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My Fast-tracked Peace Corps experience

The world drastically changed two days after I left the United States for my Peace Corps service in Zambia. My cohort and I hoped we had escaped the global COVID-19 madness. For a short time, we did successfully flee. Though my trip was short, the most impactful part of the experience was observing the Peace Corps’ mechanics and the Zambian people.

The Peace Corps has layers of complexity to assure volunteers are prepared for a productive and safe service. For example, the Peace Corps’ strategy is for trainees to learn their village language quickly. My agriculture cohort was stationed in Chipembi, Zambia. We had language class in the morning and farming class in the afternoon. My cohort required seven language teachers. Each trainee also stayed with a homestay family that spoke the language the trainee needed to learn. Peace Corps paid families that spoke specific languages to relocate to Chipembi to teach the trainees their language during off-school hours. So, not every village in Zambia had 7+ languages but Chipembi did because of the Peace Corps’ learning center.

My homestay family was teaching me Neunje (spoken in the eastern part of Zambia). I thought it was fantastic that my host-brother used his cell phones to explain pluralism in Neunje for ‘things’ versus ‘people’. I was amazed at how well the whole family spoke English. They said that my Boston accent was much harder to understand than the other Californian Peace Corps volunteers they had hosted. I tried to make sure I annunciated all my R’s after hearing that feedback. It saddens me that I was pulled from my service so quickly. I had much more to learn from them.

At the time that I was pulled from Zambia, it was definitely safer for me to be in Zambia than the States. However, we wouldn’t be able to leave if the pandemic continued to spread throughout Africa. I understand why I’m back home in spite of how wrangled I felt, being pulled back to the US only to come home to desolated streets and no job. My experience with the Peace Corps, however brief, was emotional and extremely impactful. I believe that there is a lesson for all of us to learn from COVID19, collectively and individually. I’m spending my quarantine contemplating it and my future plans. I look forward to the opportunity to return to Zambia and finish my service. Zikomo (Thank you).

If you are wondering, Zambian roosters actually crow all night long as opposed to just at dawn.

The thoughts and words I wrote here are my own and do not necessarily represent the Peace Corps.

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Fresh Start - New continent. New career.

It’s true. The time has come for a change. On March 8th, I will depart my beloved Boston for Zambia to join the Peace Corps (27 month service). I will be taking on an exciting role of farm efficiency, nutrition education and forestry education. 

What? Why? Huh? The knowledge of where our food is coming from is more and more relevant in our world. I will be part of an intensive 3 month training program (90 km north of Lusaka) to learn a village language and farming issues that frequently impact their farm efficiency. The village has requested a Peace Corps volunteer to fill this role. Also, I am required to fulfill educational courses throughout my service. 

After the 3 month training service, I will be re-located to my village. My village location is determined shortly after my training begins. I look forward to embracing a new career path and learning from my village community. 

Stay informed about my experiences here (Callaway Photo’s blog/website). The internet will be very sporadic and unpredictable. Nonetheless, I will be checking ellen@callawayphoto.com email when possible. It would be great to hear from you. 

Life is an adventure. I am in the midst of a career transition that is close to my heart and stomach. I’m confident this Peace Corps experience will tap into my appreciation for cultures (who knows, anthropology may even influence my new career path). 

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Who wants bottles and cans when there’s #1 PET plastics?

I have endless stories about my experiences in creating Recycled Beauty photos. Most are hysterical. I’m fairly certain, this scenario will give you a good hearty laugh. Here goes a story about sorting through bottles and cans in search of #1 PET plastic. 

I was in need of lots, lots and lots of #1 PET plastics for a photo illustrating that recovered #1 PET plastic is made into Repreve fabric and products. As with any Recycled Beauty photo, visual variety is crucial. Showing diversity among brands, shapes and sizes is a means to catch more peoples’ familiarity with what #1 PET plastic actually is. Plastic bottles is the most common use but #1 PET is also vegetable containers and some bathroom products. 

Some people get weird when strangers sort through their recyclables. I get it / I don’t get it. Anyway, I figured devouring a neighborhood with a high set-out rate of recycle bins in the middle of the night before collection day was my best bet for reaching the largest selection and volume of free #1 PET plastic. 

It was midnight. My neighbor joined the adventure for fun but also safety. Doing this kind of thing seemed normal and in-character for me. Whereas, he was in hysterics most of the time calling his friends reporting our latest findings. That made me ponder perhaps this was more weird than I thought. I smiled for the weirdness and felt satisfied that I was on task and getting what I needed.  

We decided to hit one more strip of hours, after two hours of rummaging through recyclables. All of a sudden a guy yelled at us from about 2 houses down saying, “I have a ton of cans over here if you want them”. I yelled back saying, “Thanks, but we’re actually looking for #1 PET plastics”. Silence. That made me laugh hysterically. Okay, maybe it was more weird than I realized. 

