Photo exhibit: Images from Ethiopia, Rwanda, Ghana, Uganda and Malawi as part of Eckerd-Africa Initiative

This photography exhibit will feature images from Ethiopia, Rwanda, Ghana, Uganda and Malawi. Eckerd senior Bradley Ennis accompanied Eckerd's Director of Service-Learning Brian MacHarg and a January 2010 Winter Term group to Ethiopia and Rwanda that performed community service and issues of social justice. A main feature of the exhibit will be Bradley's photos from the Mekele School for the Blind in Mekele, Ethiopia. During his freshman year, Bradley traveled to Ghana in January 2007 on another Winter Term service-learning course led by Eckerd Professor Olivier Debure. The 15-member student group assisted the village of Tafi Atome in the Volta Region of Ghana with the financing and construction of latrines. Bradley's Ghana images have been used in The Plight and Promise of Africa materials. For more information about the exhibit, and the Eckerd College Africa Initiative, visit Eckerd College's Plight & Promise of Africa website.

What: Photo Exhibit: Images from Ethiopia, Rwanda, Ghana, Uganda and Malawi. Photographs by Eckerd senior Bradley Ennis '10 and Eckerd graduate Kristin Harrison '01. Free and open to the public.

When: Friday March 12, 6:30pm - Sat, March 27, 10:00pm

Where: The Studio@620, 620 First Avenue South, St. Petersburg, 727.895.6620

We interviewed Bradley Ennis about his work and his time in Africa. Click on "see more photos" below to read the interview.

Why did you go to Ethiopia & Rwanda and how long were you there? What area(s) were you in?

Over the past several years, I have built my relationship with professors, staff and employees at Eckerd College where I am in my final months as a senior. Through these relationships, I began to cover and photograph several events and projects on campus. When I became aware of the Eckerd College Africa Initiative, I immediately became interested in joining one of the winter term trips to Africa. As a photojournalist, I was especially drawn to a service trip where Eckerd Students were working with blind students at the Mekele School for the Blind in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. The Mekele Boarding School for the Blind is one of three blind institutions in Ethiopia and houses 90 students that live on a government salary of less that $23 per month per student. In the two weeks that I spent in Ethiopia, I focused my work on the trying lives of these young, blind students. For the last weeks of the winter term the Eckerd Students went to the capital of Rwanda, Kigali, where they worked in a newly built school for young women. I accompanied Eckerd Students as they repainted the Akilah Institute for Women and traveled to the countryside and southern Nyungwe jungle.

What most surprised you while you were there? Was the experience what you expected?

As a photojournalist, I never truly know what to expect. Although I always do back stories and research, it is impossible to know what the actual turnout will be when I arrive at new locations and am working with new people. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to focus my story on the Mekele School for the Blind, but it would be impossible to say that I had already planned what would be in the body of my work. I think that the beauty of photojournalism comes within its spontaneity; Yes we know what we are photographing, but in photojournalism we are not controlling, manipulating or composing our subjects, we are documenting the moments as they happen.

While at the Blind School, I was shocked to see how amazingly talented the children were. I watched young children walking hand-in-hand, briskly across the dust and rocks that lay between their dormitories and classrooms. By hearing the distant call of a friend or the crunching of a twig nearby, these blind students would immediately become aware of their surroundings. Being forced to heighten their other senses; it became instantly obvious that these children were some of the brightest people in the world.

[A young boy sells raw salt in an open air market in Mekele, Ethiopia. The raw, compressed salt is cut into smaller quantities and sold in the markets.]

Was there anything you saw or experienced that gave you hope for the children at the Mekele School for the Bind in Ethiopia?

While I was in Mekele, I got in touch with several graduates of the Blind School who are pushing forward in their education and lives outside of the school. One 22 year old student, Masho, is now in his third year of law school at the local university. When the students finish eighth grade, they must leave the Blind School and attend the local public sighted schools. Masho graduated first in his class of three thousand sighted students! His friend, Haftom, will be attending law school this fall as well. Because of my conversations with the students, hearing their stories and positive attitudes towards life, I have faith that each and every one of them has the potential to live long, fulfilled lives.

