I will continue to practice

Aubrey McMullin, USA
Photojournalism
June-July, 2013

This internship was a wonderful opportunity and an incredible experience for me, from a professional and independent point of view. It was full of interests and choices for my next steps in formation as a photojournalist; however, I am sure I will remember more about the human aspects of my stay.

I would like to quickly recall my expectations for the internship and show what has been achieved. I expected to follow a photojournalist on the ground daily to discover the reality of the career, and was hoping to conduct interviews, discover a culture about which I could write, and learn more about the professional scope of photojournalism. I use my camera as a professional photojournalist more now than before and I am able to report more of what is happening than before.

I still have progress to make, as we all do in our professional desires. I will continue to practice, either on my own or in another internship or perhaps professional work later down the road. Discovering Nepal and traveling was probably the best thing I could have done this year. 

The nature of the job of photojournalist in this country is very different from other parts of the world. The heartbeat of Nepal is not the same. People take their time, without rush, even in the busy cities of Nepal. I think this is how it works in an underdeveloped country where most people are only trying to live day-by-day, to survive. I learned so much about how to live life to the fullest by living like this for only 6 weeks.

I will never forget and will probably never find another place where there are so many people smiling and laughing so hard, even if they are living from very little. The people here never give up and keep fighting for a good life, and this was very inspiring to me. I cannot thank my new family, mentor, and friends enough for encouraging me throughout this experience and for helping me learn as much as I could in such a short time. Thank you all SO MUCH!! 

Love and Peace, Aubrey McMullin