For example, in many of the so-called markets or bazaars here in Iraq, it can really be a problem if you start photographing women in public. For sure you will have some men or police officers coming your way after a few minutes. That’s besides the “angry” look most of these women will give you.

One more thing… If you are a female photographer and you want to photograph women in muslim areas, then I think you are in a much better situation than men are. As a woman, you will find far fewer obstacles for talking, sharing and spending time with women here. So for you, the need for respect and understanding of the culture that I mention in this post still applies.

Photographs at a Women’s Center.

© Heber Vega | The Women Center - Rapareen 2010

These photographs were made in a Women’s Center in the Kurdish area of Iraq. These are the students of a sewing/tailoring class. I needed to invest time in order to get close to this group of women, which took a couple of weeks. First I met the people working with them (NGO) including the teacher, and I spent some time getting to know the program and the things that they were making there. From the very beginning they knew I was a photographer, and saw me carrying a camera. But they also understood that I was respectful of them. How? Well, I did not take any pictures of them for the first several classes. I just asked questions, observed, and learned about them and their work. Later on, once I was familiar with them, I started to photograph their class and the work they were doing.

© Heber Vega | The Women Center - Rapareen 2010

In the end, they invited me to take a photograph of their group, and to join a meal that they’d brought from home to share at class. But any time I wanted to photograph one of them individually, I would ask first.

I would add that depending on the family tradition, some women would never give permission to make a portrait of them separate from the group. That’s totally fine with me.

Prosperity Candle.

© Heber Vega | http://www.prosperitycandle.com 2010

This group of women are from Baghdad, another area in Iraq. I don’t know their language and culture as well as I know that of the Kurds. Once I knew the details of this assignment, and the tight timeline, I knew that it was going to be really difficult to get in the “zone” with these women. I had to make them trust me right away (first impression kind of thing) so that I could portray their life and work at manufacturing candles during that weekend.

What did I do? Because they came to my city to get photographed, instead of going to where they were staying, I invited them to my house and introduced them to my wife and two sons. [The home and hospitality are very important in middle eastern cultures.] The women felt at home right away, even though we could not speak the same language (except for the woman who translated). They felt welcomed by my wife, another woman who shared the same life challenges as them, being a mom.

So my wife was my assistant for the whole weekend and she did all the talking. I just tried to be kind and smile. A few times I had to ask questions that would tell more about their emotions and experiences in the hard life of Baghdad. After many hours, they shared how one of them became a widow, and how it’s been to take care of the whole family since then. It was a bonding experience, and I think that is clear in most of these photographs.

© Heber Vega | http://www.prosperitycandle.com 2010

What if I couldn’t bring my wife? Or if I was single? Well, my approach would be to find a female assistant that could translate and share with the women. That assistant would have to be someone who the women could respect. These women are from a very “traditional” environment, and if you have a very “western” assistant or someone who does not treat the women well, then things will not work out well for the shoot. In that case, whoever hired me would have to provide an appropriate person or liaison for that shoot.

Remedy Mission

© Heber Vega | http://www.preemptivelove.org 2010

These photographs were taken in an Iraqi hospital. These women were taking care of their children, while waiting for them to have life-saving surgery. As you can imagine, the situation at any moment could be tense, emotional, heart-breaking, sad, deep, hopeless and finally happy, once their children came through the surgery alive. Because of all this, I had to be sensitive about when I could photograph them.

My approach was always respectful and I tried to bring some comfort to the situation. During the long wait before surgery, I played with most of those kids and showed them some movies on my computer. I shared pictures of my own kids. I asked questions to understand their stories and listened to them talk about what they were going through at that moment.

Among all the women there, there was a particular woman, covered in black, that I could tell was from a more “traditional” family. This meant I had to work harder to get her photograph with her little baby.

What did I do? I started with her husband. I knew that if I could make him feel comfortable with me and my camera, then I would have a better chance to photograph his family too. So I spent couple days photographing him, which turned out to be really good as he was one of my best subjects that week. His photographs and story about his little baby Sozan, were one of the most touching stories from that Remedy Mission.

I still wanted to make a photograph with his wife and baby. So on the third day at the hospital’s ward, after trusting me for a while, I found her contemplating her baby after surgery. The way she was looking toward her baby was so deep and full of emotion, it was one of those key moments in life. I took a risk and went for the photograph that could capture that. When she realized that I was there, she turned to me and showed me her baby, as if saying “we have made it!”

© Heber Vega | http://www.preemptivelove.org 2010

Without starting with her husband, I don’t think I could have made this photograph, and this is one the most intimate photographs that I have ever made. It was totally worth the wait.

A good summary of the stories I have shared today is:
-Have a respectful attitude.
-Have a basic understanding of cultural taboos.
-I recommend that you have a sensitive female translator.
-Have time to invest on your subject’s story. Get comfortable around each other.

