bigsight

Freelance photographer and world traveler, Mia Baxter, recently completed a book tour with friend and co-author Jenna Bush for Ana’s Story, a book they worked on together about a 17 year old single mother in Latin America. “Jenna and I were documenting the lives of children living in exclusion in Latin America for U.S. Fund for UNICEF – her writing with my photographs. We were documenting Ana’s life and story this way, when it grew in to a book proposal. We met with publishers in NY during our holiday break last January, and Harper Collins gave us a chance. They believed in this project and I think it has been an incredibly positive experience for everyone. The proceeds of the book go to UNICEF and an education fund for Ana (who is now back in school).” Mia’s photographs play a key role in telling Ana’s story. “I am a strong believer in photography as a powerful tool in visual communication. Words tell truth as photographs display truth–they enhance the reality of a given truth. In Ana’s Story, one can see that Ana’s face is never fully disclosed. If people in her community found out that she is HIV positive she would face severe discrimination, be kicked out of school, or possibly even hurt. This protection of her identity, in combination with the detailed environmental photographs in the book, should enhance the fact that HIV/AIDS is real, that poverty and abuse are real, that the awful stigmas and injustices faced by far too many young people like Ana are real and are serious problems.”

To view more of Mia’s work, visit her website. She is currently living in New York but continues to work with aid organizations as a freelance photographer. “In this industry I have learned that each project inspires the next and I am often pleasantly surprised by what I get myself into.”