I heard about the Portrait Equality project through the e-newsletters I
get from World Nomads. (http://www.worldnomads.com). It is joint collaboration and non-for-profit
project that seeks to give people in the developing world and remote
communities a family photograph, in places where owning a photograph would be
rare.
The motto of this program is “Give
photos, don’t just take them”.
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| Sujith at the Mirissa Fish Market |
An instant camera is provided on loan to photographers travelling in
remote countries so they are able to leave behind photographs with the people
they meet along their travels. When I
heard about the program, I wrote to Alicia at World Nomads to say I was
travelling through Sri Lanka to visit family and that I would love to be part
of this program. Alicia wrote back to
say the cameras were already out on other missions but encouraged me to take
and then share the photographs with the people I met in my travels.
Portrait Equality was conceived by the Browns, when they were travelling
through Papua New Guinea and started sharing photos they had taken on their
instant camera with the people they had met.
The reaction to this gesture inspired them to start up this creative and
worthwhile project. See their website for more information. http://www.portraitequality.org
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| Sujith's Friend and Co-worker |
As it turned out, during a recent trip to the south of Sri Lanka, I
visited a fish market at Mirissa. It was
while I taking photographs of some of the fishermen at the port that I was
asked if I could mail them copies of the photos. Their faces lit up when I said of course I
could. I showed them the photos I had
taken and had the same reaction that many travellers do, when they share the
images they have taken on their digital displays. Faces light up and many on-lookers gather
round. I have now developed these
photographs and sent them on their way.
I hope it will be a nice Christmas surprise to the fisherman I met and
photographed. So many travellers take
photographs but often forget to follow through on their well-intentioned
promises to send pictures back. However,
this little gesture could mean a lot to someone who has never owned a picture
of themselves.
Since coming back, I also had the chance to take a family portrait of
someone who has been with my mother for many years. In Sri Lanka, it is common to have a domestic
who will help with meal preparation.
They often stay in your home and go home to their own families (often in
the more rural parts of the country) about once a month. Leela has been with my mum since my dad
passed away in 2009. A few days ago, her
daughter, son-in-law and two grand daughters came for a visit. As it turned out, it was the little ones
birthday and a special day for the whole family. They were all dressed up in their Sunday best
and their eyes lit up when I offered to take a family portrait. I took a number of photos of the three
generations of this family and have now framed a couple of them and made copies
of the rest to give to Leela as a Christmas present. I know it will be much appreciated.
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| Leela with her daughter, grand daughters and son-in-law |
Portrait equality is a wonderful concept and a wonderful way for
travellers to give back a little something to the communities they visit and
the people they meet. In this digital
age when we take photographs for granted and share them so easily with friends
and family on websites, blogs and and forums such as Facebook, we rarely pause
to think that there are still many people for whom this is still a luxury. They have never owned a photograph to display
proudly on their mantelpiece. This
Christmas, don’t just take photographs…give them too.
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| Sharing the photos with Sujith |
"Give photos, don't just take them." Portrait Equality
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