When I photographed this man’s feet in a small, isolated village in Mexico, I was attracted to the simple story of his worn feet in homemade sandals. That is the only reason I took the photo, visual interest.
Yet, as I look at this photo now, I think of the incalculable differences in the paths our lives have taken. His is a path of simplicity: homemade sandals, simple labor and a travel radius of only a few miles from his home.
My life, surrounded and encumbered with technology, has become a constant battle to manage and utilize digital information and technology. Neither lifestyle is more right or more wrong, more noble or more damaging. We both need to relax in the care of a loving and just God. “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8
How little we think about death. But when we are touched by it, the reality hits so hard. It is so final…so unchangeable. We are so powerless to stop it. Is that why we don’t think about death, because we feel we can’t stop it? Are we living our lives hoping we are never going to be touched by death?
Amos Afune, 13, died last night. The details are sketchy, but it seems he died from complications he had after a fall. A recent battle with malaria may also have weakened his body. Vivian and I met Amos in April when we visited his home, an orphanage in Kenya. He was one of those hard-working, always-helping, always-praying, shining-light kind of kids. You liked him immediately. Our pastor, who also knew Amos, said, “Heaven is brighter today, but Africa just got darker.”
Don’t live your life never thinking about death. Consider what Jesus said as you ponder death and eternity: John 5:24 …”he who hears My Word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgement, but has passed from death into life.”
Vivian and I have been in Hawaii shooting stock images, teaching a short class on multi-media production and sitting in on the teaching of David duChemin at the School of Photography, University of the Nations in Kona, Hawaii.
The students here are full of passion for the hurting and marginalized people throughout the world and are endeavoring to improve their craft to better tell their stories. David (pictured above), a frequent shooter for World Vision, has been an open book and is not holding back any info that will help the young photographers achieve the visions God has given them.
To get a slightly better feel for the class, take a look at a piece Vivian and I did in an effort to teach multi-media production to the students. Click HERE. Make sure and check out the other links above too.
For the past four or five trips overseas I have touted the benefits of traveling extremely light on gear. I would take a couple of small Canon 5D bodies and three lenses: 24-105mm, 50mm 1.4 and a 135mm f2. My reasoning was that I wanted and needed to be lightweight to move quickly. But as I was packing for my trip last week to Mexico I kept sensing I needed to take my beasty (heavy and expensive) 85mm 1.2 and 35mm 1.4 lenses as well as the Canon 1Ds Mark II that weighs more than all of my packed clothes put together. I added to that a 16-35mm, a 70-300mm DO IS lens and a HD video camera for good measure. My bag weighed 25 pounds. I’m so glad I listened to that inner prodding that I’m sure came from God. I needed every lens I took. I needed the 1Ds when the the rain started pouring down. I needed the fast primes for shooting in dark huts and churches.
A fellow photographer recently asked me to write what I thought made a great photo:
We all say, “Oh, that’s a great photo, or man, that is one cool shot.” But what makes it great? I know that when I say a photo is great, this photo, on some level, has “engaged” me. A shaft of light has captivated me. Converging or opposing angles have intrigued me. A twinkle in an eye or the glance of one subject to another has drawn me in. A good photo might only have one of these elements. A great photo has all three: Light that moves us emotionally, angles or composition that excite and moments that allow us to enter another’s life, if only for a moment.
This photo really has none of these qualities: it has poor light, so-so composition and no engaging moments. Yet, I consider this photo to be one of the more moving photos I took on my last trip to Kenya because of the story behind it. I only took one frame.
The woman is holding a baby she adopted after finding her alongside a road, abandoned and stuffed into a plastic bag. People passing by had been afraid to touch the wiggling bag, thinking a snake might be inside. This lady reached inside to find a baby who had been left to die. That infant is now a chubby, healthy child because of the bravery and sacrifice of one woman.
Sometimes photos are only “great” when words are added.
A woman at one of the orphanages in Kenya cooks at least 3600 meals over an open fire per month. In a mud hut with no electricity or running water, she feeds more than 40 children. Our traveling partner to Kenya offers these thoughts:
“Americans shouldn’t feel guilty for receiving all of God’s blessings on this country, but at the VERY least, we do need to stop complaining and groaning about our few silly problems. We also need to be much more THANKFUL for our MANY blessings…I still can not get over how much they (the children’s home) are able to do with so few resources.”
Vivian and I returned to Kenya after the trip I made during the violence of January. The “war” as some have called it, left many new orphans and a church struggling to find homes and other ways to care for those that have lost everything. One small church of 23 families took in 46 children. Now, think about your church families and double that number. Would we find the strength and grace to embrace that number of orphans in our churches? I think we would. I pray we would.
But here in the land of plenty it is often so easy to forget them…the cast aside, the lonely, the hurting, the needy children. We have to be intentional and support our brothers and sisters in need.
“Take your children to work day” takes on a whole new meaning when you are on assignment half way around the world and one of your kids is still in diapers. Click on the multi-media piece above where my wife shares our family experiences traveling and working with our kids in tow.
My morning was spent in prayer with other believers.
May the church, those that hold fast to the truths of the Bible, rise up and be intentional in the living out of their faith. May we not be lulled to sleep by the prosperity, ease and apparent peace that surrounds us in this country. May God help us to consider the persecuted, the weak, the orphans, those whose lives are encompassed by fear and evil. Sometimes we just need to shake ourselves free from the fog of everyday living and not be so “me” focussed.
