Portraits in Hopeland Greece

This is a series of portraits I took in Hopeland, Greece. I had the opportunity to volunteer for one month in an ecovillage and it was one of the most beautiful experiences I’ve had. I was fortunate enough to join a group of passionate and dedicated volunteers from across Europe who all strived to find a connection with themselves and others. As a photographer, I documented parts of this journey by taking portraits within Hopeland.

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Volunteers digging a ditch in the garden.

Portrait of woman and man standing in a herb garden.

Volunteer holding branch working in the herb garden.

Three people sitting at a table discussing the grocery list.

Woman speaking during outdoor group activity.

Three girls walking together in nature.

Volunteers standing next to stack of black crates.

Girl standing in the countryside flying her drone.

Guy holding a pan with four slices of fried bread.

Two people building a wooden construction.

Men sharing stories in their winery.

Gardener explaining to volunteers about gardening.

Guy sitting in a tree with yellow leaves.

Two volunteers cutting food in kitchen.

Guy sitting on top of shoulders of other guy showing off their muscles.

Group of people sitting in a circle outside.

Young people sitting outside in circle.

Group of volunteers working in the field.

Volunteers working with wood.

Volunteer building a wall of rocks in the garden.

Two volunteers cutting the a cord together.

Volunteers laughing during their work in the garden.

Two volunteers embracing each other.

People sitting together in circle.

The portraits

My approach to these portraits was to focus on the authenticity of each person. I prefer not to stage or let people pose in front of my camera. I also experimented with the scenery and the beautiful lighting that we had during our stay. Besides documenting the activities we did as volunteers, I also wanted to capture the community that we were building as a group. It felt like a family in which we had the space to laugh and cry together.

Social Media manager

One of the tasks I signed up for was managing Hopeland’s social media channels. By creating content on a daily basis, I could create posts for both Instagram and Facebook. Together with another volunteer, we created a strategy and upload schedule. This way we could share our volunteering process every week.

Video

When we were almost halfway through our month, I created a short video. This video shared the story of two farmers who helped us transform a garden in Hopeland. Their portraits, paired with video, perfectly captured the essence of our time volunteering in Greece. You can watch the video on Instagram by clicking here.

My experience as a volunteer was beyond my expectations. I knew it would be labor-intensive and I really learned to know myself better. I did not expect how much I would receive in return. While feeling part of this amazing community, I could deepen my love for photography, and also reconnect with myself. I do believe that you receive more than you realize when you focus on giving. Each contribution to giving, however small it might be, will have a positive impact and could potentially change the world.

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