Finally I want to share a more personal thought on this issue. I guess some of you are wondering if it would’ve been easier to just hand these assignments to a female photographer, due to all the restrictive norms. Well, If I would’ve done that I would have missed tremendous opportunities. I’m not talking only about photographic opportunities that can make your skills as photographer better. No, I’m talking about those opportunities that make you a better person because you have listened, because you have tried to understand their perspective and stories, and because you have done what you could to showcase their lives to a world which has not had access to those stories. That’s why, in my perspective, it is worth the work.

To not understand the incredible work of women in this world, is to fail to understand the beauty and strength that has sustained all societies and cultures since the beginning of the world. In Islamic countries, I have confirmed that traditions, religion, values and many other rich aspects of culture are transmitted from one generation to another due to the hard work of the women of this world.

I hope this post can be a good starting point for your assignment and that my experience can benefit yours. Please, if you have further questions, just leave a comment here at this post.

© Heber Vega | University of Sulaymaniyah 2010

   © Heber Vega | http://www.prosperitycandle.com 2010          © Heber Vega | Freedom Fighter - Photo Essay 2010

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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.

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Leymah Gbowee is one of three women receiving the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize.  Her incredible story of strength and leadership by standing up to the brutal Liberian dictator, Charles Taylor, is documented in the film, “Pray the Devil Back to Hell.” I’m honored to say that Leymah is a recent graduate of our program—a former “student” and a friend.  Recently, she was on our campus to receive the Alumnus of the Year award, just as her Peace Prize was announced.  As I did her portrait, we talked briefly about what she would want to say to IGVP photojournalists who cover situations of war and violence such as she has experienced. She finished her thoughts by email:

"In most conflict contexts, many of the images that come out are images of war and the machineries of violence—young men with guns, young men killing, blood-covered communities, women who have been sexually molested and abused, children who are malnourished and at the point of death.

The images we fail to see are images of women negotiating for the lives of someone who has been arrested and is about to be prosecuted. Images of women making meals and cuddling babies while bullets rain down on their communities. Images of hope and resolve even in hopeless situations. Images of children, whose mothers are malnourished, but are nevertheless healthy, because their mothers have provided for them—sacrificing their own portions. These images could begin to change the stereotypes associated with women, from weak and powerless to nurturers and sustainers of communities in the worst times.

Photographers portraying such images will be promoting images that are affiliated with rebuilding those communities and inspiring hope to community members. They will be telling the stories of ordinary people like myself who have survived conflict. Photojournalists are often uninterested in such human stories because they are not sexy.  Rather, they focus on images of militarism because this is what the world wants to see.I believe that global peace can only be sustained if there is a shift from many things, including the status quo of war reporting.  When young fighters see that journalists are not interested in filming them for global media, maybe - just maybe - some of the atrocities they commit to show power in front of the cameras will be minimized.”

Leymah wrote this while working to stop a new round of violence. In her words, “madness broke out in Monrovia on Monday. People are so angry and when they open their mouths the venom that comes out is unimaginable. It is from both ends of the divides, really horrible. I am praying for wisdom as I continue my peace efforts.”

May we all pray for Leymah, and those other courageous souls like her.  And, may we as photographers seek to portray the images of hope and strength that she calls us to.

Howard Zehr is the Professor of Restorative Justice at the Center for Justice & Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, VA.

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"Dear Self, stay focused on your niche and priorities! Drop everything else! What is everything else?" That's what I wrote myself a few weeks ago after feeling utterly overwhelmed by my tasks and disappointed I hadn't been creating with passion enough. Amidst busyness and details we can lose sight of the "Big Picture" and allow cluttering tasks to take us away from what we were born to do.

I asked myself questions to help me focus my life, before focusing my lens. Today, I just want to pass on these questions and exercises in hope that you too can gain clarity and find peace, satisfaction, and greater meaning in your pursuits.

What's your Big Picture?

PHASE 1

Strategic Guiding Questions
What's my main thing, or niche? What am I most passionate about among all the things I'm currently doing? What can I be the best at (and not be the best at)? How can I create an economic engine behind this? How can these first 4 questions define my big picture?

Making adjustments: Am I too scattered or overly focused on any one thing? Do my actions and "to-dos" fit into the big picture of my niche and priorities with relevant overlap? What doesn't fit? Am I playing off my strengths and delegating my weaknesses?

Reflection Questions
What am I doing well? What can I do better? What should I stop doing? What should I start doing?

PHASE 2

The BIG Picture
Based on Phase 1, Write out the big picture of what you're aiming to accomplish and who you want to become in the process as a paragraph. Refer to it in the following weeks as you plan your time and energy.

Focus Categories & Action Steps
List the categories you need to focus on and goals within them. Break down their action steps. Put the action steps on the calendar each week. Kill everything else on your calendar that doesn't fit and say "no" to most things outside your Big Picture frame.

Celebrate when goals are met.
 

In a few months, do this all again. 
 

NOTE: A post like this is sort of an experiment. Not sure if you'll find value in it. If you do, please click on the "Like" button above or leave a comment below. And if it helps you, feel free to link to it or throw it out in the social media realm. Thank you.

3 Images, 3 Steps in the process toward satisfying productivity

REFLECT AND REFINE YOUR VISION.

DO THE WORK!

MAKE YOUR ART & ENJOY IT.

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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.