On my mission trip to Liberia in June 2012 I brought my camera (or best said, my wife let me bring HER camera) but I left the telephoto lens at home. I knew I was dragging around a bunch of stuff already and figured I could get by with only one camera lens – a relatively wide-angle lens at that.
Before I left I hoped to get some good close-ups of the people of Liberia – whether the participants in our class, or the people that were serving us, or the people we visited at the orphanage and school, or the other organizations we went to. But one of the problems in taking random pictures of people when you’re traveling is the fear of intruding by “getting too up-close and personal”. Many people are reluctant to have their pictures taken, and in some highly traveled tourist areas they want some money to let you take a few snapshots of them. The long lens gives you a chance to get the close picture without actually being close.
Looking now at the pictures I took, most are too distant, or in any case I didn’t get as up close and personal as I had anticipated. I didn’t get a lot of the close-ups that I really wanted to get because, not wanting to be obtrusive I stayed back and shot them with my wide-angle lens. Leaving the telephoto lens behind seemed like it was a big mistake.
Kitchen, Diana Davies Orphanage
Officially Amy was the designated trip photographer. The day we visited the Diana Davies Orphanage and School though, Amy was looking forward to seeing many of the kids she met there on an earlier visit. So I told her I’d assume her duties and would take lots of pictures. While I got some good photos, and have some great memories of our visit, I have to admit that I rarely got out from behind the camera that day.
And looking back, I am somewhat disappointed that I didn’t get as up close and personal as I should have with any of the people of Liberia during my entire short week there. When teaching I was concerned with the class as a whole while the rest of the team focused their efforts on the small groups at their tables. I roamed the room, taking the 20,000-foot view, but never managed to get down below tree-top level to really get to know the people I taught.
I was jealous when I heard the stories from the rest of our team who had a chance to really sit down and talk with some of the local people about their lives and their experiences. My only regret for the whole trip is that I didn’t really stay the whole trip. When the trip first came up I said I could only get away for at most a week, but looking back that was short-sighted and a mistake. In the short time I was there I was focused on my job – and then I left. If you ever get a chance to make a trip like this – don’t short change yourself the way I did. Dive in; take the time to get close up with the people you’re visiting. It may be the only chance they have of touching your life.
