New Mission Launched *Colossal Visions*! Harrison B. Photography

     I recently dreamt about a vision. I woke up and had to write it down instantly before I forgot. It felt so real to me and after really thinking about it, it should be real! Here is the description of my new mission to educate and inspire others:

    Colossal Visions mission is to educate and inspire under- privileged youth and students of all ages to use the medium of photography as a tool for exposing environmental issues locally and nationally. I want to bring third world countries opportunities for a career in photography. This goes beyond photography. Even if these students cannot make a living off of their images, they can contribute to exposing issues to the general public of their communities. 

   The goal of this program is to hit an International level. This mission is different from most programs you may be aware of. Unlike most programs, students in the last semester of their programs at Colleges and various educational institutes will have the opportunity to educate others. Specific students will be selected depending on their positive attitude and expertise in their field. 

   The overall plan is to launch a fund raising campaign to grab the attention of the public in the Atlantic provinces. I want to set up a drop box for old cameras. We will give students and the general public the options of recycling their old digital cameras, sponsoring our program or giving donations to help fund the mission. The plan is to take these cameras and deliver them to educational Institutes in third world countries. Along with the cameras, there will be a team of students and a few faculty striving to educate foreign students with workshops on the proper use of the equipment. 

   The determination and commitment of unique individuals has always been the fuel behind global change. The natural world needs it's people more then ever and I believe that we will make a difference and inspire change, together. Through "Colossal Visions"!

If you are interested in being a part of the vision, you can contact me, "Harrison Burton" at: (harrisonburtonphotography@live.com). 

You can also visit the Colossal Visions facebook group to support the mission by following this link~(javascript:nicTemp();).

Thank you for your time and generous support.

Sincerely,

Harrison Burton


~Harrison B. Photography~
Website Link: (http://archive.harrisonbphotography.com)

Channeling Hope ~ Fundraising to help fight AIDS in Africa

"Channeling Hope"

Hi everyone,

     It's been ages since my last post and I realized I want my clients and viewers to know more about my photography. Just last night I photographed the fundraiser and celebration event called, "Channeling Hope", held at PIER 21, Halifax. This event was a celebration/fundraiser to help fight aids in Africa.

     An amazing woman named Kristin Roe challenged herself on July 22nd 2010, to swim the English Channel. She completed her  swim in 16 hours and 40 minutes. That day she became the first ever Nova Scotian to ever successfully swim the English Channel. Not only did she conquer her goal, she did it to raise AIDS awareness and 100,000 dollars for the Steven Lewis Foundation and the Nova Scotia Gambia Association.

"Kristin Roe and Mathiang Sing along to Lennie Gallant"

      A friend at NSCC International, (Ashley Pinsent-Tobin), asked me to photograph this event a few weeks ago. I met Ashley when I was accepted into the 2010 International Documentation Mission to Tanzania last may. I have never been as thankful for anything in my life as I am for the opportunity I was given to travel to such a beautiful country and be immersed in their culture. That is another story. My point is when Ashley asked me to photograph ,"Channeling Hope", I immediately took advantage of it.

     Africa is such a beautiful place. The people are brilliant. The generosity and hospitality is amazing. But Somehow amongst all the beauty it has the highest infection rate of AIDS in the world. More then half of the infected are woman and children. This is unacceptable considering the disease has been around for nearly half a century. The powers of the world have failed time and time again at resolving this on-going crisis. It is in the hands of the general public and the generosity of Canadians to continue the aid to Africa.

"Steven Lewis Giving his Inspirational Speech"

    Special people like Kristin and Steven Lewis are the key to helping the people of Africa win the battle against AIDS. Steven Lewis gave a speech last night that truly inspired a theatre full of canadians. Even as the event photographer, I had to tell myself to stop and really soak in what Steven had to say. Never in my life have I seen a few hundred people trying so hard not to cry. The research and education being performed to prevent the spread of AIDS was truly inspiring. If Steven gained anything last night, it was the respect of the citizens of Nova Scotia. After a lifetime of remarkable accomplishments, he has inspired change and given hope to millions.

    After a full night of musical performances by Lennie Gallant, Ruth Mathiang and various speeches  to support the cause, "Channeling Hope", was a success. There was an auction held before the event and at the intermission to raise additional funds for the cause. Overall, the night could not have been better. Today I am proud to say I am canadian. I am proud to have been in the presence of such wonderful people. I am so thankful to have been a part of this event and I will continue to support the cause and the fight against AIDS. "Thank you", to all my viewers who have taken the time to read my blog. I hope you will do your part, wether it be big or small...it will always make a difference!

Sincerely,

Harrison Burton

~Harrison B. Photography~
*All rights reserved to Harrison B. Photography*
Site link: (http://archive.harrisonbphotography.com)

Channeling Hope Campaign Website: http://www.channelinghope.com

Steven Lewis Foundation Website: http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org






  

 

Departing for Tanzania!

