By Anna Liv Myklebust
Almost every weekend I have spent in Ghana, our program has taken us on weekend trips to different parts of the country. Recently, we visited the Volta Region, where we explored the roaring waters of Wli Falls, traversed the steep climb of Mount Afadjato, and interacted with the monkeys at Tafi Atome monkey sanctuary.
Throughout experiences like our weekend adventures, I’m usually the first to have my big main camera in hand, shooting the landscape and whatever else I can capture. However, I’ve found myself packing away my camera and replacing it with my small digital camera. During my hike up Mount Afadjato, I used the excuse of needing to take a picture as a guise to stop, when in reality, I just needed a break to rest my weary ol’ bones.
In my internship, I’ve definitely taken a step back from photography. It was a bit of a shock at first. Honestly, I was quite uncomfortable in my first week when I had to write something almost every day, but it’s been a refreshing change. This past school year, I was locked into photography and photojournalism. I took all of my advanced journalism courses, most of them being photojournalism courses or some form of multimedia, and I took every opportunity I could to learn from my assignments, working as a photojournalist at the Daily Emerald. At the end of the school year, I was pleasantly surprised to learn I’d come out as the photographer who had completed the most assignments.
To top that off, I’d been a photo editor for OR Magazine, where I oversaw photography and wrote some pieces, while also running the UO chapter of NPPA, the National Press Photographers Association. I also freelanced when the opportunity arose, and shot sports and events as a contributor to KVAL. All this is to say, my junior year of college was extremely photo-heavy, and the only things I’d written were a fashion piece for Align Magazine and two pieces I’d co-written for OR Magazine. My camera was always in my hand.
I’ve welcomed the change of pace in my internship. It felt weird at first working and not having a camera in my hand, but it’s a change I’ve enjoyed. During these weekend trips, however, I’ve kept my small, trusty digital camera in my hand, and have eased up on photographing, and doing my best to live in the moment.
Whether it was taking silly close-up photos of my peers, or pushing my digital camera to photograph something it definitely would not capture, I’ve been somewhat forced to live in the moment, because I’ve kept my main camera packed away, only to be used during serious assignments. Even during the hike, I mainly took out my digital camera as an excuse to take a much-needed break.
I definitely still take more pictures than I probably should. The 113,000 photos in my camera roll are a clear testament to that, and probably a call to action for me to clear out my camera roll. Still, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the weekend trips here. Many experiences are drilled into my memory, and not in a digital, JPEG format. I’m grateful for the cities and towns I’ve explored across Ghana, and the adventures I’ve had. In this final week of my internship and my time in Ghana, I’m excited to soak in the city before I finally travel back to the States.