Thank you for your interest in and support of The Viewfinder Project. This month we are excited to share with you how The Viewfinder Project is being used in Channai, India.

The Viewfinder Project in Chennai, India

By Niti Moses

How Can You Help?

We are looking for partners.
Here are some options:

1. Sponsor a student $25
2. Buy a Camera $100
3. Sponsor a program $150
4. Start a program in your school, neighborhood, church or other organization
5. Buy TVP products at our NEW Store.

We welcome donations using Paypal

or by making a check out to
“The Viewfinder Project” and sending it to The Viewfinder Project, 6900 S. Gray Road,
Indianapolis, IN 46237.

Come & See

First Friday Show: My Neighborhood, Our City
To benefit the LYN House & Rebuilding the Wall
Hanging through the end of May.
Fletcher Place Arts & Books
Fountain Square – Indianapolis

The event will showcase work by students from LYN House and Rebuilding the Wall TVP programs

A photograph is life distilled and preserved for eternity. An expressive face, a fleeting moment in nature, an abstract shape- these are the fundamentals of photography. A photograph conveys, in a way no words can, a sense of the mystery and beauty of life, nature, and the achievements of mankind.

Being a part of The Viewfinder Project at Sangita Charitable Trust in Chennai, India and facilitating the project brought back a surge of memories of being an ex-student of photography and also a rush of jubilation at being given the opportunity to guide young minds in creating visual artwork. The children, all of them girls, aged between 13-18 yrs were both excited and apprehensive to use a camera in the beginning, but at the end of class were thrilled to share their experience at being able to see the world around them from a different point of view.

Lessons 1 & 2 go hand in hand with one another and have an excellent life skill to impart i.e. to recognize the power within themselves to cause transformation. The word “UGLY” is often associated with something that is displeasing to the eye, something repulsive or objectionable. When the children were given the task of capturing things that were ugly according to them in their surroundings, most of them were more often drawn to things that were broken, dirty or filthy which they felt was a blot on the landscape. The children, not so surprisingly found it much easier to capture what was ugly around them in comparison to what was attractive, pleasing or pleasant. It was not that there was any shortage of things that were beautiful around them, but it had more to do with the fact that sometimes the really ugly things in life take priority over the beautiful things.

At the end of both the lessons I had the opportunity to have a brief discussion with the girls and this gave me a clear insight on how they were applying these lessons to their life situations. They also mentioned things that might be considered ugly but were difficult to photograph like a painful memory or an ugly behavior. The children said they felt more joy in capturing the beauty around them as it reminded them of all their blessings, the people that cared for them and the love surrounding them. They also expressed the desire to eliminate the ugly from their lives and they realized that the choice was in their hands, and, that it takes a concentrated effort to see the good things in life. It’s so easy to be overwhelmed by the darkness around us. It’s very simple to let anger, hatred, jealousy and mistrust rule our lives. Can we take all of the bad things and let them flow over us and around us and through us and not affect us? Or do we let the darkness overwhelm us and bring us down into its pit?

It was amazing to see that The Viewfinder Project was beyond taking photos but more importantly taught these children that there is a lot in life to be grateful for and there is a lot of beauty in life. They need to focus on those good things and appreciate them and they will see that the negative energy just bounces off of them as if they were wearing an invisible force field of protection. Beauty can be seen in all things. All it requires is to make an effort to shift ones perspective of life. The Viewfinder Project gave them just that.

Written by Heidi Lyda, Director, LYN House, Indianapolis, IN

How Can You Help?

We are looking for partners.
Here are some options:

1. Sponsor a student $25
2. Buy a Camera $100
3. Sponsor a program $150
4. Start a program in your school, neighborhood, church or other organization
5. Buy TVP products at our NEW Store.

We welcome donations using Paypal

or by making a check out to
“The Viewfinder Project” and sending it to The Viewfinder Project, 6900 S. Gray Road,
Indianapolis, IN 46237.

Come & See

First Friday Show: My Neighborhood, Our City
To benefit the LYN House & Rebuilding the Wall
May 4th at 6 pm
Fletcher Place Arts & Books
Fountain Square – Indianapolis

The event will showcase work by students from LYN House and Rebuilding the Wall TVP programs

The LYN (Love Your Neighbor) House is located on the near Eastside of Indianapolis. The neighborhood in which LYN House resides can often be mistaken for a neighborhood, “that you just don’t go to”; however, many of our neighbors who reside here take great pride in where they live. They do not deny that we are a neighborhood with many faults, but despite our faults we have many strengths.

As director of the LYN House I was drawn to The Viewfinder Project because I believe that through the art of photography our teens can discover beauty and good in the midst of ugly and heartache. LYN House first started using TVP in April of 2010. Since then we have conducted TVP five times using the 16 lessons and adapting the lessons to fit our student’s strengths and interests. I believe that each time we have completed our photography class using TVP curriculum we have accomplished our goal of allowing our students to discover beauty in all things.

