In February I spent three days at a little hospital in rural India. More than anything else, this was a chance for me to use photography to give back. By shooting both stills and video I was able to create a set of media assets that they can use to raise awareness and help with fundraising. The video above is a short segment on the clinic.
Finding opportunities like this has becoming important to me. Increasingly I am feeling the need to do more that just make pretty pictures. The people whose photographs I “take” deserve more than simply being a souvenir stored on my hard drive. Sometimes giving back is big – images that can be used for the good of an entire organization. Sometimes giving back is small and deeply personal. One of my favorite experiences in India was handing out printed portraits I’d made of the hospital staff. For many of them this was the first photograph anyone had ever made for them. People literally started to cry when I handed them their picture. It was an extraordinary experience for me.
good stuff Jon. I think we’re on a similar track in our thinking… I also reckon we often underestimate the power of an image to do good, far beyond what we can tangibly ‘measure’. Keep it up.
pb
Hi Jon,
Great initiative… great stills and video.
I’m really impressed by your work and even more about your vision.
Thanks for doing all this.
Heber.
this is great. i’m coming to learn that the less time we spend being concerned about ourselves and the more time we spend being concerned about the well being of others, our own well being ends up being changed for the better in the process. Thank you for ‘Giving Back’.