“Nicaragua is a dangerous place. It’s not so much because of its politics, but because they have a rare benevolence that causes one to want to identify this place as home.”  (J.M.)

Welcome to the warm and inviting land of Nicaragua, as seen through photographer John McPherson’s  photojournalistic view. John believes that it’s important to go experience the world, but that also when you see the world through the perspective of others  it is incredibly rewarding. It’s a privilege to feature work from JM Imagery, as well as to “experience” a trip to Nicaragua through these photos.    Lynette

Though I like all kinds of photography, photos captured by travel photographers or photojournalists tend to be my favorite. I like them because there is a naturally deep story that exists visually if one looks close enough. I don’t claim to be a true photojournalist, but I do love capturing images in a similar way regardless the subject I’m photographing. For my photographs to tell a story that connects to my viewers is what I aim to do every time I pick up my camera. This methodology has me believe that photography is more than pointing-and-shooting with a camera. Instead, it’s a tool used to journal your’s and other peoples’ lives; thus, it’s the burden of the photographer to communicate his or her stories in a truthful and visually captivating style.

About two years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua for the sole purpose of taking photos of the people and country. I never planned to travel to Central America. It was never in my plans because it never was on my heart. My friend, Andrew Belcher, asked me to tag along with him on a short mission trip during our spring break. He requested that I take photos so that he could show people here in the states why he loves Nicaragua so much. I was excited to go and do exactly that, but I plainly wanted to log another country in my passport. However, like Andrew, the people apprehended my heart while I was there. They are a warm and caring people. I must warn you: Nicaragua is a dangerous place. It’s not so much because of its politics, but because they have a rare benevolence that causes one to want to identify this place as home.

When a photographer is able to connect with the people and culture of a country, a change in his or her life is inevitable. St. Augustine said, “The world is a book, and those who do not travel have only read one page.” I feel that photography is like taking notes in the book I’m reading and sharing the stories with others. Images give a glimpse into windows that vary in size, because all photographers are at differing levels in their ability to tell a story effectively through one or more image. Continuing the analogy, the viewer’s ability to connect with the stories of a photographer is also hindered by one’s interest in, or distance from, the window. By creating images that are true and captivating, the window becomes so large that people are naturally attracted to see what is in it. What is more is that this does not just apply to photographers; this applies to every communicator – writer, speaker, musician, etc. Even though the best way to experience a situation is to see it for yourself, comprehending the world through another’s perception is essential to growth as an intelligent human being. Go see the world and develop your perspective of the world, but also listen and inquire with others about their assessment. This is at the heart, I believe, of St. Augustine’s statement, and it is the essence of storytelling.

Back to Lynette: Anyone up for a trip to Nicaragua? It is true that when you connect with a people of a different place it will forever change your life, and the warm hearts and friendliness of the Latin American people I’ve had the chance to get to know has tampered with the way I see the world, in a way that I never want to recover from. 

 Please head on over and check out some more of John’s amazing work featured on his website JM Imagery. John is a wedding photographer, with a passion to capture special moments, as well as moments in life through travel and everyday happenings. 

We have a new member at The Difference Academy! Please help me welcome Lynette to the team! She’s a thinker, writer, traveler and just a jolly well person to be around.

Thanks to Lynette we’ll keep this blog running with regular posts covering stories of people making a difference through photography, be it pro photographers or someone with the most basic camera.

Below are a few of Lynette’s thoughts and background story on how she ended up joining The Difference.

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This is part of a bigger dream for me…

To make a difference can be lived out in different ways and actions for individual people. For me it means to actively get out there and get in touch with people, see what I can do to help. If I’m passionate about anything it’s travel and I’m always looking for ways to get to other places and cultures to get to know them a bit and then write about it.

A couple of years ago a friend and I chatted about spotlighting stories of travel and photography of people and places around the globe “making a difference.  Fast forward a few years when my friend (Seth Haley) founded ‘The Difference Academy’ and asked me if I wanted to be part of the blogging, it hit me suddenly, “this is part of what we talked about, and what I love to do.”   

Taking a picture isn’t  just about technique, and lighting and artistry, though these things make up the structure, but it’s about telling a story and telling stories is another passion of mine.  To feature stories from photographers at home and around the globe is an honor, but more than that it’s more exciting than I have words for to see caring people take their skill and go out of their way, step outside of their comfort zone, to make a difference in other people’s lives.  I’m planning to spend the rest of my life “out of my way,” which is my way of saying “making a difference.”

I’m honored to be part of the team here!

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Back to Seth now… I’m super excited for the future of this! I cant wait to be inspired by you guys and seeing the ways you’re using photography to advance others. Slowly but surely I’ll be adding photography trips that I trust will make a difference in the way you use a camera to tell stories.

We are always on the lookout for stories to share, so if you or a friend have one leave us a comment and we’ll get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, peace.

“Genius in someone else’s work will not be recognized as genius in your own.”

In art this has always been common, a great picture is painted, and a thousand copy-cats spring up all over the place, because everybody wants to become like the master painter. What ends up happening is they do just that, they copy it, it might even look just like the original because the same technique and material was used, but it’s just another copy.

Fast forward to the age of digital photography: a photographer takes an incredible photo in which the lighting is unique, or a new pose in portrait photography is discovered, or someone finds a way to bring a motion or emotion to life. It’s creative, it’s talented, and sometimes it’s even genius, and the same copying happens again because everyone tries to turn out the same look, the same feel, and use the same technique.

It does work, you can turn out a great picture, but it will be missing one thing: the original.

Know why? It’s because photographs are a little like finger prints, everybody has their own unique touch. Everybody has fingers, but everybody has a different fingerprint. Everybody has a camera, but all photographers  have their own unique stamp. Crazy, huh?

The trick to creating an original is to learn from everybody you can, find out their technique, have fun doing group shooting with other photographers and surfing their blogs and portfolios, but then go out stamp your own fingerprint on photography. It takes time, it takes hard work and it takes courage to find out what you can do. Go out on a limb, hang upside down and take the picture that nobody else did.

You do it, paint the original.