Hope in Shadows

Hope in Shadows is an annual photography contest project for the low-income, impoverished Downtown Eastside Residents. The contest was started by the Pivot Legal Society in 2003, making this year their ninth annual contest. They are given out disposable cameras to portray their neighborhood in their perspective and to document their daily lives in the Downtown eastside. Once they have selected their top 40 photos, the photographers are invited back to talk about their photograph and share their personal stories behind the photo. The winners are chosen by community vote and receive cash prizes, along with the rest of participants who reached top 40. The calendars are sold by a street vendor who earns a $10 profit from the $20 calendars.

In my point of view, this project is a huge success with a wonderful cause. Helping others in need is crucial and having different, new ways to approach it is great. Usually the main thing we do when helping others is by donating, but by actually getting everyone involved and also approaching it in an artistic manner appeals to me the most. Even the people who never even got a chance to hold a camera they would finally have the chance and the joy of taking pictures and have the chance to express their community to the world. Also, a lot of the participants were not taught how to take professional photographs, which can sometimes give you an unexpected result. While going through the pictures, I could tell each photograph had a very deep meaningful story behind every scene. Some pictures were more intriguing than others, by reading the caption and getting an explanation of the situation really opened my eyes to what others go through as an everyday daily basis.

Also, having the street vendors sell the calendars is a great new approach to employment opportunities for those in need. Even though it is just a temporary job, the outcome of the employment and what they will learn from it is the most important part. Hopefully they will...