Lens of the World: Photography by Evan Cobb

From Evan Cobb Photography

I stepped into Cambodia and immediately began to sweat. Maybe it was the Jack and Cokes on the 14 hour flight from D.C. to Toyko that were still in my system or maybe it was the extreme humidity and heat that permeates the country for about 85% of the entire year. I soaked Cambodia and the contrasting culture up over the next two years and it will never leave me.

I worked in a state sponsored high school in the southern province of Kampot. I taught in grades nine through twelfth. It was a dynamic experience that offered me countless opportunities to increase the English level of both students and teachers. In addition, the work formed friendships that cleared my rather basic lens of the world, which allowed me to hone in on the things that truly do matter. My service in Cambodia not only provided me opportunities to contribute to a small community outside of the United States, but also contribute to my future and myself.

One thing that I learned about myself in Peace Corps was that I had a hot red ember of passion for photography. I love that photography allows for moments to freeze and be offered at a later time. The ability to create powerful photos that offer a feeling to those who are not directly in the situation became a goal of mine throughout my time in Cambodia. I realized that what I was taking pictures of meant something to my friends and family back home. These pictures were a glimpse of my life, which was the life of all the Cambodians I came in to contact with. I would set out on my Peace Corps provided bicycle and hit the dusty trails and find the lone farmer in his small field or the pastel sunset that rested on the mountains for moments before the dark set in. Photography brought me out into Cambodia, which brought me thousands of memories that are now forever at my fingertips to be withdrawn whenever I miss the heat of the days or the love of my Cambodian host family.

Peace Corps can be many things or nothing. Peace Corps is what you make of it. Make your service impactful and it will be. Make your service memorable and it will be.  

-Evan Cobb served in Peace Corps Cambodia from 2012- 2014.

Madagascar: beautiful, complicated, misunderstood

From Sights Unseen

When I left for my Peace Corps service in Madagascar, I didn’t even bring my camera. Though I had taken photography classes for nearly a decade, though looking through a lens was one of my primary ways of engaging with the world- I told myself that this wasn’t what I had joined the Peace Corps to do. I left my camera at home, and though I missed some amazing shots in my first nine months in Madagascar, I don’t much regret the loss. 

    A camera changes the way you are perceived; it changes the meaning of your presence, especially in the early dynamic of a PCV and the home community. I appreciate now that during my months of introduction and struggle to adapt, I wasn’t trying to capture my experience and I wasn’t putting a barrier between myself and the people who surrounded me. 

    That all being said, I was ecstatic to get my camera back. Madagascar is a beautiful, complicated, misunderstood country. It is as far away from the United States as a place on earth can be- physically of course, but also in terms of its environment, culture, politics, and religion. Yes, it is one of the world’s poorest nations. With a collapsed infrastructure, nonexistent economy, and unstable governance, it teeters on the verge of environmental disaster. 

    But Madagascar is also so much more than this oft-told narrative of poverty and decline, and I always struggled to open up a point of access to this intricate corner of the world. Photography helped me to convey both the beauty and complexity of life on the island, and the incredible dignity and joy with which Malagasy people surmount crushing poverty. 

-Katie Browne

Katie Brown is a photographer and returned Peace Corps volunteer. She served in Madagascar from 2009 - 2013. She is currently a Masters Candidate for the University of Michigan. You can see and buy her work at her website Sights Unseen. 

While in Albania: Photography by Joyce Wolf

I've been an avid shooter of everything around me since I was younger. I love freezing memories and storing them for later and it's definitely a perk that other people can take joy from my work. I've been fortunate enough to have friends who are not only beautiful in their own ways but also don't mind being in front of the lens.

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I love shooting in natural lighting, getting dirty for the right shot, events, details and nature. I always prefer candid but I also believe a posed group photo is absolutely necessary for big events. Thanks to encouragement from my friends, I plan on taking photography more seriously once I've moved to Taiwan. In the meanwhile, enjoy what I see and thank you.