Hey everyone! Departing for Tanzania tomorrow!!! I'm super excited. I just received the itinerary for the trip so you can all get a feel for my experience with the tourism crew in Tanzania. There have been so many variables when planning this mission but I could not have done any of this without so much help form my friends and family. I can't thank you guys enough! I am so thankful for everything in my life. This opportunity has been made a reality because of you guys! You all know who you are:).

I am departing tomorrow morning, the 6th of may, at 10:45. Here is the itinerary/basic layout of the trip:

International Tourism Study Expedition (10 people)

7th May 10: Arrival at the Dar es Salaam airport pick up and transfer to Econo Lodge, for dinner and overnight,

8th May 10: After breakfast pick up from hotel for Makumbusho for a lecture history of Tanzania its people and culture, later have a traditional lunch, leisure, and later transfer in the afternoon drive through beach for sightseeing, after drive to Econo lodge for dinner and overnight

9th May 10: Early in the morning drive to Bagamoyo one of East Africa’s old towns, do activities and later dinner and overnight at Bagamoyo hotel through Msata, with parked lunch, do activities there and dinner and overnight at Bagamoyo.

10th May 10: Early in the morning after breakfast do the old town tour and later drive to Mikumi through Msata, with parked lunch, through the Uluguru Mountains in Morogoro, with lunch enroute, to VETA for dinner and overnight.

11th – 14th May 10: Full day activities in Mikumi and around, and dinner and overnight at VETA

15th May 10: Early in the morning after breakfast do activities around Mikumi and later in the day drive to the Mikumi Genesis Hotel, check in and later drive to Mikumi National park for lunch at the Wildlife Camp, after lunch do evening sunset game drives, later drive back to Genesis Hotel for dinner and overnight.

16th May 10: Early in the morning drive to Mikumi National park, to do Sunrise game drives and later drive back to Dar es Salaam, dinner and overnight at Econo Lodge
17th May 10: Early in the morning after breakfast drive to the ferry to catch early boat to Zanzibar. On arrival pick up and transfer to hotel for check in at Zanzibar Safari Lodge and then use the afternoon to go for interesting tour of the historic stone town (slave market/ historic sites). Later head back to hotel for dinner and overnight.

18th May 10: After breakfast; depart for spice tour and later drive to Jozani National Park for tour, expect to see rare red colobus monkeys found only in Zanzibar and many more and thereafter transfer to hotel for leisure at the beach and overnight at Page Ndame Hotel, bed and breakfast.

19th May 10: After breakfast leisure at the beach and later transfer to the Air port for departure back to Dar es Salaam, pick up at airport and transfer to Econo lodge for dinner and overnight.

20th May 10: Full day with day to day activities in Dar es Salaam and later back to Econo lodge for dinner and overnight.

21st May 10: Pick up from hotel and later transfer to the airport to catch flight back home.

I am so excited! I have all my gear ready and lots of stuff for the kids over in Dar es Salaam. Wish me luck and once again thank you all for your on going support. Check back for more updates for the duration of my stay in Tanzania.

Cheers!

Harrison B.

*Harrison B. Photography*

Pre-Departure tidbits

Hey guys! I just came back from the break and I thought it would be nice to give everyone an update on the trip! I went through quite a bit of trouble getting my passport in Halifax, but finally it will be here by the 26th of this month. That lifts a huge amount of stress off my shoulders knowing NSCC International will be able to book my flights with everyone else. Just last week I went into the travel clinic in Dartmouth to get my vaccinations required for travel into Tanzania. Thankfully it was only three needles, (Typhoid, Yellow Fever and Hepatitis A). The Yellow Fever vaccination was no fun but it's good to have it over and done with. My gear list is coming together and my Photo 1 teacher Ingram has actually let me borrow his monopod for the trip so thank you Ingram, and to all who are helping make this mission to Tanzania a success for me!

I have put the word out there for the people that are willing to donate their recyclables to help me fund the mission. Thank you to all that have helped me out so far! I can't tell you how much it means to me to have your support. As for the rest of you guys, let me know if you are willing to help out even in the smallest way possible it would be very much appreciated. It's been rough but selling things on kijiji has also really helped me out. Let me know if you have any old things of any value that you are willing to part with that I can sell for additional funding. I am trying to make roughly two thousand to pay the one thousand dollar fee to do the program which covers, (Transportation, accommodations and activities) and then to pay for my food and water.

Other than that I have been slowly learning Swahili with a lonely planet phrase book I bought last week at Chapters. "Habari" is hello:). Photography is, "Upigaji Picha". It is a really interesting language to learn and I am really enjoying it! Hopefully by the time we land in Dar es Salaam, I will be able to carry on a conversation to some degree with the Tanzanian people. Once again thank you all who support my work and check back soon for more info!

Mukumi National Wildlife Park and VETA

Hey guys, I've been slacking a bit on the blog posting but I've also been super busy with school and planning the documentation trip to Tanzania! Where to start...well my departure date is may 6th and I will be home by the 22nd. I had issues with my pass-port application the first time around so I spent all day today getting my references to sign my application and it will be prepped and ready to go by thursday. NSCC International needs my pass-port by the end of the month so I'm def cutting it close:P!
As far as layout goes for the trip, our flight path is Halifax-Toronto-Zurich-Dar es Salaam(destination). This is a very, very, very long flight so it will definitely be interesting.

