Honduras trip log: La Ceiba

I’m finally getting to a chance to post a new update, but where to begin?

At my last post, I was waiting for my luggage to join me here in Tegucigalpa, and thankfully it arrived later that day.  We picked it up at the airport on Tuesday afternoon, headed home to repack for our trip to the North Coast, and went right back to the airport (my third time there in 24 hours).  We caught two propellor plans, enjoyed a hazy sunset on our way out, and arrived in La Ceiba late Tuesday night.

After the first of a series of painfully early 4:30 am starts, we piled into the back of a pick-up for a two hour ride out to the forest.  We stopped for breakfast at what looked to be a Honduran truck stop, and were on the trail by 8:00 am.

Let’s just say the rest of the day proved to be very adventurous in more ways than one (including pulling over a dozen ticks off of me over the next few days).  Unfortunately, I need to pack my bags and catch a flight home, so I’ll write more about our hike into the forest in my next post.

Published personal project

It’s always a nice feeling when a personal project takes on a life of its own.  For those of you who don’t have access to the print version of Amherst Magazine (I’m guessing that’s most of you), here are a few pages from the final layout:

Click here to download the full PDF of the article.

Camp Sizanani is an amazing place.  It provides a genuinely fun, happy, supportive camp experience to South African children who are in desperate need of just that — their childhood.  Please spread the word and support them at http://www.globalcampsafrica.org/

Camp Sizanani in Amherst Magazine

I was recently asked to provide photos to accompany a piece in Amherst Magazine about Camp Sizanani.  Elizabeth Chiles Shelburne wrote a heart-warming piece about her time there, and the editors made great photo selections to illustrate her story.

Reading through the article brought me back to my documentary project at Sizanani, complete with memories of the amazing counselors and campers, and their beautiful singing, chanting, and dancing.  To get a sense of the power of the singing, check out this sample clip (and as a bonus, you’ll see “behind-the-scenes” footage of me hard at work):

Amputation surgery

After much anticipation and a few tentative editing sessions, I’ve put together a mini photo essay on the leg amputation surgery that I was fortunate enough to photograph in Guatemala last month.  Be warned, there are a few very graphic shots included.  Good luck.

Guatemala update 4

During our six days in Zacapa, Guatemala, the ROMP volunteers saw 45 patients — 5 hip disarticulations, 3 pairs of stub legs for bilateral above the knee amputations, 4 below the knee prosthesis, 3 above the elbow prostheses, 2 below the elbow prostheses, 16 above the knee prostheses, and 12 custom orthotic braces.

Here, founders Dave Krupa and Eric Neufeld see two of those amputee patients in neighboring exam rooms in the newly constructed ROMP clinic:

And needless to say, by the end of the week the entire volunteer crew was exhausted.

Guatemala Update 3

While I struggle to edit photos from the leg amputation I shot last week, here are a few more palatable images in the meantime:

Still more to come as the editing continues.

Back from Guatemala

Back from an amazing project in Guatemala, I’m starting the long process of editing the 12,000 images that I brought home with me.  As I work my way through the collection, I’ll try to post a steady of flow of photos here.

On day one of ROMP‘s volunteers seeing patients, co-founder Dave Krupa addresses the waiting crowd:

Marubeny waits patiently while her prosthesis is adjusted in the workshop:

An amputation patient eagerly awaits the removal of his left foot, rendered useless by a gun shot wound that created irreversible nerve damage:

More to come later…

3am wake up (and Guatemala), here I come!

Between hosting a hugely successful ASMP event last night, framing prints for a client, cranking away at my website redesign, and preparing for 10-day project in Guatemala with ROMP, it’s been a busy week.

Here’s a preview of images to come with ROMP, taken while volunteers sorted through donated prosthetics in preparation for our trip:

I’m hoping to upload some shots along the way, so stay tuned.  Now if only I could somehow avoid our 3am wake up tomorrow morning….

My new friend

As I start the long process of editing recent projects to update my website, I stumbled upon a great outtake from my shoot at New City School in St. Louis this May.  Since I wasn’t at my laptop when Jordan, my new 5-year-old friend, was leaving for the day, she was kind enough to leave me a note.  Priceless.