What You Can Not See

Pinky making images of her home, Jadibuti slum, Kathmandu, Nepal

Photography is much about exposing your view, but there's so much more going on beneath the surface. There's a complicated concoction of thoughts and feelings that drive the impulse to lift a camera to your eye, to compose the raw material of what's present, and to wait patiently for the proper moment of capture... when time and space sync and align.

Teaching my eight photography students at Koseli School through my non-profit organization, Lens on Life, was such a thrill for me. I loved sharing the Art of iPhoneography and studying their images with each of them. While I've been slow to share this experience and the children's images with the world, there's been a lot of effort beneath the surface... things you can not see. But, it's coming. The children are still shooting. I'm working hard to sort and place the puzzle pieces into their proper spaces. And I'm eager to share more with you when the time is right.

Patience is Required

Mother Durga Augi waits patiently as her 15-day-old newborn receives photo therapy for 2-3 days to treat jaundice at Seti Zonal Hospital in Kailali District in the far west region of Nepal. This photo thereapy machine is one of three at the hospital purchased with funds provided by CARE. At this moment, the hospital had four cases of jaundice in the Neonatal Ward.

Holding Someone New

Bindra Acharya, Maternal and Child Health Worker, cares for Ram Kumari Chaudhara's newborn moments after delivery at the Health Facility in Hasuliya (Kailali District), Nepal. This health facility is supported in part by CARE's CRADLE program focused on maternal and newborn health in remote regions of Nepal. You can see more images from this experience here.

What Was Found

seek - attempt to find (something); attempt or desire to obtain or achieve (something)

One year ago today, I settled on the word "seek" to guide me through 2010. I chose the word with the intention that it would lead to find, and it did in many ways. I found clarity in my work and strength in my vision. I found wealth in poverty and wisdom from people in hidden places. I found faith in my intuition and the courage to follow it. I found a narrow path and a hopeful place to begin beside the hesitant pause.

May the New Year bring you peace, love, and great joy.

What Women Must Do

We climbed a steep, winding hill high in the Doti District located in the far western region of Nepal with our friends from CARE, Induka and Mukesh, to reach these women tucked away in a modest stacked-stone structure. It's here where new mothers including Jai Dhara (right) attend the monthly Sahahara Mothers' Group meeting to share support for one another and to learn about maternal and newborn care thanks to support from CARE. Like sisters, they pass their babies with ease from one to another, share financial resources when special needs such as emergency healthcare issues arise, and look after one another with love in their eyes.

Because these women live in a very hilly region of Nepal, it's extremely difficult for them to deliver their babies in a health clinic. Many babies are born in the home. But imagine you have a high-risk pregnancy or you experience a complication during delivery and you're in need of medical care. In your weak and late-pregnancy state, you must climb up or down steep rocky dirt paths to find a method of transportation. It's likely dark because labor typically begins during the night or early in the morning. There are no paved streets or street lights near your home. You don't have a cell phone. You don't have a car. You might be able to find a bus, but transportation will be uncomfortable and unsafe during monsoon season when mudslides occur with frequency. You might travel several hours before reaching an open health clinic or regional hospital. And your baby might not be able to wait.

This is a problem. CARE Nepal's CRADLE Project is focused on the solution by providing financial and human resources to support the Nepali government's Department of Health Services effort to build, staff and support regional health clinics in these poor, remote areas of Nepal. It's important work.

In the interest of full disclosure, as a freelance photographer, I was paid a modest sum to shoot and license my images to CARE, but I approached this experience with fresh eyes and an honest desire to share the truth of what I heard and what I saw. My impression here is my own.