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Experimental by the People
of Swift River, On a recent visit to Swift River, Greenstar spent time with several young people in the village, showing them how to use a digital camera, and giving them some ideas on how to take interesting photographs of their village and its environment. Here are some samples of the initial results, based on a short, 15-minute introduction to the camera (Epson 850Z), and on two hours of walking around the village, talking, exploring and making suggestions.
These pictures are an attempt to capture what the young people of Swift River find significant, interesting, beautiful and important about their village. In its 'digital culture' approach, Greenstar will emphasize more and more of this type of work by the real people of remote villages, as they share their vision of the world with us.
The bridges over Swift River, including this suspension bridge and various swinging bridges, are an important and beautiful feature of life in Swift River. The people who took these photos tried to capture the perspective of these bridges in a way that visitors might not. With additional technical and creative training, Greenstar plans to help the people in Swift River, and in other villages around the world, to develop a market for these photographs -- as posters, postcards, T-shirts, custom prints, digital downloads, in gallery showings, and in a published book series.
"Love is like a dream" -- a young rasta in a roadside shed store, found everywhere in rural Jamaica.
Many of the young men of Swift River start their day with a backpack and a machete, and head into the forest to cut what they find growing: mangoes, bananas, coffee. Here, a man returns after a long day, with a big load of bananas on his back.
The banana tree is a source of food, fiber, hats, impromptu clothes...and a young man in Swift River captured its unique beauty too, with this set of photos of a bunch of bananas on the tree, taken from directly beneath the bloom.
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