This was my first trip outside the country and my second missions trip.  I was a sophomore in high school and decided to go as a photographer to capture the team's impact in the Dominican Republic.  Looking back at the work I did on that trip fills me with a strange mix of self-loathing & pride.  

One one hand, many of these photographs suffer from a combination of technical and aesthetic issues from lack of vision and voice to incorrect white balance and exposure.  Part of that is due to my inexperience, part to my habit of shooting in JPEG and lack of access to Photoshop while overseas.  On the other hand, I was a self-taught photographer at that point, with no formal education whatsoever in composition, lighting, or even camera training.  Yet I embarked on an international documentary project and managed to do a fair job for a novice.  

What I captured pales in comparison to the work of professional and even amateur photojournalists who have taken on similar projects, but this was the beginning of my journey to where I am today and I cannot regret that.