Watching Video with Grupo Flormorado

It was great to see some of my students from Grupo Flormorado over the holidays. I delivered and installed some new computers for a mini lab we are trying to set up and got to see some of the new things they are working on. In the above photo the group was looking at a holiday video created for them by my Stetson Shutterbugs.

Christmas in La Florida

What a treat it was to spend the holidays in Colombia. Besides seeing my family I got to spend some time with mi familia from La Florida, including Don Jairo pictured above. We spent time catching up and planning our activities for the coming year.

Exploring La Florida

On my first full day in La Florida my students took me around to see their wonderful town and the surrounding area. We also took the opportunity to start talking about photography and start taking pictures. A highlight of the day was when they took me to their secret little place where 

they made a swing. 

Reception in La Florida

Wow. It felt like the whole town was there to welcome me to La Florida today! It was amazing to see the enthusiasm and support that the community has for this project. I can't wait to get started with the students tomorrow!

Meeting my New Students

Today I met with my new students for the first time at La Javeriana University in Bogota. I was a little surprised when instead of the 15 students I expected I saw almost 40! It seems Padre Angel from Fundación San Martín de Porres has a tough time saying no. :-)


I discussed what we will be doing over the next few weeks and looked at what our goals and expectations will be. Then we broke up into groups with the help of Jenny Paola from Grincol Communications and Pillar from La Javeriana and worked on the name for the group, as well as mission and vision statements for our project. 

FLORMORADO (Purple Flower local to La Florida where it gets it's name)

Fotos por descubrir… de la florida para el mundo entero

Photographs to discover  . . . from la Florida and the entire world.

Mission: 
Mediante la fotografía sesibilizarnos y enseñar al mundo nuestras costumbres campesinas, con la participación activa de la comunidad de La Florida en su diario vivir, aprovechando nuestros propios recursos.


Using photography to better understand and show the world our rural customs, with the active participation of the community of La Florida in their daily lives, using our own resources.


Vision:
Consolidarnos como un equipo de fotógrafos, multiplicador, que construye conocimiento y opera trabajando la problematica social que vive nuestro pueblo, para mejorar la calidad de vida y la conservación del medio ambiente.


Consolidate as a team of photographers that builds a working knowledge of the social problems facing our people, to improve the quality of life and environmental conservation.


What a great start, I can't wait to go to La Florida tomorrow and REALLY get this project started!

Reunited with Grupo Aguacero

Today I was finally reunited with Grupo Aguacero after three long years. I am so proud that the group continues to do great work in Aguablanca. We will be continuing to work together even as I begin the next phase of Cameras for Colombia next week in La Florida.

New Project!

Here I am meeting students from Fundación San Martín de Porres at a computer lab at La Javeriana in 2009.

I am so happy to announce a new outreach project I will be doing in Colombia working with a group of students from Fundación San Martín de Porres, located in a farming community outside Bogotá. In collaboration with La Javeriana in Bogotá, one of Colombia's most respected Universities, I will be embarking on a two-year project with a group of students from the Fundación. Much like my previous group in Cali, these students will learn to use the camera as a tool to explore their culture and share their stories. In addition, I will be building a darkroom for them similar to the one I just recently completed at Stetson Middle School in Philadelphia. In fact, an integral part of the project will be a distance learning program where both groups of students will learn about each other's respective cultures using photography as well as video. Details are still being worked but the project could start as early as this coming September.