2008 Winners

Medical and Traditional Herbal Clinic in Western Uganda

This photograph depicts a rather unique health care clinic in Western Uganda, for the clinic employs both modern and traditional medical techniques. This room is the clinic's laboratory where the health worker pictured may examine blood samples to determine whether a patient has malaria, for example. In the corner of the lab there is a bucket with a faucet and basin where the worker may wash his hands, as there is no running water. All of the furniture is most likely made by a local carpenter.

What I like about this picture is the lighting of the room and the calm sentiment it evokes. The natural light obscures the workers face and highlights the room. Thus, this photo could represent a picture of any Ugandan health worker and emphasizes the context of the tidily kept clinic. The features of the room are lit up and provide the onlooker with clues or fundamental features of what health care is like in the best of cases in a rural setting.

Hanging around the General Store, Oruchinga Refugee Settlement

This photograph depicts the main administrative buildings of the Oruchinga Refugee Settlement. The house framed by the tree and the general store in the left foreground is where the Commandant lives--he is charged with overseeing and coordinating the day-to-day operations of the settlement as well as maintaining its security. When a refugee in the camp has a problem, he goes to the Commandant. At the time this photograph was taken, the general store had been selling oranges and there was the boy pictured was sitting, gazing at the dirt road while cyclists and refugees walking to the market passed by. Though this boy is no more than eight years old, he is sitting in a way that mimics maturity.

I like several things about this photograph. First, I like the shadow that the sun casts on the earth as it shines through the tree in the foreground. Second, the demeanor of the refugee child and his positioning in the lower left corner of the picture, opposite the commandant's home, frames the image. Moreover, this opposed positioning provides some symbolic interest because the Commandant controls the settlement and the refugee child is isolated within it and beholden to the Commandant. Third, the child's gaze is directed outside of the photograph and seems to enter the space of the viewer. Lastly, I like the way the bright green oranges look within the general store hut made out of the muted earth.

Running Water, Oruchinga Refugee Settlement

This photograph depicts a refugee child running to go and fill up his family's two yellow, plastic jerry cans with water from the community's bore hole. There is no running water in the settlement and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees gives refugees only a couple of jerry cans when they arrive at Oruchinga to store water. Several times each day children must refill the jerry cans so that their families can use the water for bathing, cooking, washing clothes, and cleaning.


I like several things about this picture. First, I like that the boy is in mid-stride, emphasizing his motion. The flailing jerry cans also lend to the idea of his speed. Second, I was happy that I captured him running on the dry earth, so one can see his shadow. If it were raining out, water would have collected in this spot and the boy may have dipped his cans into the muddy pool to obtain his family's water. Third, the landscape is expansive and multi-leveled, depicting a scene that could only be in Africa. The boy's size in relation to the setting is important in communicating the relationship of the people to this land.

 Romance

The day following Lunar New Year’s Day in the hill town of Dalat, we paid a visit to our host father’s sister and brother-in-law who run a small café called “Stop-N-Go” in their living room. His brother-in-law is locally known as a free spirit, whose beret is as much a part of him as his curling gray goatee. But that day he was away, and while we waited for his wife to come back with tea and candies, my host father picked up the guitar and began to quietly play “Romance”.

Jo at the Bow

As our vessel prepared to return to port, Jo and I went up to deck to take in the sights of Ha Long Bay for the time we had left.

At the Citadel

In Hue, we visited the Imperial Citadel on the banks of the Perfume River. Here, a friend leans against the balcony to snap a picture of the moat surrounding the outermost walls of the structure.

Tet

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, everyone poured into the main avenues of downtown Saigon to join in boisterous festivities. Wandering into a side street, I found myself joining a large crowd gathered around a furiously energetic performance by teenage hip hop dancers and television personalities.

In Tandem

Tandem bikes are a common sight around Dalat, and I saw this one pass as I looked down from the porch of a coffee shop.