Portraits: Trip from Nepal

For my GAP 2014 trip, I had the privilege to bring a film camera along with me for the class. I thought that the film camera added into the experience especially for the country that I went to which was Nepal. I hiked for three days and spent the rest of my time in the lovely orphanage called Ocean Nepal where service activities were done. Using the  film camera was such a nice experience during the GAP trip because I had to think on how I wanted to communicate about the country through the film. I wanted to capture the people, the architecture and the culture of the country although there were other possibilities. I decided to use some of the portrait pictures for the assignment that was given in class which was environmental portrait and portrait eyes. I thought that doing this assignment was easier than any other because you don't really have to think much although you still have to think about the lighting and everything else. I prefer to take portraits because of how it's more fun and if the person is nice enough, I would start a conversation with them. Taking portraits is the perfect opportunity to try and develop the speaking skills because you kind of have to talk with the person. Portraits are also great to tell the person's story and you can also make your own interpretation about the subject.

One of the five contact sheets

Environmental Portrait

 This photo was taken during one of my hiking's to Kathmandu. I saw this women at a peaceful and small village  with other local people on a nice day, playing games and having conversations. This lady stood out the most for me because of how she was standing alone in front of her house (maybe) and it seemed that she seemed unsurprised that there were tourists in her village since there might have been more tourists who came before me. She seemed willing to let me take a picture of her because of how she was smiling the whole time. I thought that this picture could improve by dodging the top part of the picture because it's too dark although, I like the gradient that it created. What made me really interested with the old lady was the nose  piercing she had. It made me wonder about what made her into making the decision of getting the nose ring and whether it had any conflicts with her parents.

Portrait Eyes

 This picture was taken when I went to the school of the children from the orphanage. It was the most unique experience of my life because I got to see what a local school in Nepal would look like. There were a lot of students in the school whilst the whole campus is only 3 levels big and everyone had to be outside where the balcony was before school started. The children there were really excited and curious when they saw a whole group of foreigners in their school, especially with me because I had a camera with me. They kept asking if I could show them the photos but I sadly said no since it was a film camera. The 'Portrait Eyes' above is one of the many portraits that I took of the kids.

Environmental Portrait

   This photo was also taken at the same venue as the above picture. These kids seemed interested with my camera and they kept staring at me so I decided to take a photo of them. I tried to in-cooperate the techniques that I've learned last assignment which was composition and in this photo, I tried to use leading lines to my subject. I used the hand rail of the stairs to lead the viewers to the children. I also liked the texture of the background because it showed that the school was basically made out of bricks without being painted over whatsoever.  When you look down the hand rail, you can see that the two girls are holding hand over the rail. It might have been because she was nervous that her picture was being taken and I thought that it was adorable. It shows at how sweet and curious kids can be when they don't have things such as iPods and iPhone's which they probably would not care about.

Portrait Eyes

 This is Suraj and he is one of the kids at the Ocean Nepal Orphanage. He is a really great kid and a lot of fun to be with. He wants to be a national soccer player for Nepal when he grows up. I admire him because at this age, he already knows who he is and what he wants to be unlike I who still struggles with math. Suraj and I are the same age therefore I envy him for being prepared for his future, and it was a great time getting to know him.
 I had two prints initially for this photo because the first one had a really dark background which really stood out the subject. I liked it with the dark background although I was told it was too dark therefore it would be a distraction. Therefore, I went with the second print which has a lighter background to it so that the photo would even out in contrast.

Overall, my trip at Nepal through film photography was really fun as I got to see the country in black and white, and I was interested into seeing how I was able to communicate the country through the photos. The GAP trip was definitely a trip that I will never forget because I have never been to Nepal and it was a nice trip to strengthen the groups relationship or bond between one and another.