About Karmen Meyer Photography
Hello, my name is Karmen Meyer. I am a wife, a friend, a daughter, a big sister and a photographer..... and, the truth is, I am also a bit long-winded so this could get a little bit lengthy!! I have grown up around cameras, it was basically inevitable that I should fall in love with photography. My mother is a great photographer who has always encouraged me to bring a camera wherever I go. And, it seemed the farther I went, the more I loved my camera. I was as far as South America when I realized that I really wanted to pursue photography as a career; not just as a way of documenting my travels. Immediately I decided to attend the Photographic Technology Program at NAIT. Since graduating, I have learned so much and have been able to branch out and use photography to express so much more. I love capturing what is real; the pureness of capturing real emotion in a photograph is stunning. It is about capturing the moment that says it all.
No, it’s not a huge magazine or even that amazing of a photo, but it sure feels good to see one of my own photos on the front of a magazine! Additionally, I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to know that the CRWRC is being able to use my photos from Africa in a positive way.
Sorry for the poor quality, just a snapshot from my iPhone!
Jeff & Nicole are engaged!! And what a lovely couple they make, see for yourself! ENJOY.
Truly,
Karmen
© Karmen Meyer Photography 2012. All images are property of Karmen Meyer.
kmeyerphotography.com….. kmeyerphotography.com/blog….. Twitter.com/KarmenMeyer
I am blushing, but very honoured to be featured on Red Ribbon’s blog. Check it out for yourself!
November 18, 2011 | Livingstone, Zambia to Serowe, Botswana
Day #17- Today we left VERY early to catch the Ferry that would take us across the Zambezi River to Botswana!! On the way there, my new African friends frightened me with the story of how the Ferry capsized in 2003 killing 18 people. And wouldn’t you know it, when we arrive the second ferry is capsized on the other side of the river… needless to say we all loaded very cautiously onto pontoon. I can’t speak for everyone else but I was pondering the existence of alligators in the river and making an escape route in my head! Fortunately though, we (Truck 4) all arrived safely on Botswana’s shores where we waited 3 hours until all the other trucks made it across. Then we headed to our most remote campsite thus far!
We arrived at the Elephant Sands Campsite at sunset. This was a lovely place where wild animals and A LOT OF BUGS roamed freely. In fact, the bugs didn’t want to leave me alone. There were these flying beetle things that covered my hair when I was trying to shower and insisted on being inside my sleeping bag while I slept, shutter. But I didn’t have to put up with them for long; it was short night, we were to wake-up, pack-up and be back on the road by 2am.
November 19, 2011 | Serowe, Botswana to Gaborone, Botswana
Day #18- After a super early start, we receive a very warm welcome from Gaberone. We meet an inspiring group of cyclists and speakers who offer us words of encouragement and provide a lovely lunch for us! Afterwards we head to the most awful campsite on the whole trip. There is nothing but old buildings, piles of broken toilets (??) and a river filled with alligators! It wasn’t a big deal though, most of us were happy to enjoy the impressive Thunder Storm and catch up on some sleep.
Later that evening, we headed out to an intimate evening concert! I had a terrible time trying to focus in the dark, so after capturing a few images I decided to take the opportunity to enjoy the concert. Let’s just say my voice was sore from singing and my muscles very sore from dancing my pants off!!
November 20, 2011 | Gaborone, Botswana
Day #19- Today I stepped on a ginormous thorn. Yes, I was just out brushing my teeth before church and I stepped on an insanely large thorn that went through my sandal and into my foot. So nice and deep, in fact, that my sandal dangled there nailed to the ball of my foot. Of course, I quickly pulled it out and though it hurt quite a lot I figured it would feel better in an hour or so. Well, I was wrong! By the end of the church service, my foot barely fit into my flip-flop and was basically useless for walking on. It did hurt, but I was frustrated more by the inconvenience of not being able to walk properly!
Later in the evening, a brave soul (Yussuf) stepped forward to perform surgery on my damaged extremity. Well, it wasn’t exactly surgery… but Ryan decided to call it that and it really caught on. This surgery, was made even more dramatic by the crowd that gathered to watch. My only wish was that the wound was more impressive, pretty sure everyone just thought I was I big baby. Oh my, I did have to laugh at the whole situation though.
November 17, 2011 | Lusaka, Zambia to Livingstone, Zambia
Day #16- Today was a WONDERFUL day with a memorable stop at Victoria Falls (or Mosi-oa-Tunya meaning the Smoke that Thunders, thanks Wikipedia). Even though it was quite dry while we were there, the falls were still absolutely gorgeous. And then, just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, we arrive at a campsite with warm showers, a clean pool, and a stellar bar with wifi!!! HEAVEN.
Now sit back and ENJOY the view!
© Karmen Meyer Photography 2012. All images are property of Karmen Meyer.
kmeyerphotography.com….. kmeyerphotography.com/blog….. Twitter.com/KarmenMeyer
We are reaching a point in the trip, where I was feeling a little discouraged. We as a media team were frustrated, our intention of sharing tons of amazing photos, videos and stories everyday on our website just wasn’t happening. This was for two reasons:
1. Lack of internet and power. Batteries don’t stay charged forever and we simply cannot post things without internet.
2. Spending all daylight hours on the trucks driving. While I was at first content trying to capture the odd image out the window, this unfortunately grew old and rather unsuccessful. Looking back, I do wish I had worked harder to capture some successful images in the trucks, since let’s face it, this was the majority of the trip. But nothing can be done for that now.
So sorry for the lack of inspired images during this portion of the trip. Unfortunately my dispirited attitude was showing in my images, but I did say I would share the whole experience….
