2008 Common Experience
International Photo Contest Winners

"When your heart speaks, take good notes"
~ Three Cups of Tea

First Place: Angel Granados

Erg Chebbi, Morocco - While walking with Hasan and Muja in the dunes, I expected conversation about Iraq or Christianity. Instead, they asked about family and what deserts were like back home. Two Muslim boys in the Sahara taught me it’s more fulfilling to focus on what makes us alike rather than different.

 

Second Place: Kellie Call

The girls in this photo were students living far from home in rural South China. Although the language barrier made things difficult, I could sense they craved some personal attention… So out came the camera! To remember what it means to live in the moment of happiness, as children do, is something the world could use to heal itself.

 

Third Place: Trevor Auser

Galway, Ireland- Clouds pedaled past overhead. Time was a lazy frog, but for the faint sounds of a distant soccer game across the river. Suddenly, a young filly emerged from the hole in the castle wall. Glad was I to be a poet- a poet with pen in hand.

 

Honorable Mention: Krista Hart

Essaouria, Morocco- Looking around with only sand and sea in sight, I looked down and saw the simple footsteps created by this camel. In looking at these perfect little marks on the ground, I saw how we all create our own path in the world and leave our own footprints.