He kept trying to get my attention…and I kept avoiding his gaze. But when I did glance in his direction, I could see that he was obviously mentally impaired. From then on I continued to avoid him. I just didn’t want to deal with him. Then, a few minutes later I felt a tug on my sleeve. He motioned that he wanted me to take his photo. I raised my camera and took one frame half-heartily. I showed him the image on the LCD. He smiled and walked away and I never saw him again. So, here is his photo, my way of giving him the honor and time I should have given him when he first tried to catch my attention.
The next time you (I’ll include myself here) are tempted to complain about the lines at the checkout, take a chill pill and consider the plight of displaced families in the world’s trouble spots. Lines are a way of life for refugees fleeing violence or famine. As I photographed the people in line, great sadness would always well up because I knew the supplies we brought were way too few to reach those that were at the end of the line. What about them? Will there be more help arriving tomorrow after we have gone?
Change is good. It is exciting. Change is bad. It is scary. Change always arrives with the tandem emotions of excitement and fear. But, with my wife’s help over the years, I have learned to look at change as a new door opening, a fresh awakening to opportunity. Even if we are predisposed to hating the winds of change, passion is a powerful driving force that will not allow the status quo to exist. Thus, I wanted to introduce a slight remake to my business website. It is a new focus emphasizing the NGO/Humanitarian/Missions element of my photography. www.garyschapman.com
With a sense of purpose and anticipation, I showed some of the Kenya photos at my church yesterday. I felt an overwhelming need to make people aware of what is going on in the world, to open their eyes. But is it vanity to think that people will be moved to action after viewing images of the suffering? Would I accomplish more by putting the camera down and working directly as an aid worker/missionary?
At times I feel a sense of guilt because I am more of an observer than one who is “in the trenches” doing the work. I think God allows this tension in us simply so that we will, at all times, continually, look to Him for guidance. My wife sent me this verse in an email this morning: Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:11-12 Go ahead and read the entire 12th chapter. The wisdom in these words will help us all focus on what is important. Don’t be afraid to question yourself or even God, just keep an attitude of prayer and of hope.
An aid worker holds the tiny hand of an infant before beginning the painful process of cleaning a burn wound.
Several days after returning from Kenya, Vivian and I had the awesome opportunity to teach Photoshop and Lightroom to a group of 17 very talented students at the University of the Nations in Kona, Hawaii. Their creativity and passion to learn both inspired and drained us. Check out a few more samples of their work below:
I was supposed to be heading into Darfur. Then chaos and violence erupted in Kenya. No fuel was available for our charter plane. Instead of canceling the trip we decided to try and aid the IDP’s (Internally Displace Persons) that had fled from the fighting and were now seeking refuge in large camps around the country. Some estimates place the death toll over 800 and the IDP’s near 500,000. Take a look at each person in the video below and realize that the only number that matters to each of them is 1. If you would like to see a higher quality video than the one hosted by YouTube, click here.
I heard a “famous” photographer speak a few days ago. One of his thoughts about family life was presented with what seemed to be a sense of deep regret. He spoke of leaving for an extended overseas assignment and watching his child wave goodbye. He related his divided desires, “The lure of the yellow box (National Geographic) was stronger than the call of fatherhood.” I may not have his exact words but the feeling is the same. We have choices to make…hard choices. But in the end, when you are getting old and your kids are grown and gone, wouldn’t it be better to have no regrets? May God give us all wisdom to use our short years well. This photo was taken of my family in 1997 when we all went on an around the world assignment.
This crowd in Pakistan was so dense that it would have been difficult to raise my camera to my eye as we slowly bumped and hustled along. I also knew that if I had tried to look through my lens I would probably have lost the image. I chose instead to shoot from the hip, looking her in the eyes and smiling as I pressed the release of the camera at my hip. I don’t normally like to “steal” images this way, but her look was too precious to pass up.
This photo and the ones preceding introduce you to one facet of the persecuted church. It is not the story of those that are martyred (although that happens too). These are the stories, vignettes and glimpses of those who must endure. They experience a lifestyle of endurance, a lifetime of patient subjection to authority that seems determined to crush their faith. Some falter and fall victim to the ever-resent weight of fear, harassment and isolation. And for others, the pressure tends to purify. They begin to truly understand the simplicity of the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus. Instead of sliding uncontrollably into the insidious trap of hatred toward their persecutors, they respond in prayer and love. Yet, they know and live under the shadow of the fact that this Gospel they live could get them killed. To protect their identity, the faces of these Christian pastors and church workers can not be fully disclosed.
I am not really a gear-head kind of photographer, but I am intensely interested in what others use and how it can be adapted to my working style. I have started a new permanent link that lists the equipment I use specifically for the one-person-gotta-carry-it-all-in-a-one-carryon type of scenario. The “Gear” link can be found at the top of the blog page. Please add your comments or questions about gear so we can all benefit.
Change is good. It is exciting. Change is bad. It is scary. Change always arrives with the tandem emotions of excitement and fear. But, with my wife’s help over the years, I have learned to look at change as a new door opening, a fresh awakening to opportunity. Even if we are predisposed to hating the winds of change, passion is a powerful driving force that will not allow the status quo to exist. Thus, I wanted to introduce a slight remake to my business website. It is a new focus emphasizing the NGO/Humanitarian/Missions element of my photography. 