November 13, 2011 | Lilongwe, Malawi
Day #12- While Ryan heads off with the rest of the Caravan to shoot some video at another concert, Ruth and I head into town with the cooks to pick up some work supplies and groceries. It was so great to be off the trucks and walk through the market. Unfortunately though, I wasn’t allowed to take any photos, as my ‘making a scene’ would drive up the prices of the food for the caravan.
When we arrived back at camp, there was still no water! So, we did our laundry with pool water, definitely a first for me. Once laundry was finished and hung up to dry, it was time to sit down and get most of my editing caught up and uploaded. It was so great to finally have photos available for the website!
Later that evening I found out that I wasn’t the only feeling discouraged. A bunch of caravaners stayed up late for some slightly mischievous and much needed fun =)
Check some photos from camp that day below!
November 14, 2011 | Lilongwe, Malawi to Chipata, Malawi
Day #13- Finally, a short drive day! We arrive at the Mama-Rula campsite in daylight! Some people go to town, while others stayed back to enjoy the pool, some soccer and dancing. Thing I won’t forget…. How many bugs are in the showers!
November 15, 2013 | Chipata, Malawi to Lusaka, Zambia
Day #14- We arrive in Zambia, welcomed by a marching band and police escorts. Zambia seems very excited that we are here!! Also, today I had SUBWAY! Yes, the sandwich. Not quite the same as at home, but I can’t tell how happy I was not to eat camp food!
Oh and this was the night that we didn’t put a tarp on our tent and then the sky opened up and drenched us in our sleep. While sleeping in a sopping wet sleeping bag was less then ideal, the real bummer was that my iPod didn’t survive the flood. Seems lame but one of the saddest moments of the trip. Sometimes iPod = My Sanity. But I am happy to report after a few days of adjusting I survived!
November 16, 2011 | Lusaka, Zambia
Day #15- Today was a disheartening day for all. What started out as wonderful welcome into Zambia turned into a very disappointing concert. The concert was broadcasted LIVE and while there were many amazing artists, one of the acts hired to play was extremely inappropriate. This would have been manageable had their not been a lot of children in the audience. And, to top it off, some one was selling alcohol to minors. None of this was meant to be. We all left early and upset.
That being said, there were still some great parts of the concert before things got out of hand. Check it out below!
© Karmen Meyer Photography 2012. All images are property of Karmen Meyer.
kmeyerphotography.com….. kmeyerphotography.com/blog….. Twitter.com/KarmenMeyer
Jacintha and Martin in the small town of Bentley, Alberta! It was cold and muddy but we had a tonne of fun and got some AWESOME images. ENJOY!!
Truly,
Karmen
© Karmen Meyer Photography 2012. All images are property of Karmen Meyer.
kmeyerphotography.com….. kmeyerphotography.com/blog….. Twitter.com/KarmenMeyer
Ok, so I know it is getting a little late but I just couldn’t wait to share some photos of this awesome couple! It is always such an honour to photograph a couple that are so obviously in love with each other. Felicia and Brett, it was so great getting to know you, I hope you LOVE your sneakpeek. I can’t wait until your BIG DAY!!
Truly,
Karmen
© Karmen Meyer Photography 2012. All images are property of Karmen Meyer.
kmeyerphotography.com….. kmeyerphotography.com/blog….. Twitter.com/KarmenMeyer
Wow, have I ever forgot about the challenge and excitement of shooting film. You only have 24 shots, you don’t get immediate feedback via LCD, you have to rely on your gut. You have to think everything out ahead of time: composition, lighting, exposure and then wait for emotion. It is kind of fantastic to go back to the basics and breakdown a shot like that. Personally, I think it was just what I needed. A roll of film in a digital world to remind me what makes a photograph amazing. To bring me back to what made me fall in love with photography. And, you can’t deny we all love the excitement of picking up a newly developed roll of film and then eagerly thumbing through the prints the second you are back in the car…. So here is my first, of hopefully many improving, film posts!
Truly,
Karmen
P.S. Yesan is a great photographer! You should check out her work at yesanham.com!
© Karmen Meyer Photography 2012. All images are property of Karmen Meyer.
kmeyerphotography.com….. kmeyerphotography.com/blog….. Twitter.com/KarmenMeyer
November 12, 2011 | Chitimba, Malawi to Lilongwe, Malawi
Day #11- And we are off, leaving lake Malawi much to soon. Part way into the drive we discover we are stopping in Mzuzu, Malawi for a flash mob and mini-concert! As it is with most of the caravan activities, we knew nothing about this, haha. I never really figured out if there was a communication problem or if things were really getting planned this last minute. But either way, it was great little concert, so much more personal then the ones hosted in the capital cities!
Been wondering what the trucks looked like? That’s them in the above photo.
TenSing Norway, as well as, the other speakers and performers put on an awesome show for everyone that gathered!
Ryan taught a couple of the boys to use the camera! They were so excited about that.
That was definitely not the only teaching going on. Caravan members were out and about talking to everyone about the purpose of the caravan and, of course, collecting more petitions!
Where you find a group of people, you will definitely find somebody selling something. I am glad to have met this bunch!
After the concert, we piled back on to the trucks and headed to our next campsite. We arrived at the not so fantastic Mybuya Campsite at around sunset. It was in the middle of Lusaka (Malawi’s capital) and lacked that gorgeous countryside appeal. Also, they had very little water; it ran out completely only 45minutes after our caravan arrived! But it didn’t matter much, everyone was tired from a full day. We had supper, attended some meetings and went to sleep.
Truly,
Karmen