Eco Photographer An interview of ethically focussed photographer, Alicia Fox in Muse Magazine Australia’s newest magazine for inspiration, self-help and culture, featured an interview about my work as an eco photographer. The article explores my journey from being a teenager driven to fulfil my dreams of travel and photography, to the journey that entailed, learning about what is really important to me and utilising my profession to work towards a better world. As you can read below, photography has taken me around the globe, discovering incredible cultures and learning from some of the most ancient and untouched peoples in the world today. These lessons are priceless and I am extremely grateful for the journey thus far. Being an eco photographer and living a sustainable lifestyle in both my professional and personal life is something extremely important to me, and something that I’ve written about in previous blog posts. My work with indigenous groups and NGOs around the world has contributed to this greatly. Once visiting these places and sitting to talk with the people effected by climate change, corporate greed, environmental destruction and so on, it’s impossible to turn a blind eye and un-care. Everyone can make […] Read More
As you may have read in previous posts, while I was in India I volunteered with a wonderful organisation in Jaipur, I-India photographing 7 of their projects. For my recent photography exhibition, One World through which I raised money for I-India, I created these information sheets to help communicate to visitors the life-changing work I-India are doing. Please take a read through, and let me know if you would like any more information about the organisation or my time with them. You can also watch my short video about the experience HERE. Namaste! Click on the posters to open them at a large resolution See my posts about I-India’s village school and Marble village school Read More
It seemed surreal to be standing in the middle of in an entire village made of marble. But these weren’t palaces or majals. The inhabitants of this marble village in Rajasthan, India are desperately poor and lack basic amenitites like running water and electricity in their homes. Traditionally nomads, these families chose to set up their homes in the middle of a dusty industrial zone so they could repurpose, re-use and upcycle the waste from an adjacent factory to build dwellings. I visited the village with I-India, a not-for-profit organisation in Rajasthan, India. The dedicated staff provide education and support to some of Rajasthan’s most desperate children, feeding 3000 kids a daily meal without which their bellies would remain painfully empty. I-India provides services to this area. I-India set up a school for this community, as there were no educational facilities available to them in the area. To see the basic facilities that these children learn in with such gratitude was so inspiring. Read about it HERE If you’d like to read about […] Read More
I didn’t realise we had arrived at the school as the car pulled up outside a small shack in the middle of a dusty community. I was with I-India for an NGO photography shoot, a small grassroots organisation based in the desert city of Jaipur, India. As I’ll explain in another blog post, a series of coincidences had lead me to contact I-India and offer my services as a volunteer photographer. Due to changing financial times, the not for profit organisation has seen a decline in donations from its international funders over the past couple of years which means they will probably have to cut up to 30% of their projects in the next year. On the ground, this means that hundreds of vulnerable children will go hungry. I met some of these children. They are as innocent and loveable as any children I’ve met, but the fact that they were born into poverty in India means that their fate is very different from that of children where I’m from, Australia. I-India has saved them from child labour, child marriages, homelessness, begging on the streets and more. The organisation’s dedicated staff runs a range of truly […] Read More
I was thrilled to receive a parcel from Profile Books in London, opening the packaging to see my photographs on the pages of Vivienne's new book, GET A LIFE! The Diaries of Vivienne Westwood.
Vivienne and I are both fervent supporters of Cool Earth, a UK charity which is saving rainforest in Papua New Guinea, Peru, and D.R.Congo... Read More
More of my adventures working with UK charity, Cool Earth in PNG. Including lots of photos and a video of me surfing planks of wood with the kids Read More
Some days I walk out of a photo shoot and know that the world just became a better place. Not better because of something I've done, but better because my own little world has been touched by something positive and truly beautiful. I was on assignment to shoot an editorial for The Salvation Army Creative Magazine... Read More
Being an Eco Photographer means reducing the environmental impact of every aspect of my business, and working with (i.e. producing photos for) clients that have a positive impact on the environment. I was trying to formulate an explanation as to why I’ve decided to be an “Eco Photographer” and what this actually means. Then one day three things happened to me and I became so impassioned that I did what anyone would do… I got on my soapbox (i.e. my personal Facebook wall) and shared what I was feeling with my friends and family. I received such an overwhelmingly supportive response that I decided to include my little story on this blog. It gives you an idea of how I live my personal life, which crosses over into my business life. So here it is: I don’t often put unhappy things on Facebook but I feel the need to share this today It has 3 parts, and hopefully is inspiring: 1. James came home and told me, with a smile, that he had a song stuck in his head all day, the song of some beautiful girls from the Ashaninka tribe we stayed with by Ene River, in […] Read More
My photos and I are being featured on fivepointfive.org and I think you should check it out, here. You’ll gain an insight into my project Portraits of The Disappearing Amazon, a 3 month journey which will changed my life. You can also get the background story on some of my favourite portraits from the project, and the beautiful people within them. Five Point Five is about inspiring you to do those things that you will remember with satisfaction for the rest of your life. They are all about travel, lifestyle and making a positive difference in the world – 3 things that are really important to me too. The website offers information and mini documentaries on volunteering overseas, as well as travel resources and inspiration. So go get inspired… Portraits of the Disappearing Amazon by Alicia Fox Read More
Working as an NGO photographer and documenting the work of not-for-profit organisations that are improving people’s lives, inspires me endlessly. More than anything, it brings a sense of hope. I have witnessed so many seemingly hopeless situations turned upside down, resulting in thriving human beings and optimistic communities, all thanks to the committed work of everyday people . These people show me that any one of us can be a hero, a lifesaver, even an angel. I’d like to share with you an excerpt from a book I am writing, about my three year journey through Latin America. This passage describes an experience I had in Nicaragua, while working with the amazing grass roots organisation, Empowerment International. The organisation was formed by an extraordinary North American woman Kathy, who couldn’t walk away from a community in need, so she moved to Nicaragua to work day and night to change their situation. I volunteered with Empowerment, teaching photography classes to the children and creating a photo documentary of their projects. On my first day volunteering with Empowerment, Anielka led me into the barrio of Villa de Esperanza, one of the poorest neighborhoods in Granada. Many of the families there were surviving […] Read More
A photo essay of women weavers in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, shot for Vision Guatemala. Lake Atitlan is a magical part of Guatemala that draws many tourists who want to experience its reputed energy. But for many women and families living in this area, life is tough and money is very scarce. I shot this photo essay for Vision Guatemala, a small non-profit organisation that is working to help women find a source of income, offering micro-finance, training and community development. In doing so, their tradition of weaving beautiful textiles can be kept alive. Being fortunate to enter their homes and witness this amazing art gave me a deep appreciation for their skill in weaving. The women I met have amazing talent and beautiful spirits. If you would like to see more photos that I have taken for non-profit organisations in South and Central America, please see my website at www.aliciafox.net/humanitarian-photography/ Read More
