Ecuador Photos No. 1

April 11th through 20th my wife and I along with my parents and my younger brother joined up with some others from Provo to do some volunteer work in Ecuador. The foundation we were helping was FEVI. The foundation was started in Ecuador by a woman named Maria. The purpose is to help stuggling communities with education, sanitation, and becoming self-sufficient. Needless to say the experience was remarkable.

I obviously took advantage of the situation to snap a few photos of the people, the beautiful country, and anything else that caught my eye. I had with me my Hasselblad 500cm and three lenses. I shot all black and white film - Kodak Tmax 400.

Here are a few.

Two of the mornings I was there I woke up early with my father to take the local transit to a small fishing town called Sua. I was fortunate to capture some beautiful images of the ocean and some local fishermen.





Some of the local fishermen still use old wooden canoes to net fish. The men will leave at 5am and return around 7am with their catch.



As I was walking in the shallow water seeking out the old boats to photograph, I noticed a few people carrying something. I walked towards them to see what it was and was surprised to find a Sea Turtle. I photographed them then approched to inquire as to what they were planning on doing with the beautiful specimen. They were planning on eating it. I later found out that in Ecuador as in most of the world it is illegal to kill endanged species. I suppose in a poor costal town like Sua, either the people didn't realize what they were doing, or didn't care because the laws regarding endangered animals aren't enforced.







I am fasinated with the culture and the people of Ecuador. When ever I saw anyone that I found interesting I approched and asked if I could photograph them in my broken spanish. Most of the people were happy to let me, some required a dollar. Many of which I happily paid. Very much worth the shot.