Village Children
First off, sorry I didn’t follow up right away like I wanted to. Getting back into the swing of things has been more arduous than I thought it would be. That said, and without further ado, the life and infrastructure of Kenya…
From what I saw, it’s rough living in Kenya. There’s very little in terms of societal infrastructure that’s trustworthy, static, or reliable. While a standard of living that many of us would consider pretty basic can be found in the bustling urban areas, they’re usually sparse and really only reserved for the richest of the rich in the country.
For the rest of the tens of millions of residents, water is hard to come by, the average annual income barely breaks $1,000, electricity is unreliable (when available at all), waste management is a burning pile of trash on the side of the road, and the education system is really that in name only. It’s a tough life for most Kenyan families, having to choose if it’s preferable to pay for the uniforms and books for your kids potential education or to use that money to feed your family. More than often, they’re forced to side with daily survival. (read more…)
The Lyin' Lion
So I recently spent an entire month romping around Eastern Africa – specifically the country of Kenya. It’s hard to figure out how I should go about sharing stories and breaking up the many photos taken on the trip. There’s really so much to share – ranging from the inspiringly amazing to devastatingly heartbreaking. That said, I think I’ve happened upon a way to go about it.
In this first of four entires, I figure I’ll start with sharing the stories and images many people first think of when they think of the beauty of Africa – namely wild lions, zebras, the sprawling savanna, and the villages of people that oversee these wild untamed lands. In this instance, those people are called the Masai, and – at first glance – they live a quiet life in some of the most beautiful fertile lands on earth, left untouched and protected from the hand of modern development. That land is their Mara, and it is considered a National Park in Kenya, protecting it and the Masai culture from the twinge of development. (read more…)
So, brace yourself: Firefly Imageworks will be all but unavailable from March 15 through April 19. While, email communication will still be very welcome, I’ll be in Kenya for thirty days, helping to film a documentary, take photos, and develop fundraising collateral for an orphanage called One Home Many Hopes (OHMH).
So, do email. Do call. Feel free to touch base with me however you normally would for whatever you may need. I’ll still be here for two more weeks as of this writing after all. This is just to give fair warning of the impending trip, and to give some context to clients that come calling while I’m out of touch. (read more…)
Hangin' Around
The last three days I got to break out my camera four times, and I figured I’d write a quick blog to share a little bit of the recent shots. Thursday featured the family Thanksgiving dinner and festivities. Photos ensued, and it was all was followed by a visit to my pals Doug and Elizabeth Paul’s house which turned into a shoot with their adorable little girl, Avery. Friday, I got to hangout with the Ford/Boswell families for some awesome times and photos. Then this morning, I went into Richmond with my Eikon Missional Community and brought some coffee to some of our friends in Richmond on the cold morning. (read more…)
The Untold Story
Eikon is a community I’ve been involved with for the past year. With a name that, translated from the original Greek means “image reflectors,” its a new kind of church that approaches the weekly rhythm of Christian worship with a fresh perspective; meeting once a month for a large community worship service, and spending the other three to four weekends of the month, meeting as smaller Missional Communities (MCs) with a specific missional purpose. My MC, for instance, has a focus on meeting the needs of the less fortunate within Richmond, VA.
For each of the group’s monthly gatherings, I’ve taken on a key role in developing the visual presentation of the service. With services being less-frequent its easier to treat each one with a particular degree of specialness – a specialness that should (and does) filter down into even the tiniest of details. (read more…)
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