Saturday, June 27, 2015

DAY 13- muddy days

We started off the day without knowing exactly what we were doing. It was another “continental breakfast” of cereal and toast, just like Mango Bay. Right after, everyone set into editing pictures. I got to meet with Ulla to discuss my top photos for the presentation later that day. I had had sixteen photos picked out, that she helped me narrow to ten. She also talked about the good parts of each photo, and helped me to edit some, too.

We went to the bus right after all of the editing was relatively done. The half-hour ride led to a hike to a little waterfall. Right before the hike, we visited the village chief, and had a mini kava ceremony (we're all sick of kava). The hike itself was about forty five minutes, and wouldn't have been too bad if I wasn't for my wrapped toe and flip flops. My toe was so big when it was wrapped that it wouldn't fit properly back in my shoe. It made walking all the more difficult.
The waterfall was smaller than the rest, but that meant we could get closer. We took yet another cover photo with the flag. Some people climbed the rocks to the top of the waterfall, but others, including myself, wanted to avoid breaking every bone in our bodies and stayed on the ground.
After hiking the whole way back through a forest, we had a Fijian lunch before heading to the next adventure.
We took another half hour drive to the hot springs and mud bath. It was definitely a weird experience, to cover yourself in mud. Yet I would highly recommend it. It was relaxing, after I got over the cold, slimy feeling of the mud. This was also the last cover photo we took, while we were all covered in mud, and covering the flag with it, too. After the mud dried, we had to get in a medium temperature pool to get most of the mud off. It was the worst part of the process, since the floor of the pool was coated with mud and some sort of plant-thing that felt like it was crawling up your leg. We all got out of that pool as quick as possible, and went into the hot spring. It was so incredibly relaxing, and so worth it.
The end of the day was our final presentation. We were set to present our ten best photos from the trip, and talk about our experiences thus far. People's speeches about their photos were either reflective and passionate, or short and sweet. Everyone's photos were phenomenal, especially considering the different levels of practice that each person had. In my speech about my photos, I talked about photographing people with stories. I told of how its different to get a person rather than a landscape, and its even more different to randomly shoot a person rather than knowing the person's story. Its better to capture someone in a moment that explains them, because you know them. It helps you get moments in life, and not just a good photo.

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