Shoot Cameras Not Guns has arrived in Thailand!

We arrived safely in Thailand two weeks ago, and everything is going well so far!  As with most international travel, there has been a good deal of physical and cultural adjustment.  The frigid mountains of Colorado have been replaced by sweltering, crowded streets of Bangkok.  The smooth and simple transportation of the States has given way to logistical challenges, round-about routes and (mostly) safe-enough conveyance.  Ubiquitous American English and constant global media onslaught at home has calmed to simple speech, and murmurs of dozens of foreign conversations all around. We have finally leapt over the final technological hurdles so that we can stay digitally connected to friends, supporters and collaborators here and abroad.  Our minds are calming, our hearts are opening, and we're itching to get our show on the road!  

        We have spent our days here in Bangkok reconnecting with students, colleagues & old friends that Diana knows from her first voyage here 7 years ago when Shoot Cameras Not Guns was created.  They are very excited to have Diana and the project back in their "neighborhood"  and are looking forward to working with SCNG in its expanded form.  We have also been preparing, scheduling and finalizing details of the first round of workshops that we will be teaching along the Thai/ Burma border soon.  

Five levels of electronics at Pantip Plaza in Bangkok!

     Our first workshops will be in Sangkluburi, where the project was born. February 4-8 we will be teaching photography and photojournalism to NGO workers and journalists from Burma (Myanmar) for HURFOM (Human Rights Foundation of Mon-land).  

Immediately following our first stint in Sangklaburi we will be traveling to Chiang Mai and teaching workshops as part of the Chiang Mai Documentary Arts Festival (February 8th- 14th.)  During these workshops we will be working with migrant workers, and expanding our connections to the human rights community in the region.

     We are very excited to be underway, and happy to report that our entry phase has been positive, productive and invigorating!  

Ian getting familiar with the flashy and blinky aspects of Bangkok

You're invited!

Beers for Burma is a craft beer festival & fundraising event for the Shoot Cameras Not Guns upcoming workshops in Burma and Thailand.

For more info, to RSVP and invite your friends, visit the event on Facebook.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS.

When:            First Friday, December 7, 2012

                        6pm-2am

Where:           ArtHaus Gallery

                        3340 Larimer St.

                        Denver, Colorado

The Event:

Featuring Colorado craft beers, live music, circus

style aerial acrobatic performances, and local art, the

first annual “Beers for Burma” is not to be missed!

This fundraiser for the Denver-based project, Shoot 

Cameras Not Guns, will  highlight RiNo businesses,

and have a great party for an even greater cause!

Get tickets early and your first beer is free!

Non-beer beverages available as well!

All ages welcome. 21+ to drink. 

We're Coming Back! Shoot Cameras Not Guns in Thailand & Burma

In celebration of our upcoming workshops in Burma and Thailand, here are some of our favorite photos from founder Diana Sabreen's first visit to the area.

Self Evident Truths

Portraits of iO Tillett Wright, the creator of the Self Evident Truths project, in the style of the project's portraits.

The Self Evident Truths project came to X Bar in Denver this year, creating portraits of anyone who considers themselves anything other than 100% straight. 

From the website:

IT IS TIME TO SHOW PEOPLE OUR FACES, SO THAT THEY MUST ACKNOWLEDGE OUR VARIETY, OUR HUMANITY,
AND OUR DIGNITY. FAMILIARITY BEGETS EMPATHY:
“HEY, THAT LOOKS LIKE MY DAUGHTER / SON /
FRIEND / WIFE / FATHER.”

The newest Moustachumentary participants!

iO Tillett Wright, the creator of the Self Evident Truths project.

Participants hang out at the bar.

Again, from SELFEVIDENTPROJECT.COM:
WE CHALLENGE YOU TO LOOK INTO THE FACES OF THESE PEOPLE, AND TELL THEM THAT THEY
DESERVE LESS THAN YOU.

School to Jail Track

This powerful video sheds some light on the way that Colorado public schools handle discipline issues. 

Takehome point: Students are NOT criminals, unless you treat them that way. 

Video by www.vodafilms.com

School to Jail Track | Colorado from Noah Carlson on Vimeo.

Youth on Record at the Synergy School

Group image of Denver and the mountains.

Here are images from another light painting workshop with Flobots.org, this time at the Synergy School in Denver, Colorado. This residential treatment facility focuses on substance rehabilitation for teens. We worked with teenage boys, and they all really loved the process and final images.

Individual album cover

 As usual, we started with some group light graffiti and moved on to individual images. Students were welcome to invite friends to participate int their "individual" images, but they were required to be the "directors" and to tell the collaborators how to accomplish this vision.

Group image #1. Not bad for a first try, huh?!

 Youth on Record instructor Nathan Schmidt has been working with the boys, teaching them how to produce their own music. These images will be the album covers for their individual albums. These guys were super fun and the staff at the school really went above and beyond to turn a very well lit room into a darkroom for us. Thanks for your help, Synergy School!

Flobots Workshop at Cole Arts and Sciences Academy

The first collaboration of Shoot Cameras Not Guns and Flobots.org was a great success! The Flobots are a Denver based hip hop group that creates nationally known music filled with positive and thought provoking lyrics. Their non-profit offshoot Flobots.org teaches youth and community members how to use and create music for social change. "Art to Action" instructor Adrian Molina and I partnered up at Cole Arts & Sciences Academy in Denver to teach an after school program to elementary and middle school students. We focused on light graffiti, or "light painting," to allow the youth to express themselves anonymously. Graffiti is something most of the kids see every day and can relate to. Light graffiti adds another level to the art of graffiti, while taking away the risk and disrespect of property that is often associated with this form of expression. 

GROUP LIGHT PAINTING:

We started off making some photos as a group before moving on to individually created photos.

The individual shots are a response to the questions, "What makes you feel weak?" and "What makes you feel strong?" Each artist thought of a motion that embodied this feeling and then performed it for the camera to record.  

Photo by Dalaun, who's family makes him feel strong. Laying on the couch makes him feel weak: 

Photos by Nehemiah:  

Photo by Maria: 

Molina messing around with the camera on very slow shutter speeds, with flash: 

Photo by Patricia, who feels strong when using a computer (which she drew with the lights): 

Photo by Savejon, who feels both weak and strong when stretching: