viewpoint | articles | MSNBC

Students' Little Haiti Images To Be Published In National Geographic
WTVJ-TV
source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11145479/from/ET/

MIAMI - A group of South Florida high school students will make their mark through their photography when their pictures are published in this month's issue of National Geographic Magazine. Images

A group of Miami Edison Senior High School students who were recently chosen to take part in a National Geographic photo camp took photos in Little Haiti. While it might be easy to overlook the heart beneath the worn-down buildings and poverty-stricken neighborhoods of Little Haiti, the students illuminated the heart, soul and spirit of the area for the world to see.

"Fifty students applied. They all wrote essays, and we chose 15 of those students. Those 15 students were introduced to using the camera as a tool to tell us what their community is all about," said Lelen Roberts, coordinator of the Miami photo camp. "Most of them had never made pictures before. We taught them the tools and they went out and taught us to see their community in a different light."

Each image captures the human essence of what the students feel truly makes Little Haiti a hidden treasure.

"We wanted, when people were looking at the pictures, to take a story out of them, to see that the way they think about Little Haiti, it is not the same thing," said Nathalie Alcime, a student.

The photos of Little Haiti are the first student works ever published in National Geographic. The images feature a barber shop, a grown man reflecting on who he is and where he comes from and children who are simply proud to be who they are.