It was fun searching for such innocuous material like bandits in the middle of the night. It’s not that rummaging through discarded waste is my big dream. Rather, I find the treasure hunt for the most obscure shaped containers that fit within the #1 PET plastic criteria to be thrilling. More importantly, it was the thought of all that pre-production fun leading up to creating a captivating photo could inspire / educate / change peoples’ recycling habits. That's awesome! Seriously, who wants bottles and cans when there’s #1 PET plastics?  

Stay tuned to hear a story about the making of the #1 PET photo... 

Please take a look at the Recycled Beauty portfolio. It’d be great to hear what you think! 

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What do an American Photographer, Pakistan and Love have in common?

In 2005, I was invited to dear friends’ wedding. Great. Fabulous. I had met the couple, Mahja and Tarim, in Boston the previous year. We had become fast-friends. The thing was that the wedding was in their home country, Pakistan. At the time, the American government proclaimed it yellow alert for Americans to travel to Pakistan. 

I certainly didn’t want to put myself in danger. However, I never want to live my life in fear either. Mahja has a beautiful 50/50 Japanese and Pakistani ancestry mix. In getting to know her, I watched her effortlessly mingle her cultures in such ways as eating her own version of sushi; Japanese seaweed (nori) with traditional Pakistani meats and chutneys instead of raw fish. And in true Pakistani fashion, she made using her roti bread as a means to pick up food on her plate look elegant. I wanted to embrace her wedding and learn even more about her culture by attending her wedding in Pakistan. Mahja and Tarim certainly understood my conundrum. I knew this was probably once in a lifetime opportunity. I decided to take the plunge.

I was prepared with walking into what the media prepared me for.... Yellow Alert Hazards. I felt defensive and scared but mostly curious. Let me paint the picture for you, I walked onto the Pakistan Airline plane with pale Irish skin, a towering 5′10″ all while carrying my clunky Nikon camera. Let’s just say I stuck out from afar. Thankfully, I ended up being greeted with smiles and curiosity everywhere I went. I’m not saying danger doesn’t exist there. After all, it was understood that I was to be with someone from Mahja’s family everywhere I went. However, this experience taught me to keep an open mind as the media frequently paints a very different picture. Here’s a bit of what spoke to me the most during my two week adventure in Pakistan. 

As with any wedding (Western, Eastern, or otherwise), details vary greatly from wedding to wedding. Tarim and Mahja opted to have many of the events male / female segregated. With over 300+ people in attendance, I thought this was a great means to gradually build bonds between the families.

The Mehendi 

The first event of the wedding was the Mehendi which took place at Mahja’s mother’s house. It was primarily all women and children from the groom’s and bride’s families. Everyone had intricate henna (temporary reddish/brown plant-based natural dye) designs painted on their hands and feet. Mahja’s mother served Pakistani specialties and sweet desserts–very much satisfying my demanding sweet tooth. 

Towards the end of the event, a turmeric paste was spread first on the bride’s face symbolizing good luck, health and prosperity. Once she was well covered, no one was spared from getting hit with the yellow paste!

The Dholki

The Dholki was a co-ed event with the couples’ extended families meeting for the first time. The couple sat next to each other but Mahja wore a yellow shawl over her head symbolizing purity. Only women are allowed to see the bride as the wedding was not for a couple days.

Throughout the night, the couple is entertained with a talent show competition.

The Nikah (Wedding Ceremony) 

The Nikah which took place at Mahja’s Auntie’s house. The women of both sides congregated in the garden while the men mingled in the front yard. During the Nikah, Mahja, the immediate family from both sides (men & women), and religious dignitaries met inside so Mahja could sign her consent to the wedding. Apparently, Tarim did the same earlier in the day at the mosque.

Every event introduced me to fascinating Pakistani cuisine. I vividly remember tasting kulfi for the first time which is a delightful ice cream flavored with cardamom, almond, pistachio and a hint of rose water.

The Wedding Reception

The final event, the wedding reception, was a fun party with dancing and yes, more food! One of the biggest impacts I had experienced (besides a consistent warm welcome on the street and at wedding events) was that the wedding ceremony and receptions had no alcohol. See, Pakistan is an Islamic country and restricts people from ingesting mind altering substances. When was the last 300+ person party you attended that didn’t offer alcohol? Personally, I really do enjoy a bloody mary at a Sunday brunch–maybe even before noon. However, it was a profound experience and heartwarming seeing that many people having that much fun (men, women, children alike) without the crutch of alcohol. 

Mahja and Tarim stood up on a well lit stage that was decorated like a living room. Families approached the stage to wish them well and a happy marriage. At the end if the night, Mahja’s family walked the Koran up to the couple for a last blessing of the night.

I am so glad that I took the leap of faith to travel to Pakistan for Mahja and Tarim’s wedding. The trip broke down so many cultural stereotypes that I had developed. To close out their story (to date that is), 12 years later, they are still happily married with 3 beautiful mini-Mahja girls!

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Pure Vida Retreat and Spa is among Costa Rica’s top Attractions

I like things that are multi-functional. Seriously, there’s nothing much better than to double time travel with exercise and relaxation. I can tell you from experience that sightseeing in Costa Rica coupled with a yoga retreat in Allejuia more than sufficed all said criteria.

