Travel & Humanitarian Photos
Whilst we’re thinking about gifts for the holiday season, I’d like to introduce you to a project that I know will interest you.
Tim Bowman is a former student at the Bangkok Photo School. He joined us for a “Creative Photography” class and it was pretty clear that he would prove to be one of those delightful students who would end up giving at least as much as he would be getting from the class. We seem to be blessed with the most enthusiastic and dedicated photographers at the Photo School and Tim was certainly no exception. My abiding memory of Tim is from a field-trip to the flower market one evening, I discovered him impressing local children with a series of magic tricks. Clearly, he was enjoying himself as much as they were and it was a small but rather refreshing example of a photographer who delights in the experience before beginning to photograph.
So it was no surprise to me when Tim contacted me recently with news of a project that he’d been working on. Cambodia With Love is a book containing the fruits of his photographic labours at the “Who Will Village” in Cambodia. I’ll let Tim explain:
“Who Will Village is home to 44 children in need; largely economic orphans. Who Will is a relatively small NGO that is privately funded. I had a bit of time on my hands and decided I’d like to use my photography to help others if I could, so I contacted Who Will Village via the Sakka Foundation in Hong Kong (my base).
The plan was to take a few shots to help with publicity. However, after spending some time with the inspiring kids and staff I wanted to do more to help. As a privately funded NGO, they are always in need of support. This hit home for me when I offered to buy some board games and I was informed the kids needed underwear more.
With the support of many individuals we have published a 160 page photography book with all profits going to Who Will Village. My dream is to raise enough funds to support the village for one year (around US$50,000). This will cover food, water, medical, clothing, education and salaries (all local).”
I received my copy of “Cambodia With Love” last week and am still enjoying the wonderful images within the 160 pages. Tim’s images are… well, I’m struggling to find words that will convey the delight and joy that they communicate without seeming to oversell it… Tim’s images are full of energy, full of wonderful light and, most importantly, full of life.
For me, this is a great example of a talented photographer putting their skills to use in a very practical and effective way. I sincerely hope that Tim achieves his goal of raising enough money from the book to support the village for a whole year. As well as creating the photographs and conceiving the plan, Tim has recruited support from designers and printers so his efforts have been manifold.
Please take a moment to enjoy Tim’s photos and if you’re interested in giving a really unique and inspiring gift this festive season then I heartily recommend Cambodia With Love. But I recommend that you buy two copies because you will definitely want to keep one for yourself.
I am guessing that one of the reasons Tim’s photographs are full of energy and light is that he is that way himself with his subjects and translates it to them, or rather reminds them of their own just before he makes photographs of them. A worthwhile project too. Just the kind of work I would like to do myself some day once I complete the current projects.