- Joyce Wolf

Joyce Wolf served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Albania. She is the social media manager for Posh Corps. She lives and works in Taiwan. You can see more of her work at While in Albania

Capturing KwaNdebele: Photography by Eva Cappuccilli

As I started packing for Peace Corps, assembling the essentials, a good friend of mine told me, “You’re not spending two years with that crappy point-and-shoot.” She strong-armed me into buying a better camera that I didn’t even know how to use. I owe her a lot.

This is one of my grade eight learners, Maria. We went on field trip with the school choir to the Ndebele king’s wedding. The choir waited around for hours to sing, but never got the chance. Instead, a few of my girls, Maria included, turned the experience into a photo shoot.

Sometimes I think of this picture with the name A Gathering of Old Men. It’s a pretty typical sight in rural South Africa, seeing men sitting in a line, chatting and avoiding the sun.

Throughout my service, community members would ask, “Where is your camera?” or random disembodied voices would shout as I walked down the street with it, “Shoota me! Shoota me!” In some ways, being the community photographer opened me up to experiences I might have missed otherwise. My school never hesitated to send me out on school field trips, because I was responsible for documenting them.

The Mother Bear Project is run out of Minnesota. They send teddy bears to kids, so that they can have a toy that is completely their own and to provide emotional comfort. I gave them out to the kindergarteners at the elementary school, and this girl had particularly pretty smile.

This was also taken at the Ndebele king’s wedding. I have no idea why the man was wearing that mask, but it is pretty indicative of Peace Corps service. Sometimes you have no idea what is going on, but it’s interesting all the same…

I don’t have much to say about this picture. I think the visual does a lot of the talking.  

As an education volunteer, my biggest pet peeve, the daily battle with my kids, was that “tarven” was not a word. Someone misspelled it once in the community, and it took off like wildfire. This picture is as much of my shopping complex and the typical sights surrounding it, as it is proof that no one ever spelled “tavern” correctly.  

In terms of my own interests, these pictures help me facilitate story-telling, taking me down new roads or back to familiar faces. When I talk to people back home who don’t completely understand what my experience in a township was like (but want to), many times having a visual clears the fog. For me, it keeps my site alive in my mind.

-  Eva Cappuccilli

Eva Cappuccilli is a Peace Corps volunteer serving in South Africa. She was the unit still photographer for Posh Corps. She currently serves in Cape Town with an HIV education non-profit. See more of her work on her blog, Stranded Traveller. 

"Stranger" by Socorra

Socorra, Producer and Original Music Composer at Posh Corps, just completed this submission for the NPR Tiny Desk Concert Contest.

When I first moved to the Bay Area, I made an effort to get to know as many RPCV’s as possible. Every recently returned volunteer is a bit ragged. I was certainly no exception. We all struggle those first few months, trying to prove ourselves to our country once again. Of all the RPCV’s I met, Socorra was the most impressive. Despite her own readjustment struggles, she has a certain calm assurance. When you talk with Socorra you get the distinct impression that she knows she’s good, and she’s waiting for the rest of us to figure it out too.

Her first album, “Little by Little” was inspired by her Peace Corps service in Morocco. The title comes from the Arabic phrase “shweea b shweea,” a saying Peace Corps volunteers must hear often, as a gentle encouragement to go slow. She recorded and released the album during her Peace Corps service, and the album proceeds went to a girls’ shelter in Morocco. Her song “Nine Hours to Nowhere” inspires memories of long hours in a crowded African taxi, fighting with fifteen other travelers over whether or not it is safe to open a window.

Socorra recently performed in front of an audience of 1,600 for Lena Dunham’s book tour in San Francisco. She is keeping quiet about how much Dunham ended up paying her for the performance. In addition to the Dunham book tour, Socorra is working as a music teacher at the School of Rock, inspiring the next generation of confident, no-nonsense female performers. Her second album is expected to be released in 2015.

Socorra describes her music as “bluesy-percussive with a pop of folk.” Her sound is unique, but it’s her stage presence which really demands attention. She doesn’t adopt any kind of affect, she won’t change her personality in the hopes of meeting standard expectations about female performers. Socorra is talented and has a powerful voice, but she freely admits to suffering from severe stage fright. She routinely stands up alone in front of huge audiences, and faces her fear. This is true courage, the most important component in great success.

- Alan Toth