Working in Zimbabwe with SPANA

October 31, 2013 in Africa, Animal Welfare, Leica, NGO Photography, Nikon, Photography, Photojournalism, SPANA, Zimbabwe

I recently spent a week in Zimbabwe working with SPANA. SPANA (the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad) is a charity for the working animals of the world, with clinics across Africa and the Middle East that treat hundreds of thousands of donkeys, horses, mules, camels and livestock every year. I travelled with the local SPANA mobile veterinary clinc, to the Manicaland Province (some 500km away from Harare), where we camped without luxuries such as electricity. This is what Erick and Andy (the two SPANA veterinarians who I was with) do for at least 2 weeks every month, leaving their families, friends and comforts of home behind so that they can travel to the areas of the country where they are most needed. SPANA provides free veterinary clinics for everyone in these remote communities who wants to come. In many cases, these people would otherwise be very unlikely to have access to this kind of help for their animals. The SPANA staff worked with local VEA's to teach them how to treat the animals, so that they are able to provide assistance in between the mobile clinics visits.

I felt privileged to be involved in documenting the important work that SPANA, and their local partner organizations are doing in Zimbabwe, and wanted to share of few of the photos from the trip:

Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe , 2013

Case studies, stories and more detailed info from the trip will be published over the coming months through the SPANA website, magazine, blog and other media outlets. I will share links on this blog to where the stories end up. For more information on SPANA and their work, have a look at their website.

Photography Training Workshop in London with SPANA

August 30, 2013 in London, NGO Photography, Photography, Photography Tutorials, SPANA

On this trip to London, I have been involved with presenting a couple of photographic training workshops for NGO's who I shoot for. I was in at the SPANA office this week, teaching the staff the basics of photography, from settings through to composition and lighting techniques. Whilst professional photography has its place, it is simply not practical or possible all the time for any non-profit organization. This is why we have been working together to train their staff for the day-to-day documentation of the incredible work they do across the world. SPANA (the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad) is the charity for the working animals of the world. To learn more about the work that they do, check out their website.

New Recommendation on LinkedIn from SPANA

February 27, 2012 in Animal Welfare, NGO Photography, SPANA, Testimonials

Today I received a recommendation on LinkedIn from SPANA for a recent project I worked on in Ethiopia. Here's what they had to say:

We hired Anna to undertake a photgraphic project at one of our Ethiopian veterinary clincs. It was an important project for SPANA, with photos earmarked for the charity’s annual review, so a very specific set of skills and attributes were required. Of course we needed an excellent photographer – and Anna is certainly that. But we also needed someone who was able to work to a brief with very little management, able to work with our overseas staff and also develop good relationships with our Ethiopian clients. We needed a photographer able to work in challenging and difficult circumstances, while representing our organisation confidently and proffesionally to a range of stakeholders. Anna was the perfect choice, We were delighted with the results of Anna’s work – her images are arresting and creative. But we were also enormously impressed with her professionalism, tact and diplomacy. Staff and clients working with Anna on the project were all enthusiastic both about her work and also her interpersonal skills. I’m pleased to be able to offer a very warm recommendation. We will certainly be using Anna in the future, whenever we can.

SPANA, February 21, 2012.

If you would like to see this recommendation, and others, please feel free to view my Linkedin profile

New Recommendation from SPANA on LinkedIn

February 04, 2012 in Animal Welfare, NGO Photography, SPANA, Testimonials

Today I received a recommendation from SPANA relating to the project I worked on in Ethiopia earlier this year. Here's what they had to say:

Anna is an experienced photographer and is expert in Photographing. She is also sociable and dedicated to her activities. I have no reservation to recommend Anna for any scale of activities which require photographing. She also uses a modern digital camera for her photographing. I wish her a successful life.

SPANA, February 5, 2012.

If you would like to see this recommendation, and others, please feel free to view my Linkedin profile

Working with SPANA in Ethiopia

January 24, 2012 in Africa, Animal Welfare, Ethiopia, NGO Photography, Nikon, Photography, SPANA

I've just returned from working with the Society of Protection of Animals Abroad (SPANA) in Ethiopia. It was a privilege to work with such a great organization, and to document their work with working animals, from education and training to free mobile vet clinics. The first day, we drove out of Addis Ababa and seemed to slip back in time as we reached a station under the bridge, where horses and carriages waited to take people up the dirt roads beyond, where the local transport would not travel. We made our way to the location of the mobile veterinary clinic, where there must have been 30-40 men waiting with their horses. The SPANA team began the clinic by giving a small talk about proper harnessing (one of the main causes of preventable injury in Ethiopian working horses), and offered free harnesses to those who needed them. After the introduction, the clinic began, with horses being seen in the order that they arrived. Cases ranged from mild injuries caused by ill-fitting harnesses, bits and over-work to the most serious cases where an appointment for euthanasia had to be made. This was the first of many mobile veterinary clinics that I photographed.

The SPANA team worked tirelessly to not only provide free medical care, but also to train local owners about how to take better care of their animals. Although there were some cases that were hard to watch, it was inspiring to see the work that SPANA are doing and to meet some local horse owners and hear about how much they have learnt and how their families have benefited from the assistance. Here are a few photos from the trip (excluding the medical case studies and specialized stories, which will be published by SPANA on their website and other media):

Ethiopia, 2012

For more information about SPANA and the work that they do for the working animals of the world, have a look at their website.

Working in Zimbabwe with SPANA

Photography Training Workshop in London with SPANA

New Recommendation on LinkedIn from SPANA

New Recommendation from SPANA on LinkedIn

Working with SPANA in Ethiopia

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