VIP Profile: Blake Baron

VIP Profile: Blake Baron
Honduras, August 2010

Documenting Program Lessons and Experience through Pictures
CHF has been working in Honduras since the mid-1990s including, in recent years, several projects under funding from Global Fund, the State Department, and the Millennium Challenge Account. To document work under the Global Fund award, especially in malaria and HIV, CHF-Honduras decided to put together a bilingual publication showcasing programs already established and illustrating some of the challenges still to be addressed.
The second edition of Huellas de Vida or Traces of Life features eight stories of individuals, groups and communities that have worked with CHF and its local partners to address their health needs. The booklet was distributed to local partners and supporters during CHF-Honduras’ 25th anniversary celebration in December 2010.
Blake Baron offered to contribute his time and skills in photography and video production. A network engineer for the Social Security Administration, he has always enjoyed photography and his photos have illustrated pages of international publications.
During his 12 days in Honduras, Blake produced close to 2,000 pictures and video clips. “Capturing the moment is always a delicate maneuver. Some of the program participants would invite you into their home, their world, and I would try to capture this in a photo, while trying to be transparent and without being invasive. It is a fine line,” he recalls.
Blake travelled across the country to various project sites and met with project staff, partners and program participants to document their personal stories and achievements.  As the principal recipient of the Global Fund to Fight HIV-AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis in Honduras, CHF works on the national level to foster improved HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment and care by building the capacity of local partners.
“I felt genuinely privileged to be on this assignment, to see the many programs in progress and the people who are receiving assistance, through my eyes. Most importantly, I was there not only to witness their work and struggles but to capture images and transform them into photographs to be shared. Through these images I am helping these people tell their stories,” Blake adds.