When senior Lee Colon and junior Madelyn Sullivan decided to go abroad last year, they both knew they wanted to take pictures. Both were ready with their newly purchased digital cameras to document their separate journeys to unfamiliar parts of the globe. They were unaware of how similar their experiences would be.
Colon, who spent the 2007 Spring Semester traveling throughout India with SITA (South India Term Abroad), wanted to go to a place that was entirely new and different. She spent four months in Tamil Nadu as well as periods in New Delhi, Darjeeling, Sakkim, Kashmir, Ladahk, Varanasi, Kerala and Karnataka.
Sullivan went abroad in October 2006, after Bowdoin approved her application and proposal for a semester abroad in South America, where she hoped to improve her Spanish. She spent from October to April traveling throughout Puerto Rico, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Argentina.
Colon and Sullivan became connected randomly through e-mail after having met briefly through Bowdoin friends before leaving. They quickly discovered that they were going through very similar emotions and experiences as college girls traveling abroad on their own.
"I had known I wanted to do an independent study with the photographs before I left, and then when Madelyn and I discovered we were seeing many of the same sorts of things and capturing a lot of similar experiences through digital photography, we decided to do the study together," said Colon.
"Lee and I found that our experiences, for instance with men and feeling lonely, were some aspects of a commonality in our journeys that showed up in our photos," said Sullivan. "Fortunately our pictures really work together, even though I have a Canon 5D and Lee had a Nikon D80. Our photographs are of essentially the same quality."
The women decided they wanted to somehow utilize the nearly 12,000 pictures they have taken collectively, and they asked Assistant Professor of Art Mike Kolster to be the advisor for the project, since both girls had taken his Photography 1 class.
Kolster approved the idea for the project, which allowed them to complete their independent study as a semester long, self-designed course.
With the help of Kolster, the women decided to compile a carefully selected group of photos into a book that documents their parallel experiences in South America and India, and they hope to convey some of what they went through during their trips abroad.
"For me, the time I spent away was full of intense experiences and this book, I suppose, is a way for me to share those somehow," said Sullivan. "I think this is sort of a structured, thoughtful way for me to share with friends, family and the Bowdoin community what I went through in a way that I feel is a readable and exciting experience for the viewer and for myself."
The book is being presented using the opposing concepts of confrontation and non-confrontation, themes that both of the girls found in their photographs.
Although they are undecided about the title or format of the book, Sullivan and Colon think that the first part of the book will focus on their direct interactions with their environment and those around them. Another part may focus more on the avoidance of that interaction.
"It was hard sometimes, to have the motivation to take out the camera and take pictures and capture the world, but oftentimes I just had to make myself," said Sullivan. "And then there was always the question of, what role do I want to play in this moment? Do I want to take out my camera and distinctly become the observer, or do I want to be in this moment as a part of it and really live it?"
Deciding which photos to use has been extremely difficult, because the girls had so many different experiences while abroad.
"I absolutely loved Ladakh, though it's hard to choose a place that was my favorite," said Colon.
"Ladakh was just amazing because it's this beautiful desert and yet it's amazingly lush and green because it uses a river to irrigate. It's an entirely self-sustaining community, and it was really powerful to exist in a place without feeling that your presence there as an outsider was somehow necessary for the place's survival," she said.
"I'd also find it difficult to choose just one place," Sullivan added, "but I adored this little beach and fishing village in Ecuador pretty much made up of just two intersecting roads. The place had a rich and growing surfing culture, and I loved meeting so many amazing Ecuadorians who lived wonderfully relaxed lives. I remember really enjoying seeing these little kids constantly playing in the waves."
Ultimately, the photographs represent an intense time of growth and learning for both Sullivan and Colon, who said that their journeys were at times very trying.
"It was a really intense experience and emotionally difficult in a lot of ways," said Colon. "My camera was something that helped me process all of it and stay interested and engaged in what was going on around me. It's been awesome finding that Madelyn and I really went through a lot of the same challenges and that it's evident in our photographs."
"Its been amazing finding patterns in the photos that provide me with insight into what I was going through at that time in my life," added Colon.
Colon and Sullivan are currently working approximately four to six hours a week putting their book together, which they hope to publish using an online publisher and possibly sell in Brunswick, Freeport, or Portland by the end of the semester. They also plan on having a formal presentation of their work with larger prints on display, and possibly also making an iMovie with all of their images.
"The book is our way of showing others a bit of what we experienced," added Sullivan. "And I think a huge part of it too is that we were just these random people who had cameras and were traveling and liked taking photos, and we're trying to present ourselves through our study as just that?just travelers with our cameras."