Eco Photographer An interview of ethically focussed photographer, Alicia Fox in Muse Magazine Australia’s newest magazine for inspiration, self-help and culture, featured an interview about my work as an eco photographer. The article explores my journey from being a teenager driven to fulfil my dreams of travel and photography, to the journey that entailed, learning about what is really important to me and utilising my profession to work towards a better world. As you can read below, photography has taken me around the globe, discovering incredible cultures and learning from some of the most ancient and untouched peoples in the world today. These lessons are priceless and I am extremely grateful for the journey thus far. Being an eco photographer and living a sustainable lifestyle in both my professional and personal life is something extremely important to me, and something that I’ve written about in previous blog posts. My work with indigenous groups and NGOs around the world has contributed to this greatly. Once visiting these places and sitting to talk with the people effected by climate change, corporate greed, environmental destruction and so on, it’s impossible to turn a blind eye and un-care. Everyone can make […] Read More
As you may have read in previous posts, while I was in India I volunteered with a wonderful organisation in Jaipur, I-India photographing 7 of their projects. For my recent photography exhibition, One World through which I raised money for I-India, I created these information sheets to help communicate to visitors the life-changing work I-India are doing. Please take a read through, and let me know if you would like any more information about the organisation or my time with them. You can also watch my short video about the experience HERE. Namaste! Click on the posters to open them at a large resolution See my posts about I-India’s village school and Marble village school Read More
It seemed surreal to be standing in the middle of in an entire village made of marble. But these weren’t palaces or majals. The inhabitants of this marble village in Rajasthan, India are desperately poor and lack basic amenitites like running water and electricity in their homes. Traditionally nomads, these families chose to set up their homes in the middle of a dusty industrial zone so they could repurpose, re-use and upcycle the waste from an adjacent factory to build dwellings. I visited the village with I-India, a not-for-profit organisation in Rajasthan, India. The dedicated staff provide education and support to some of Rajasthan’s most desperate children, feeding 3000 kids a daily meal without which their bellies would remain painfully empty. I-India provides services to this area. I-India set up a school for this community, as there were no educational facilities available to them in the area. To see the basic facilities that these children learn in with such gratitude was so inspiring. Read about it HERE If you’d like to read about […] Read More
I didn’t realise we had arrived at the school as the car pulled up outside a small shack in the middle of a dusty community. I was with I-India for an NGO photography shoot, a small grassroots organisation based in the desert city of Jaipur, India. As I’ll explain in another blog post, a series of coincidences had lead me to contact I-India and offer my services as a volunteer photographer. Due to changing financial times, the not for profit organisation has seen a decline in donations from its international funders over the past couple of years which means they will probably have to cut up to 30% of their projects in the next year. On the ground, this means that hundreds of vulnerable children will go hungry. I met some of these children. They are as innocent and loveable as any children I’ve met, but the fact that they were born into poverty in India means that their fate is very different from that of children where I’m from, Australia. I-India has saved them from child labour, child marriages, homelessness, begging on the streets and more. The organisation’s dedicated staff runs a range of truly […] Read More
I was thrilled to receive a parcel from Profile Books in London, opening the packaging to see my photographs on the pages of Vivienne's new book, GET A LIFE! The Diaries of Vivienne Westwood.
Vivienne and I are both fervent supporters of Cool Earth, a UK charity which is saving rainforest in Papua New Guinea, Peru, and D.R.Congo... Read More
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
Wikipedia: “Pachamama is a goddess revered by the indigenous people of the Andes. She is also known as the earth/time mother. In Inca mythology, Mama Pacha or Pachamama is a fertility goddess who presides over planting and harvesting…She is also an ever present and independent deity who has her own self-sufficient and creative power to sustain life on this earth.” I was thrilled to be invited to take part in Pachamama Photography Exhibition in Sydney. Opening this Thursday (26 June), the exhibition will run across the weekend in StirrUp Gallery, Marrickville. This group exhibition will feature the work of 5 photographers, including me: images which explore the relationship between indigenous peoples in Latin America and Pachamama. I’d love to see you there. You can find the event details RIGHT HERE. Read More
Being an Eco Photographer means reducing the environmental impact of every aspect of my business, and working with (i.e. producing photos for) clients that have a positive impact on the environment. I was trying to formulate an explanation as to why I’ve decided to be an “Eco Photographer” and what this actually means. Then one day three things happened to me and I became so impassioned that I did what anyone would do… I got on my soapbox (i.e. my personal Facebook wall) and shared what I was feeling with my friends and family. I received such an overwhelmingly supportive response that I decided to include my little story on this blog. It gives you an idea of how I live my personal life, which crosses over into my business life. So here it is: I don’t often put unhappy things on Facebook but I feel the need to share this today It has 3 parts, and hopefully is inspiring: 1. James came home and told me, with a smile, that he had a song stuck in his head all day, the song of some beautiful girls from the Ashaninka tribe we stayed with by Ene River, in […] Read More
I am thrilled to have an article printed in SURFGIRL Magazine, the raddest womens surf mag in The UK. The article is about my travels and photography work/lifestyle around Central America. I hope you like it. Let me know what you think at info@aliciafox.net and if you’d like to see more photos of Central America visit my website. Read More
My Article in EOS magazine EOS magazine is a great photography publication coming out of the UK, focused on the technical side of photography and specifically of Canon EOS cameras. I wanted to write an account of my experiences volunteering in Latin America, thinking it would appeal to EOS readers. The editor Angela August agreed and offered me a two page spread in the Nov 2011 issue. When the article went to print, it ended up as four pages. I was really pleased to receive an email from Angela saying “Very many thanks for your contribution. I must compliment you on your fantastic pics, sparkling, well-targeted copy and generally getting everything to me on time and in sensible order. You made my job very easy!” I put a lot of effort in to making the article as polished as possible, so it’s so nice to hear I could make Angela’s job easier. Here is a copy of the article. ……………. I love getting feedback, so please leave any of your comments here on email me at info@aliciafox.net If you’d like to see more of my NGO photography, please check out my website www.AliciaFoxPhotography.com Read More
Antony Ledezma Mendin & The Bethlehem Youth Club – A photo shoot for Opportunity Nicaragua When Antony was eight years old his parents divorced, and his family disintegrated around him. Antony’s mother is Costa Rican, but his farther is Nicaraguan. When the family broke down Antony’s father returned to Nicaragua, forcibly taking Antony with him. They moved to the Nicaraguan Capital of Managua and shared a house with Antony’s grandmother. Life at home was tough, and the family relationship was strained. Antony rebelled. He fought with his father and grandmother, who also fought with each other. At a young age he began experimenting with drugs, smoking and drinking, by 12 he decided living on the streets was better than at home. He ran away. Antony lived on the streets with a group of friends. They stuck together and protected each other. To get money they would steel whatever they could, sometimes visiting local farms to rob fruit and then sell it on the street. As he got older, the group of friends developed into a gang; drugs and gang related violence became part of life. Antony looks back on his past drug use with open honesty, recalling “I was crazy, […] Read More
Volunteering with Opportunity Nicaragua was an wonderful experience that allowed me a glimpse into the lives of many hardworking artisanas and farmers around Granada, who despite adversity, can go through life with a smile. The experience gave me perspective on how tough life is for so many people throughout the world, and how fortunate I am to live the life I have. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the experience. Read More
