This fall I will be landing in India to help implement and teach a new photography program in the region of Kolkata, India. Specifically this program will be working with kids in the in the red-light district and the Pikhana slums. Right now I am in the process of raising the funds for the cameras. If you can take a second and read more about the program and kids that we will be working with you can go here. https://igg.me/at/focusofachild/x
Sarah with her camera at 10 years old
My weekly allowance was “one roll bought, one roll developed”. Each Saturday, when we went to Costco for the weekend’s refill of groceries, I always made sure to sneakily add “film” in my mom’s best forged handwriting to the shopping list lest she forget.
It was like Christmas retrieving the envelope with my name on it from the section marked “D”. My anticipation building from the week before, I would tear it open and quickly flip through to see my captures, discarding the flops along the way. The 12 or 24 frames relinquished few prized possessions, but they were priceless in the joy I felt with the glossy print between my finger tips and the smile on my lips.
It started like this at 10 years old – I had no way of anticipating the medium’s hold on me and the influence it would have on my path as an adult.
I have just reached my 10th year as a professional photographer. I abandoned a career in government to chase the idea that I could do what I love and what makesmy soul feel alive. I am grateful that that dream came to fruition, made possible by people giving me opportunities and exposing me to bigger possibilities along the way.
I have experienced the importance of being exposed to art as a child. I have felt the triumph and satisfaction that comes with creating an image I‘m proud of or pushing myself harder to achieve the final result I’m after.
Photography has influenced my life in ways I never knew possible. It has taught me to slow down and observe life going on around me, it has showed me how to see beauty in any situation, it has allowed me a voice. A voice of expression, a voice to say, “this is what moves me.” It’s the tool with which I celebrate life around me.
When I was asked if I wanted to come to Kolkata and teach photography to the children in that community, of course my answer was yes. It’s my hope that exposing these kids to the same magical opportunity I had will open such doors of possibility in their lives as well.
-Sarah
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Sarah is one of the photographers coming to Kolkata this October to implement the Focus of a Child photography program.
Focus of a Child, the latest project from Zedbridge, has launched on IndieGoGo to raise funds and awareness for their mission. You can contribute to the program by clicking here:: https://igg.me/at/focusofachild/x
Focus of a Child aims to send three professional photographers to the slums of Kolkata, India. There, the photographers will work with two groups of children to train them in a creative outlet to channel the realities of their surroundings. The first group will be a group of children living in the red-light district, and the second group will be students at HCS Elementary School in the Pikhana slums.
