Photographer Gives as much as he gets

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Photographer gives as much as he gets.

Leading small groups of Travel Photographers to remote corners of the world is my passion as well as my work. The great reward, for me, is when my clients desire to give back to the communities that we visit. During the December 2010 trip our group visited a monastery school in the delta region near Yangon that had been hard hit by Cyclone Nargis several years ago. Our tour operator, Nee Nee Nyint, is the economic mainstay of the school, using profits from her business to pay teacher’s salaries, operate a health clinic and provide hot lunches for about 300 youngsters from very poor families. We arrived at lunchtime and photographed the kids savoring a hot meal and practicing their lessons. We donated clothing, basic medicines and cash that would be used to purchase the required school uniforms.

My reward came recently with a phone call from a member of the Burma; A Land Beyond trip—Anand Khokha. Anand held a gallery show at his home in Los Angeles which featured 35 prints made on our December trip. There were images of Leg Rowers on Lake Inle, red robed Novices lighting candles, young girls with thanaka designs on their faces and many other scenes Anand had discovered or which had been set up by our wonderful guide, Daniel. Anand raised about $3500 and is donating the money to Nee Nee’s school and her other worthwhile projects. Anand also uses the sales of his art to support an orphanage in southern India—St. Joseph You can see Anand’s images at and view images by other members of the group at www.donlyon.zenfolio.com If you would like to contribute to Nee Nee’s school please contact me—or purchase a print from Anand Khokha.

Anand is one of those photographers who understands that we don’t take photographs—we liberate them so they can tell their stories around the world and possibly help make the world a better place.

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