Sunday, April 18, 2010

Africa collage



When I heard the I Heart faces challenge this week was going to be a collage image, I thought of this poster I created for an exhibit about three years ago.  

In fall of 2006, six members of Crossroads Presbyterian Church from Mequon, Wisconsin, USA, traveled to Swaziland, Africa to meet children they sponsor through World Vision and Crossroad's church.  Crossroad church members individually sponsor over 200 children in Swaziland, an area that has one of the highest rates of children orphaned by AIDS in the world.   

I had the privilege of curating an exhibit from the over 6000 photographs taken by the travelers.  It was a huge undertaking, and I loved it.  I felt like I could have been a National Geographic editor sorting through all the photos, selecting and editing and cropping them with a photographer's eye.   

Because I find faces so fascinating, I created this poster for the exhibit.  I spent hours arranging the individual faces for what I hoped would be the best impact, composition, and balance.  I tried to make the faces face in toward the center, or have eyes of some people interact with other people.  I look now and can see some areas I would change...  Oh well.  That is the process of learning.  Color correcting was a challenge, but in the end I was really happy with my collage accomplishment.  I hope you enjoy it. 


The poster was 24x36 inches, but it seems to display fairly well in this web resolution.  Click on the image to see it larger, then click on the image again to zoom in. 
 

The exhibit's images and stories are available via the web so that others may learn more about Swaziland and the opportunities to help and/or sponsor children in Swaziland and other areas where great need exists.  More information and images from this exhibit can be viewed at www.selepimaging.com at The Swaziland Africa Exhibit 

If you enjoyed this post you might also like:
high school senior portrait
Family Portrait
Africa collage
Fun Outtakes
Bundled Up








I am participating in these memes:

I Heart Faces (I was entry no. 20 out of 522).
Mosaic Monday(I was entry no. 118 out of 126).

24 comments:

tiff(threeringcircus) said...

WOW!

That is amazing.

AngelaCate said...

Wow! That is impressive!

Jan said...

Beautiful!!

Rosie J. Photography said...

Beautiful.

Buckeroomama said...

That is one impressive collage!

Angela@the crazyness that is me said...

Thats amazing

Michelle said...

What a great job you have done on the collage !! good for you.

Kate said...

Astounding! What a great job and gorgeous photos.

Vanessa said...

Oh that's wonderful!

Britney Emilie said...

Great Idea to put the outline of Africa on the photos! I love it's perfect it adds to the collage but doesn't take away from the photos, and all of those beautiful faces.

Unknown said...

totally impressive. nice work.

Unknown said...

I love it. I love these faces so much. And most of all, I love knowing that Jesus cares about every single person on this collage. He cares and loves them very much!

Bobbi Ann said...

Just so wonderful!

Z'sTheDay said...

this is wonderful- so creative and bold- I love it!

fiddlehead said...

This is a fantastic collage!
We share a connection to Swaziland. I was there in the summer of 2008 for AIDS Walk Africa. It was amazing and I have since created a mixed-media art series of paintings and photographs called "Message from Swaziland". I had to share this with you...my website with this series is www.jenniferrikkers.com if you would like to take a look.

Anonymous said...

A lovely collage and touching sentiment.

suelmayer said...

That is AMAZING!!!

amy in peru said...

I LOVE this! EXCELLENT job! I'm so glad you shared!!

amy in peru

Dena said...

Amazing!!

Danielle Good said...

I volunteered at the World Vision exhibit a few months ago. Love it and love this collage! I hope to actually visit Africa one day.

Grace said...

Wow . . . I REALLY love this one. I just recently came home from Africa (beginning of March). I miss it so much.

LOVE this collage . . .great job!

Anya Coleman said...

What a great collage, and good memories.

Amy Henderson said...

Beautifully put together!

A Crafty Mix said...

Thank you so much for what you've done for our beautiful continent. I stay in South Africa and our people, culture, and ubuntu spirit are all so special. It makes my heart and soul smile when I see something like this.