New friends and new opportunities

I had the opportunity to go with one of my friends Andrea (the Italian guy in the last photo)where he volunteers in a small town outside Cajamarca. he works with an NGO, that is actually run out of the house that we both live in. The families we worked with were wonderful. Once they found out i was from the US, all they did was ask me if i cold some back and teach them english. So, on wednesday, im headed back to give them copies of the pictures, try to teach them English, and take a few more pictures.

Peru

Well, I just got to Cajamarca, Peru a week ago after leaving Costa Rica. I am staying here for a month, trying to learn spanish and do my best to photograph this incredibly beautiful region located in the Northern Highlands region of Peru. I dont think its a region that receives a lot of attention as it is a 16 hour bus ride from Lima, where you enter the country. And probably 20+ hours from Machu Picchu, the place most people come to visit. There is an interesting mix of people, from the traditional campesiono's that live in the villages and farm but come into the city to sale their goods, to the young, progressive crowd of 20 somethings embracing more of a metropolitian lifestyle. Either way, the city of Cajamarca and its surroundings are full of culture and life.

Here are a few pictures from the last couple of days. They are somewheat surface level, as not speaking the language well, makes it difficult to really immerse yourself in a situation. Its a lot easier to explain why you are there and what your purpose is when you speak the same language as the people you are trying to photograph. Enjoy, and expect more to come.

A New Semester

Im sure its been so long since my last update that most of you stopped looking at my blog altogether, but im back at posting again now that im actually shooting again. Last semester i spent so much time looking at other peoples photography and devoting most of my time to being photo editor of the Herald that it didnt leave much, if any time to shoot. But one thing it absolutley did was make me wish i had the time to just go shoot. Not for class or anthing else but just for myself. And now that i have that time, and hopefully some more knowledge, im gonna shoot.

This first image is from the recent storms that passed through Ky and left thousands without power. To see more pictures and listen to some great audio go to www.chherald.com and please, PLEASE, check back here for more pictures to come.

Kohl