Welcome to the first post of “Beyond Your Door Step” a blog aiming to make a difference by showing people who may never see war, occupation, poverty, and other related issues through photography. These images will show the real reality of how these conditions devastate and complicate the lives of people forced to live in them. Hopefully my photographs will inspire you an others to get involved with these conflicts and help be part of the solution!
My name is Kyle Merrit Ludowitz. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, and I have always been interested in political science, economics, history and photography. I am a straight, white, non-disabled male that lives in the U.S.A. Even though I was raised in a privileged area, I was not sheltered from racism, sexism, classism and ageism and I became an activist at a young age. As I see it, it is my responsibility to use the privilege and freedom I was born with, to help make a difference in the lives and struggles of other people. Learning about what my government does in the world and watching these actions be covered up has made me realize I have to bring these atrocities to the eyes of the people that blindly support these shockingly scandalous deeds! For this great knowledge, I thank all the mentors I have been blessed with in my life.
I moved to Olympia, WA two years ago to attend The Evergreen State College, where I have continued my studies in political science, human rights, history an economics. During this time I have become very interested in many forms of art and activism. With photography I am able to blend my passion for creating with my need to act and spread information. I focused mostly on environmental issues around the Puget Sound and other local areas. It was at the 2008 Rachel Corrie Foundation’s International Peaceworks Conference, when I met Zoriah Miller. When I saw the photographs he had taken in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan, I knew my future was in crisis & humanitarian photojournalism and war photography. Zoriah has been a great inspiration, a personal hero and a wealth of information for me; I strongly encourage you to check out his work at www.zoriah.com.
Thank you for taking an interest in this blog, it will take a lot of people working together to be the change we need to see in this world! In the following posts, I will attempt to show you what I see as some of our most important local & global issues. Subscribe to my blog to stay posted with my work and future projects. Feel free to comment and ask questions, I will respond as soon as I am able!
In love and solidarity,
Kyle
