Papua New Guinea has been up the top of my Travel Wishlist for years.  Despite it being Australia’s closest neighbour (only 170km from Queensland), it isn’t a very popular travel destination – hence the appeal. A few years ago when I learned about PNGs rugged beauty, rich indigenous cultures and distinct lack of tourism, I started looking into how I could get there.  Simply travelling or being a tourist is never enough for me – I always look for a way to add another dimension to any journey, and I love my profession so much that turning a travel opportunity into a Photo Trip is usually my first preference. I pasted photos of PNG onto my “Dream Board” – the digital pinboard where I gather inspirational images surrounding my dreams and goals. While I was busy making other dreams come true (making a sea change, getting married and building my strawbale cottage with my husband), plans for Papua New Guinea fell into place on their own.     I was ecstatic when I received an email from Cool Earth, asking if I’d be available for a photo shoot in PNG.  Cool Earth is a UK based NGO (Non Government Organisation) that […] Read More
We had an amazing turn out to the opening night of Pachamama Exhibition on Thursday, 26 June.  Art lovers from all over Sydney came to view images of indigenous peoples of Latin America, by five photographers including me.  Each photographer’s set of images illustrated a theme relating to the people’s relationship with Pachamama:   Tradition by Alicia Fox Displacement by Rodrigo Llauro & Natalia Cartney Reconnection by Guillermo Rossi Adaptation by Armando Vega Relationship by Toril Pursell   All photos were for sale, with a percentage going to NGOs assisting the people in the photographs.  Images (framed and unframed) are still available for purchase, so feel free to contact me if you are interested.   Below is a short excerpt from a call out by Survival International, an NGO working to protect isolated tribes in regions including the Amazon.  It explains why rapid action to help vulnerable tribes people is important.  “An alarming number of uncontacted Indians have been sighted fleeing Peru and entering Brazil. Brazil’s Indian Affairs Department has warned that they face imminent “death” as they enter into the territory of other uncontacted tribes and settled communities. Rampant illegal logging in Peru is believed to be at the heart of this impending disaster. There are only about 100 uncontacted tribes left in […] Read More