I'm off to the west coast of Vancouver Island for some fun in the rain, and surfing. Simply can't wait - daydreaming had me doodling in a notebook this morning. I'll be back in a week with some photos from the trip. Be well and enjoy what's left of summer.

Kamil

Tags: coffee, doodling, drawing, glasses, gone surfing, leaving, notebook, trip.

The women of the urban community garden work during the early hours of the morning, as well as the late hours of the evening to tend to their garden located under power lines in Villa Maria, Lima, Peru.

Welcome to blog part 2 of 3 about a recently released documentary film called "From the Earth to the Pot: Urban Agriculture and Food Security in Lima, Peru." The film was filmed and produced by the Paradigm Shift Project, and NGO which creates media for use by other NGOs specifically about topics of social and environmental significance. I was the Project Photographer on location for 5 weeks, the duration of filming of this film in Lima, and around its many 'cones' or poor districts.

This part 2 will discuss the documentary photography aspect of the project, something that I was tasked with. You can skip directly to the photo story located on my website, here.

Fidela Velasquez, along with her friends and participants an urban community garden project supported by IPES, Promocion del Desarrollo Sostenible, in Villa Maria Del Triunfo, Lima, Peru.

I love shooting for journalistic purposes. There is such a tangible human aspect to it, and I am always fascinated by different flavours of people. I crave the challenge of getting people to open up and become comfortable having the camera around, and often times in their face. Shooting alongside a video production also presents its own set of challenges that need to be overcome, specifically the fact that micriphones are very sensitive and some timing your shots and being discrete with the shutter is very important.

I almost never hide my camera when I meet new people. I may not photograph them immediately upon our first meeting, but I keep the camera out so as to not hide my intentions. Yes, I want to get to know them, but ona documentary shoot, I am a hpto journalist, and they must know that. Therefore, the camera stays out. They get to know me, and the fact that I will have a camera around, and I think people really appreciate that upfront-ness.

Villa Maria del Triunfo, a poor district and one of the "cones" that surround the city of Lima, Peru.

The other challenges to shooting for a documentary is the sometimes-dangerous surroundings that require travel to, and working in. I accepted early on  that my camera had a high potential for getting stolen, so I when in transit, I would often switch out memory cards, so as to have an empty card in the camera in case of theft. There is also something to be said for having a head on your shoulders and an ear to the ground for scenes and situations that seem a little bit too strange or awkward and it's in those times that small decisions you make will influence whether you take your gear home that night, or not.

While Lima is said to be one of South America's most dangerous cities, I had absolutely no run-ins with any crime what-so-ever. Of course there were times when I put my camerain my bag and lay low, and walked quicker to get away from an area, but overall, not a single bad experience. On the other hand, a french student I met while there was robbed at gun point. I guess it's a matter of luck - you can be robbed at gunpint in many cities in Canada as well.

In the end, I returned home with several gigs of images, all which to a while to get through. Those that I've selected for the photo story represent what I think is an accurate account of the topics of the film. Please check out the slideshow, and let me know what you think.

Cheers,

Kamil

Tags: challenge, Community Development, community gardening, dcoumentary, documentary, film, Food Security, From the Earth to the Pot, IDMA, IPES, Kamil Bialous, lima, marginalization, MEC, obstacles, Paradigm Shift Project, peru, photography, photojournalism, poverty, psp, sustainable agriculture, urban agriculture, video, Villa Maria del Triunfo.

I've got a wonderful friend who spends her summers living in the Yukon. When the opportunity arose to check out the 'Kon, I couldn't pass it up. I immediately knew that this was going to be a trip of extravagent experiences and outstanding photography. The two and a half weeks I spent there didn't even begin to scratch at the surface of the potential for outdoor adventure or cultural experiences. The experiences that stand out are hiking through the Tombstone mountain area of the Ogilvie Mountains; Dawson city and its steamship graveyard; Skagway, Alaska (affectionately known as 'laska) and the Red Onion Saloon  - a former brothel; Haines, 'laska and Skip who runs the best beer store in the world; and of course Whitehorse and its small town / big enough feel.

Check out the entire travel photography gallery here on my website.

Cheers

Kamil

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