After listening to Robyne Hayes talk about how she started off as a schoolteacher and later on in life was given the opportunity to pursue her dream of becoming a social justice photographer – I felt really inspired by her passion and enthusiasm to fight social injustices through the lens of her camera. She quoted that “Words don’t come as easily as photography does”, and in a way it makes me feel a sense of comfort in knowing that if there are other ways to express oneself when words do no justice. When I was younger – I had always dreamt of becoming a national geographer photographer due mainly to perhaps my love for reading stories. Even though I didn’t know it then, perhaps the idea of wanting to know how stories can be told through photography really compelled me. When asked what her most defining moment had been as a photographer, she said that running the TEFSA programme of giving 10 girls a camera each and seeing the pure joy on their faces was what made it all worth it. This made me realize that the camera in itself was a symbol of freedom, a sign of outcry. They weren’t just given a camera – they were given a voice, friends, freedom to step out of the house and most importantly – empowerment. I was really struck by something she said during the talk: “I always wanted to do something meaningful.” This makes me start to wonder what I am doing in this world. Being born into a very privileged life: that being one with choices and opportunities is more than many girls could ever dream about, and perhaps if I have the means and capability to help not only girls but others in need as well – why not try?
January 26, 2018 at 12:28 am
This is a really lovely post to read, Ashia. I believe that you can make that difference and am pleased that you saw such a strong message in Robyne’s talk and answers to the questions asked. You chose some really interesting quotes also.
January 29, 2018 at 2:04 pm
I feel that your connection to the camera symbolising a new prospect of now having a voice, friends and freedom is especially well thought out. In my reflection, I focused more on how our generation and our community in Singapore is very isolated from the misfortunes that hit people around the world, and I believe you touched on that as well. It is interesting to think about, to what extent can we actually empathize with people living in different circumstances than our own? Also, how different would it be if Robyn had instead handed them a piece of paper and a pen?
Great post!
February 1, 2018 at 1:03 pm
The symbol of a camera is so strong and really powerful, but I would have never thought of it like that before. The phrase ” a picture says a thousand words ” really means something and this is shown through giving a camera to those girls. When Robyne said “Words don’t come as easily as photography does”, that really stood out to me, as I never thought of that before and personally it is a true statement and something that I agree with myself.