The students who have taken our class have been drawn to the art of photography for a variety of reasons. Some enjoy the fact that they have captured a “treasure for life” or that you can “crop the image into something you like.” Other students expressed that they enjoyed photography because it helps them “view things differently.” One student stated it like this, “You may see stuff that other people might not and you can let them see what you see.” Using TVP has done more than opening the eyes of our students it has also provided them with the knowledge of how to compose beautiful photographs. At LYN House we plan on using TVP for many years and look forward to introducing the art of photography to new students as well as building on the skills and knowledge of students who continue to come back.

This video was done as part of WFYI’s program on the Near East Side Superbowl Legacy project. The video highlights the work the LYN House is doing to impact the community. As part of the story, they talk about how they are using TVP to help bring hope and change to the youth of the community.

The LYN House photos were taken by Ryan, Alisha, and Nick

Please be watching for the April update as we will be sharing what students in Chennai, India have been learning through The Viewfinder Project.

How Can You Help?

We are looking for partners.
Here are some options:

1. Sponsor a student $25
2. Buy a Camera $100
3. Sponsor a program $150
4. Start a program in your school, neighborhood, church or other organization
5. Buy TVP products at our NEW Store.

We welcome donations using Paypal

or by making a check out to
“The Viewfinder Project” and sending it to The Viewfinder Project, 6900 S. Gray Road,
Indianapolis, IN 46237.

by Samanatha Briggs

Facilitating TVP in Cambodia was an enormous joy! The participants were enamored with the opportunity to use cameras. They loved expressing themselves through their photos and truly benefited from seeing the world through different lenses.

Personally, I was blown away by the cultural versatility of TVP curriculum and how receptive the girls were to it. The life skills tied to each photography lesson were insightfully applicable to the girls. The “Patterns” lesson was a particular favorite of mine. To begin, the girls eagerly searched for patterns in their surroundings and then came back to discuss the patterns in their lives and how they wanted to change some patterns. The heartfelt discussion gave me a little window into how the girls were internalizing the lessons and reminded me that TVP’s impact is beyond taking beautiful photos.

Pattern Lesson

Behavior Lesson

What is ugly lesson

What is beautiful lesson

Reflection lesson

How Can You Help?

We are looking for partners.
Here are some options:
1. Sponsor a student $25
2. Buy a Camera $100
3. Sponsor a program $150
4. Start a program in your school, neighborhood, church or other organization
5. Buy TVP products at our NEW Store.

We welcome donations using Paypal

or by making a check out to
“The Viewfinder Project” and sending it to The Viewfinder Project, 6900 S. Gray Road,
Indianapolis, IN 46237.

We are so excited about all that 2012 has in-store for The Viewfinder Project. We already have new groups locally and internationally planning for 2012 classes. As we anticipate their commencement we wanted to share some of the great photographs that have come out of TVP classes. These photos represent so much more than the eye can see. We are so honored to help people “see life differently” and to share images that capture this transformation.

Thank you so much for your support and involvement in The Viewfinder project. If you would like to bring TVP to your community or if you would like more information about other ways to get involved please email Katherine Brooks at info@theviewfinderproject.org.

Be watching for more stories and images of what “seeing life differently” looks like for each new class.

Kuyasa Empowerment – Stellenbosch, South Africa
http://www.kuyasa-empowerment.org
Status: Ongoing
Ages taught: Middle school, high school

LYN House - Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
lynhouse.org
Status: Ongoing
Ages taught: High school

The Oaks Academy – Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
theoaksacademy.org
Status: Ongoing
Ages taught: Middle school

Shepherd Community Center – Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
www.shepherdcommunity.org
Status: Ongoing
Ages taught: Middle school, high school

Rebuilding the Wall – Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
www.rebuildingthewall.org
Status: Current
Ages taught: Middle school

Challenge Foundation Academy – Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
www.indy.teamcfa.org
Status: Current
Ages taught: Grades 4-5

Kampala, Uganda
Status: Current
Ages taught: Middle school

Point Hope School – Point Hope, Alaska, USA
www.tikigaq.com/point_hope.shtml
Status: Pending
Ages taught: Middle school

The Daughter’s Project – Cambodia
daughtersphotography.tumblr.com
Status: Past (2011)
Agest taught: Middle/High school

LifeBridge Community – Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
www.lifebridge-community.org
Status: Pending, Past (2009-10)
Ages taught: Middle school

Fortville Elementary School  – Fortville, Indiana, USA
www.mvcsc.k12.in,us/mves
Status: Past (2011)
Ages taught: Grade 4

Common Ground Christian Church – Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
www.cground.org
Status: Past (Fall 2010)
Ages taught: Elementary school, middle school

Community Photography Summer Camp – Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Status: Past (2010)
Ages taught: Middle school

If you are interested in getting involved in these models, please email info@theviewfinderproject.org!

Status definitions:
Ongoing = the project has been incorporated into the location’s regular programs
Current = the project is currently happening but may or may not become a regular program
Pending = the project is currently being planned and often is dependent on acquiring necessary resources before proceeding
Past = the project has been completed; future projects have not been scheduled