The arts group that has been assembled to document the 2010 Documentation mission in Tanzania consists of a screen arts student( Melani Wood), Two RTA students( James Robinson and Greg Rozon) and myself Harrison burton. We have been divided for two different missions while in Tanzania. Group one, (Melani and James) will work in Dar Es Salaam with the Health and Human Services students to document the education and growing partnership with Kimara Peer Educators. Group two, (Greg and I) are to accompany the tourism management students to Mikumi, (5 hours drive from Dar es Salaam) to document the tourism students working with VETA, (Vocational Education Training Authority). The tourism students from NSCC will collaborate with VETA to improve tourism programs at the training Institute in Mikumi. Mikumi is a small town but it is neighboured by Mikumi National Wildlife park and it's beauty is breath taking!

My job as the sole photographer between these two missions is to photograph the key moments that paint NSCC in a positive light. This is the first time they have introduced a tourism mission so there is a bit of pressure on me for some solid material. I am hungry to do the best job possible for this mission! I am not positive on what I will see during this mission but I have been told we are for sure going on a safari! I honestly think this will be the highlight of the trip for me and I can't wait to do it! All the Gear is slowly getting pooled together now for me to effectively document this mission. I have not been given exact details on everything yet, but they are slowly but surely developing. Tonight I priced out all the vaccinations and pills I need to take for this trip and it is scary lol! I don't think I'll ever get stabbed by this many needles again for the rest of my life!

Anyways..everything is going well in regards to the trip and I cannot wait to tell you more! Thank you guys for checking me out and supporting my work!

Hey guys!! It's been a while since my last post and I am waiting for a studio session, so I thought this would be an ideal time to write about what has happened in the past few days. I almost missed my opportunity for an interview for the 2010 International Learning and Documentation Mission to Tanzania! I was contacted on March 3rd, regarding the interview to be held on March 5th. I was told they had sent me multiple emails trying to inform me of my interview for the past week. For some reason I was not receiving the emails. I thank Andrea Francheville (Administrative Assistant for Doug Barnes) for getting a hold of me for my interview. I almost missed an opportunity of a life time!

Anyways.. I was interviewed by Ashley Tobin (Manager of the International Learning Programs) and Shawn Connors (who subbed in for Doug Barnes). They were very nice but got right down to the point, I gave them all I had and tried in my best words to describe how much this opportunity would mean to me. They told me I would hear back from them regarding my acceptance or decline into the program within a day. Sure enough I came home from work last night(March5th) and there was the email Congratulating me and three other AANM students selected to document the mission in Tanzania!!!!

I am so pumped for this trip and tomorrow morning I am meeting in the Hub on Barrington for a 9 hour session to aid in the organization for the trip. It hasnt really set in at all that this has actually happened for me but I can't wait to be a part of this! A decision has been made and I am purchasing the 70-400 sal G-series telephoto lens for my A700 because I believe it will deliver the best all around results for my work in Africa. I will post on my blog from now on with details on the trip and my departure dates. Thanks for all your support and checking this out guys!!

Hi everyone! This is my first blog post! I am new to this but I am slowly coming around and figuring it all out. I just applied on the 2010 International Learning Mission to Tanzania that will take place in May. My photo teacher Ingram Barss had forwarded an email for all students in applied arts and new media programs at NSCC about a week ago regarding the Tanzania Mission. I am not sure how many people have applied on this trip, but it was quite a bit of work to come up with the right answers to the brief questions asked. The purpose of this mission is to go over to Tanzania with a group of "Health and Human Services" student's to educate the youth of Tanzania on HIV and Aids precautions and prevention. There is also a group of "Tourism" student's going to Tanzania along with the "Health and Human Services Students" to learn about International tourism and development. Where do I come in??? They need 4 AANM students to effectively document the learning experiences in Tanzania for further promotion and awareness. I am praying I get this wonderful opportunity to take part in this mission! Africa is a place I have always dreamed of visiting. Although the continent is surrounded by poverty and war, its jaw dropping natural beauty is enough to convince any young photographer to check it out. Everyone keep your fingers crossed for me!

This week I've been thinking about purchasing a new telephoto lens to add to my arsenal. Realizing that without a fitting telephoto lens, I would be held back photographically in Tanzania..purchasing a high quality telephoto lens for my A700 seems to be a necessity at this point with my nature photography in the present and for the future of my work. Here is the question...I have two options, one is the Sal 70-200mm f2.8 and the other is the Sal 70-400mm 4-5.6. The 70-200 is probably the best choice for low light and balanced work but the 70-400 seems more practical for what I love doing. Both lenses go for around 2000$ but the 70-400 is roughly 200$ cheaper. I am looking at a payment plan through Sony Canada to pay this lens off over 6 months. Any opinions on this purchase would be much appreciated. Thanks for checking my stuff out guys!