[A priest at Abuna Yemata Guh church holds ancient holy texts in the candlelit room. Ethiopia has some of the oldest monolithic rock hewn churches in Africa. Many of the churches, dating back to the eighth century, are built into the rock faces located at the top of cliffs as high as 2,000 ft.]

The story of the genocide in Rwanda is extremely disturbing. Can you talk briefly about making pictures about such a disturbing story?

While I was in Rwanda, I was able to visit several monuments dedicated to telling the story of those killed in the ’94 genocide. I was also able to speak with several survivors. Although it was at times difficult to hear these accounts and photograph the preserved remains and artifacts of the victims, I kept thinking to myself that the difficulties as a journalist of recounting their stories will never be as difficult as the times many Tutsi’s faced. Perhaps it was somewhat easier since it has been over fifteen years since the genocide, but it was indeed very emotional and difficult to witness some of the aftermath of such a horrific blow to humanity.

[Skulls and other bones sit at the front of the church at the Ntarama Genocide Memorial as a reminder of the ’94 genocide. Between April and July of 1994, as many as 1,000,000 people were systematically killed during the Rwandan Genocide.]

Much of your work focuses on portraiture. Is this a conscious choice? If so, why? Is there a particular photographer who inspires you?

I have become more and more aware of my focus on portraiture over the last year or two. I have the understanding that the roots of my images are always embedded in telling the stories behind the faces. That is one of the reasons why photojournalism is so appealing to me, is that the images are able to evoke strong responses about the subjects and their lives. I think that it is often forgotten that portraiture is not always an image of just a face, but it also encompasses works that pull at the emotions and feelings behind the subject. Whether it is a formal portrait that fills the frame and brings the viewer into contact with the subject, or it is an action expressing the subject’s character, I would like to think that my work reveals the personalities and moments behind my subjects. I have been very aware of the work done by Marcus Bleasdale, Sabastio Salgado, and Ed Kashi and I think that this awareness very often incorporates itself into my work in different ways.

[A young girl stands with a water bowl on her head outside of the Tafi Abuife village in the Volta region of Ghana.]

Your work oscillates between color and Black & White. Why?

For me, each image is a choice. I would argue, especially with digital photography and the technology that it puts at our fingertips, that there is no reason to shy away from using available tools. For me, these tools are the ability to convert an image from color to black and white even after it has been captured. My reasons for doing this usually come from a longstanding argument that color can be distracting from the image and can detract from the power of the action. With black and white, the viewer is forced to see the shapes, objects, and actions within the frame. Black and white is also very useful to me at times when my images are describing history or a timeless action. People seem to have an innate tendency to relate black and white to history. This ability to show a contemporary image as a timeless moment gives a power and edge to photojournalism.

[Blind student Haylaslase listens intently during an 8th grade science class at the local sighted school in Mekele, Ethiopia. Mekele Blind School students between 4th and 8th grade must walk several blocks away from the campus to attend classes at the sighted schools.]

Is there a photo you made (or multiple photos) that are particularly powerful for you? Which one(s)? Why?

While on assignment or even in my personal work, I tend to be pretty hard on myself and probably give myself less credit than may be due. During my editing process from this recent body of work, I found that many of the images from my series at the Blind School really speak powerfully to me. I wouldn’t say that there is one, or even five images that are my favorites, but I enjoy seeing them as a whole body of work since they are telling a story that has become very personal and powerful to me.

Where do you hope to take your photography in the future?

Maybe a staffer for the Times?... Joking aside, I know what is important to me and I know what I want to do with my life. Just as my images show, I feel dedicated to telling the stories about humanitarian issues and want to keep that ball rolling. To be honest, I am a little nervous to be graduating and out in the world trying to hit the spotlight as a photojournalist. But with the continuing help of my family and friends, I can see myself embedded as a war photographer in the Middle East, or shooting stories on humanitarian crisis around the world. All in all, I want to tell the stories that we don’t hear enough about; the stories that need to be told.