KICKSTARTER LAUNCHED!

We did it! Kickstarter is launched. In case you haven't signed up for email updates (on the right of this page), I'm posting the letter I just sent out to our email subscribers. Please read below. It's my most honest description about what we do and why. On this Thanksgiving Day, I'm thankful for your interest and your support.

VIEW KICKSTARTER HERE

There's a million things I'm thankful for. Friends, family, art, music, living where I live, being the person I am, doing what I do for a living and for fun. And today, like all days, one of the things I'm most grateful for is Freedom of Speech. I can say what I want, to whom I want, and I don't get arrested for it. I can create art, photographs, songs, poems, jokes, and no one comes knocking on my door to take me away. 

For a decade I've been teaching photography to marginalized communities. Populations of people who DO have to worry about disappearing for speaking their truths. People who have been systematically oppressed through violence, poverty, rape, murder and theft. Through images and creation they can take their voices back and work towards personal and political freedom. Through creation they learn a tool to counteract the destruction. There are heard. They are seen. 

We have launched a Kickstarter fundraising campaign for Shoot Cameras Not Guns because, to be honest, we can't do this without you. After another few months of teaching in Burma and Thailand, I've come to the harsh realization that this project will only be sustainable if we reach out to our supporters, engage you in our work, and move towards a model that asks others for support through grants, fundraising, and smaller-scale campaigns like this one. This is a time of critical shift for Shoot Cameras Not Guns and your support helps determine the direction we go. 

Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing fundraising campaign. If we meet our modest $5000 goal, we get it all (and anything past it). If we don't meet our goal, we get nothing. To share a secret with you, my personal goal is $15,000. That will allow us to make this thing really take off, move towards a sustainable model, and continue to do this important work. Watch the video. Donate. Get awesome gifts for donating, and feel your pride soar. Send link to friends. Repeat.

We are wrapping up work with our students in Burma (Myanmar). We are exhibiting their work internationally so that you can see it, learn from it, be thankful for your own freedoms, and empower others to find theirs. We just learned that one of our students was recently imprisoned for participating in a peaceful protest against land-grabbing, the ever increasing practice of the government taking people's land for their own use, or to sell to (mostly foreign) business. This is the new Myanmar you've heard so much about. The one that tourists are flocking to and businesses are investing in. 

We have a lot of work to do. When we meet our goal, we can complete this year's work and bring it to you. When we blow past our goal, we can create more programming for at-risk youth in the United States, journalists and activists in Burma and those who have fled to Thailand, and those in need of a voice all over this small world we call home. 

I am thankful for my voice. I am thankful for YOUR voice. I am thankful for the rights I take advantage of every day, and those that I forget that I even have. Help me share our good fortune. 

Wishing you a very happy and healthy holiday season. 

Go create. 

Diana Sabreen

Founder & Director

Shoot Cameras Not Guns

Kickstarter Rewards!

Kickstarter donors of $25 or up get to choose from awesome student photos.

Here are some samples of what's available.

Kickstarter Launching Soon!

We'll soon be launching a Kickstarter fundraising campaign, allowing a rare opportunity for supporters to purchase prints of student photos! We'll also be creating a photo book of student work and offering workshops by SCNG teachers. Yay!

Keep updated by our mailing list (sign up to the right), Facebook and Twitter so you don't miss out!

Here are some beautiful photos that will be available for campaign contributors...

"A Portrait of Yangon" Up Through April 28th l Yangon, Burma

If you didn't make it to the opening party, you can still come see the student work!
Photographers are activists and journalists based in Yangon.
The exhibit will run through the 28th of April.
Gallery is open 9am-5pm every day.
Check out the book release party on the night of the 28th!

Yangon Show this Friday! l Yangon, Burma (Myanmar)

We're pleased to present the first ever Shoot Cameras Not Guns Photographers exhibit in Yangon, Burma (Myanmar)!!

This is an opportunity that we have been working towards for years. 

Public gatherings, art, and truthful dialogue are becoming more accepted and legal in Burma. We're excited and honored to be an active part in both the change, and the results.

Come by if you're in town!

Chiang Mai Documentary Arts Festival l Chiang Mai, Thailand

Hong Sar speaks on the Burma Photographers Panel.

What an inspiring conference!

One week of documentary arts was not enough for us.  That's right, Shoot Cameras Not Guns combined teaching and learning for a full week in Chiang Mai.  The second annual Chiang Mai Documentary Arts Festival (CDAF) was a jam-packed week of documentaries, gallery shows, talks, workshops, discussions and networking.  

Many of the finest filmmakers, photojournalists and human rights activists working in Southeast Asia were in attendance. 

Ian gets an explanation of one of Ryan's prints, won in the silent auction!

The week started with a panel on photojournalism in Burma. One of Diana's first students, Hong Sar, was on the panel, a very proud moment for them both! We were treated to amazing documentaries every day, and top-notch workshops as well.  Ian was particularly excited by the DSLR film making workshop taught by the conference organizer, Ryan Libre.  

Photographer and DAA founder Ryan Libre thanks guests for attending CDAF.

We were able to teach a photo workshop in conjunction with the festival too, and introduced many new colleagues to our organization and programs. 

Lucie Awards founder Hossein Farmani auctions of a 1000 Baht bill to warm up bidders for the silent auction!

We were also lucky enough to get to know most of the presenters and attendees over the course of the week. It looks like we will be able to use what we learned at the conference right away, and hope to be collaborating with some of our new colleagues very soon.  Special thanks to Documentary Arts Asia (DAA) for putting on the festival!

Hong Sar's video of photo class in Chiang Mai

Our friend, Hong Sar, taught with us the second day at the Best Friends Library in Chiang Mai. He also shot and edited this video of the class. A great teacher, and a great photographer and videographer.
Thanks to Hong Sar for putting this together! Visit Hong Sar's website too: www.hongsar.com



Towards the end of the video you see the kids moving lights around in the air. This is an activity we did called "light painting" or "light graffiti." We use a darker room, and long exposure to create drawings or paintings in the air. The kids love it and it helps them understand the concepts of exposure and light capture in photography.