Why are photos so dark and not clear?
We work with mobile phones and available technology. Often times the technology adds a kind of filter to the real world which can also have an addition layer of meaning.
How do you choose the countries for the workshops?
We usually choose countries in two ways: one is through femLENS founder and workshop facilitator Jekaterina Saveljeva who moves around a lot. She tries to do a workshop wherever she is based. The second way is that if we meet someone from an interesting organisation or somebody hears about our work, we try to make it happen.
Why do you work with a FinTech Bank?
femLENS is an Estonian registered non-profit association (because Jekaterina is from Estonia). Estonia is very tech developed and does many things online – like annual reports, tax declarations, voting, and also banking. We opened our bank account online as well as doing our online NGO registration because we can!
Why does femLENS focus on women and girls?
Women and girls are still underrepresented in almost all areas of life. Photography as a storytelling tool shouldn’t be the domain of the privileged few. Technology today allows us to make that happen as so many people have access to a mobile phone with a camera.
Getting a woman’s point of view is important not just because she may have a “feminine” view of something, but because through different life experiences comes a different understanding and vision of a situation. This is important for both understanding the challenges in the present, but also, looking back at now from the future, our ancestors may be surprised why only some people in society had their version of the world recorded.
Finally, our experience shows us that, when supported, women and girls reach potential inside themselves they didn’t know they had. This creates positive role models inside their communities, setting off a chain reaction.
If I want to help but I don’t always have time. Would that work for you?
Yes, we need support in different areas which requires a variety of skills and time. Please get in touch with us and we’ll see what we can work on together!
I work at an NGO/women’s centre. How can we arrange a femLENS workshops?
Please send us an email.
I would like to learn documentary photography. Is it possible to join future femLENS workshops?
Get in touch to see where we are planning our next workshops, or follow our social media channels where we share information about upcoming workshops.