The Giving Lens comes to Cusco
Photography is one of my passions, and a week or so ago I was privileged
and delighted to meet some of my heroes from the photography world. On behalf
of Picaflor House, the project I manage here in Peru, I hosted a visit from a team of world-class photographers from The Giving Lens organisation. Founded by internationally renowned
photographer/photo instructor, author and humanitarian Colby Brown, The Giving Lens focuses on blending
photography education with giving back to local communities.
The Giving Lens offers
photography workshops in various locations around the globe, where they work
alongside local non-profit organisations that are doing exceptional work. These
workshops are designed and led by Colby, who offers a unique and creative
learning environment that not only showcases the latest in digital photography
techniques but also emphasizes the importance of lending a helping hand to help
make the world a better place for all life on this planet. What better
combination!
After arriving in Cusco
on Tuesday 29 May, Colby and his team of Mike Chambers, Joe Azure, Vincent
McMillen, Alexis Coram, Christopher Cox and Michael Bonocore spent their first
afternoon recovering from their long journeys from various international
locations and getting acclimatised to the altitude. Next morning I led the
group on a photowalk around Cusco, visiting
local markets and the major tourist attractions and finding the best spots for
views over this picturesque city. They were a fun group, happily posing for my
camera and enthusiastic about the sights of Cusco.
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Thursday morning saw an early start as our
group headed out of the city to the ancient Inca ruins at Tipon, a small
village south-east of Cusco. As roadworks were underway on the access road, we
had to hike 300 metres up part of the original Inca trail to reach the ruins,
no mean feat for a couple of the guys who were carrying 50lb backpacks of
camera equipment. But the effort was worth it, as the team shot some amazing
photos of the impressive ruins and surrounding landscapes.
Back down in the
village for lunch, the more adventurous photographers got to sample the local
delicacy, guinea pig – not me though, I had trout!
After lunch we headed down the road to Picaflor House, where we were treated to a traditional Peruvian dance performance by our kids – they performed so beautifully! – and then spent a couple of hours photographing and playing with the children. Both the photographers and the kids had a blast!
The Giving Lens team spent the next three
days at Machu Picchu, capturing the delights of
that magical ancient city of the Incas, before returning to Cusco
on Sunday 3 June. The next day I took them exploring again, this time to the
little town of Pisac in the Sacred Valley,
where they photographed the ruins and the impressive mountain landscapes, did a
little souvenir shopping in the local market and enjoyed more delicious local
food, before heading out for another afternoon with our kids at Picaflor.
This time we enjoyed a performance of Goldilocks and the 3 bears, by one of
our English classes, then joined the volunteers making owls in art class. It
was a lot of fun and Colby even put aside his camera for a while to make an owl
to take back to his 9-month-old son!
With this scouting workshop having been
such a huge success, Colby has already committed to a return trip to Cusco and Picaflor House for a longer period and with a
bigger team in 2013. Not only will they photograph the kids, they will also
bring donated cameras and run workshops to introduce our kids to the basics of
photography. As Alexis Coram, one of the team, wrote on her return to the USA, this will
‘let them freely document life through their
eyes.... I’m sure these kids are in for a real treat next year and that their
involvement with The Giving Lens will only boost their personal and social
growth. I predict that some of them will become photographers themselves ...
they seem to be naturals.’
I am thrilled with how
the trip worked out. Not only will this partnership provide much-needed funding
for Picaflor, it will also benefit the kids in other ways. Our kids are very
creative and really love our arts and crafts classes. They love being
photographed and then immediately race to the photographer to check out their
photo. They also love borrowing my camera and those of our volunteers to try
taking photos themselves.
I contacted Colby
because I knew our kids would be very keen to learn more about photography and,
if they show some talent, this might also lead to career possibilities for
them. Cusco’s economy is dependent on tourism,
yet the quality of photographs on postcards and in tourist brochures is
generally quite poor. We really could do with some good home-grown
photographers!
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