Listening with the Lens - filming a documentary

As many of you know, last October I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Nepal as a videographer/filmmaker, to document the story of Loving Arms Mission Orphanage. It was a profoundly moving experience, much of which I have previously blogged about (see links at end of this post).


This was my first effort at documentary film making. When the opportunity arose, I had only a portfolio of still images and my passion and enthusiasm to offer...not to mention my camera - the Canon 5D Mark II, with the technology to shoot HD video in addition to stills. Fortunately, the experience mattered less than the ability to dedicate my heart, mind, and spirit into my work, and for me, that's just a given in everything I do! So after only a short 2-day intensive film making workshop with Pat Darrin, and a significant investment in audio equipment, I was on a plane to Kathmandu.

Today, I couldn't be more honored and proud to share with you these three shorts, produced and edited by the team at Loving Arms Mission. Each is about 6-8 minutes long, and all three are different. I had no idea what the final pieces would be like, there was no specific shoot list nor storyboard; I was entrusted with full confidence to simply shoot what I saw and let the camera "tell it like it is", which is what documentary film making is all about. As I began taping, the story just began to tell itself, and all I did was listen...with the lens.


1) Stranger in a Strange Land Part II


Notes:
* THIS IS MY PERSONAL FAVORITE - the children are truly inspirational for their triumphs and resilience; and to see their joyous spirit now, their love for music, their complete comfort with self and others, well, listening with the lens couldn't have been easier!
* 4:00 minutes in - this song echoed through the home as the girls rehearsed, learning the lyrics off an ipod


1) Stranger in a Strange Land Part I


Notes:
* .30 seconds in, camera on tripod, you'll see me on the right - the joy of being welcomed into the family as "Auntie Kymri" and to both document and participate in everyday life at the orphanage was truly a special experience.
* 3:45 minutes in, this was how dinner happened every night, with all the children helping with the cooking and serving and cleaning. Shovah, the mother, is a wonderful cook of tasty and healthy vegetarian meals.


3) Stranger in a Strange Land Part III


Notes:
* Opening - the longer I was there, the more I relied on the tri-pod, because too often I'd be drawn out from behind the camera to be included in this amazing loving family.
* 4:50 minutes in - nice montage of still images to tell the story.
* throughout - more great scenes of life with the children

In the end, it is Kent's words that sum it all up best, for himself, for the children, and for my own experience in the making of this film:


"...to embrace life without fear....is just a great, beautiful reward"

Indeed it is.

And, like Kent, I wouldn't have it any other way.


More:
Kids Around the World: On Location in Nepal - my story in stills, behind the scenes
Goats and Gods - the celebration of Dashain and a vegetarian alternative to slaughtering a goat
Kathmandu, Nepal: Homecomings - the simple things which keep me feeling at home away from home
Kids Around the World: Orphans with a Home - my Nepali nieces and nephews
Landslides and Leeches: a trekking journal, Nepal - after the filming, the crew were rewarded with a 7-day trek, and here I share my journal and experience

Back to School (around the world!)

It's Back to School time!



Which means I finally have some time to share a few back to school photos and stories. So in sticking with the theme, here are some of my favorite images of kids and schools I've had the pleasure to meet and visit during my travels.

Let's start in NEPAL:

When I think of the stories parents tell kids, of how they used to walk miles to school, in the snow and rain, uphill, BOTH ways(!), I can't help but reflect upon these children heading off to school near Ghandruk in Nepal. I was on the descent of my 6th day of trekking in the Himalayas, having survived 86 hours of monsoon rains and traversed mudslides in action, when taking an early morning start I met these lovely children walking to school - uphill, up a very steep mountain actually, in their tidy uniforms with not a single complaint.




And speaking of high elevations, the Andean town of Cusco, PERU forms a quaint backdrop for these girls walking home from school arm in arm.



As for the classrooms I've visited, what fun it is to find them outdoors as weather permits!

From this very crowded kindergarten class in the Hutongs of Beijing, CHINA....


to not just a class, but the entire school's student body enjoying lessons outside in the remote Osa Peninsula of COSTA RICA....


And speaking of remote, in BRAZIL's Pantanal region, where it is far too hot to have class outside, I visited this classroom (with the entire student body of 6).


Back in CHINA, there are small classes to be found, like this one at the Children's Palace in Shanghai, a school devoted to Chinese traditional and cultural arts.


Regardless of class size, country, or culture, children everywhere appreciate school and learning, and it shows!


Peruvian school girls in uniform



Brazilian school girls proudly showing off their English notebooks



Chinese first graders on a field trip in Kunming

While I believe there is no greater education than travel, circumstances don't permit such a life experience for most kids. There are many children around the world for whom a school and an education of any kind would be a treasured gift. That's why, last year, I helped to build a school in Cambodia through a program called Passports with Purpose. This year, they will be raising money to build not just a school, but an entire village in Southern India. More details are forthcoming, and you will soon see the widget here on my blog so that you can donate and participate. Meanwhile, you can get the latest details on the Passports With Purpose facebook page.

Finally, if you are a parent like me, I hope you are sending your child(ren) back to school with a great big smile and thumbs up! Have a great school year!!



Be sure to visit Delicious Baby every Photo Friday for more fun blogs and travel photos!

Ramadan Begins

...providing no better excuse to share some of my favorite images from Morocco!







Better yet, here's a 7-minute slideshow of Morocco, including the call to prayer in the soundtrack. Enjoy!





The video slideshow was a test run I did for Poloroid a few years back...the digital scrapbooking software is now commercially available as MyMemoriesSuite. You can read more about the multimedia photobook slideshow of Morocco project in a previous post. Do be sure to check out my full gallery of Morocco pictures.

رمضان كريم !

For more travel blog fun, check out Delicious Baby's Photo Friday~