Broadreach: Panama Photography Adventure

In Panama, I learned how to find myself. The person who I am now is entirely different from who I was before the trip. This is because Broadreach taught me to take risks and step outside of my comfort zone, whether it was surfing in Santa Catalina, whitewater rafting on the Chiriquí river, rock climbing in Boqueté, or snorkeling around Isla Iguana and exploring Coiba. I have always been afraid of snorkeling but now it is one of my favorite things to do and I can't wait to get back on the surfboard and fall off less times than I did when we were learning in Panama. I also learned the basics of photography and was able to add a technical element to my photography skills. Overall, the trip was life-changing and I can't wait to visit the amazing country of Panama again to explore, take more photos, try new things, and do community service- with the friends that will last me a lifetime.

This was my second Broadreach trip and I personally chose this one to see if I really wanted to study photography in college. Going into the trip, I sort of had a feeling for how small the group was going to be, but I didn't fully realize it was 5 students with 2 staff members. The size of the group instantly made a family feel that lasted for the entire time. I've loved photography for a long time but personally, I was not very great with understanding everything about my camera. The coursework provided the perfect information and assignments that made me feel, by the end, that I really would know how to take those great shots. The classes were not very boring for a lot of them we would help with critiquing each other and focus on what we would work on for our next shots. The trip itself was absolutely amazing. We did a lot of hiking, but they would lead to breathtaking waterfalls, or amazing landscape scenes. The community service that we did took place in a little village and the group got to do hands on work with helping make a boardwalk that would help with connecting the village to the rest of the local area. We turned the long moments of sawing wood into a game to see who was able to saw through the logs the fastest. We also got to put our photography skills to the test during another community service project that involved taking pictures that would go along with directions leading visitors to this beautiful, but tucked away, waterfall. Not everything was work and we did have some times to play ninja on the beach or in some cases; get some sun. By the time it was our last dinner together, everyone had grown so close and it sure was sad to leave. After going on my second Broadreach trip, I do hope to continue these life changing experiences during my years in college. My only regret is not discovering these programs sooner and going on even more.