Pure Vida Retreat and Spa’s beautiful grounds made for picturesque views from either the hot tub, swimming pool and restaurant. You’re right, also the yoga studio. The yoga studios had full-sized fireplaces but weren’t being used during yoga sessions. I inquired and sure enough they obliged to have a fire in the next morning’s session. Oh the irony, the class had a large 3 log rolling fire in their smallest yoga studio. To say it was heated yoga was an understatement. The other yogis said they appreciated the ambiance and heat created by the fire. It was that kind of customer service that made Pure Vida Retreat and Spa among Costa Rica’s top attractions. 

The nightlife was entertaining and plentiful while easily avoidable if guests preferred something quieter. 

One afternoon, between yoga sessions, I was all about checking out the coffee plantation across the street. Touring farms unique to a specific region is one of my favorite past times. It’s a great way to connect with a food’s origin that I enjoy on a regular basis. 

Pure Vida Retreat and Spa offered yoga sessions twice a day everyday. The only time I missed sessions were for zip lining above the tree line in the Braulio Carrillo National Park Forest and white water rafting on the Pacuare River. I’d recommend both adventures as they were sound deviations from my otherwise set yoga routine. All logistics of adventures were delightfully handled by Pure Vida for me.  

Are you inspired to live this dream-state-of-mind also? It is very much attainable at Pure Vida Retreat & Spa. 

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Biodegradable styrofoam vs. non-biodegradable styrofoam!

Like in true Recycled Beauty fashion, I take a look at this ‘behind the scenes’ photo below and see wide diversity in color, shape, size, texture...... but what else? What other differentiating point am I obsessing over? 

Okay. Okay. Okay, I’ll tell you. The right / bottom 3 style peanuts are biodegradable. Tis’ very true. The styrofoam peanuts that look like ‘albino cheetos’ are actually biodegradable! The thing is that you’re contaminating your batch if you add them to the other flavor styrofoam peanuts when dropping them off at your local recycling center. However, you NEVER EVER add either kind of styrofoam peanuts to your recycling bin. Knowledge is power. 

Now’s the fun part..... turning this concept into fabulousness. I did a test to see what happens on the biodegrading styrofoam peanuts. They looked like a soggy wet paper towel. Nothing interesting happened.... no bubbles, no fizzing, no nothing. I concluded that we had to make our own awesomeness to show the transition. 

By taking a number from my food photography experience, I went with employing a splash to create drama and action. The peanut just to the right of the splash shows some of what the degradation looks like–swiss cheese like holes from where water droplets had burrowed their way through. 

Copyright Protected - Recycled Beauty / Ellen Callaway 

What do you think? Do you feel it? Do you love it? Does it inspire you? Does it effectively inform you which peanuts are biodegradable? I’m interested to hear your comments. 

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Making A Recycling Booth Display Speak For Itself!

Arlington’s Town Day is always a big hit for families to come out and celebrate the local food & craft vendors. However, with any street fair comes ample waste and refuse. The Arlington Recycling Committee had 2 major recycling / trash areas and provided the ‘know-how’ guidance for people to accurately discard their waste in real time. 

The committee also had a booth answering fair attendees’ questions about residential recycling. My committee colleagues had asked me to pull a display together illustrating the different avenues that residents have available to dispose of their refuse. I figured what better way to simplify the confusion than with concentric circles and bold / bright colors?!! 

Using a standard rainbow color scheme was not going to be feasible. Who wants to see the expected anyway? Here’s a bit of the thought process of how and why this ended up being my direction. I think of TRASH’s real name as ‘despicable trash’. So, obviously that was deemed grey and at the bottom of the mix. COMPOST is most definitely browns especially as the food ages. Therefore, orange seemed like a logical color match for compost. The RECYCLING BIN is traditionally blue and required a lot of real estate on the display since recycling is our biggest means of diverting material from the trash. The RECYCLING CENTER handles the hard to recycling items but in fact recyclable. The wide variety of materials are frequently highly recyclable or even better could be used again by someone else. I don’t think this category gets enough press. Hence, I put him at eye level. HAZARDOUS WASTE - color was set as it is notoriously yellow. Hazardous waste can be radioactive, flammable, poisonous, etc. hence the specific materials needed to be verbally communicated to the residents rather than physically pinned up on the display. Also, Lexington’s recycling center currently takes Arlington’s hazardous waste. Therefore, he went between recycling center and store dropoffs. STORE DROPOFFS help navigate equally important materials that need to stay out of the recycling bin and/or trash. The plastic film in the recycling bin is the biggest problem for manufacturing recycling facilities to contend with since it buggers up the machinery and potentially harms the machine operators. 

Why these materials and what about them? Each category is trying to show as much diversity as possible. The items were picked for either being iconic, or the biggest questions the committee receives, or the most common contenders the recycling facility face. They’re displayed as we wish people would discard the materials eg. milk jugs rinsed, slightly crushed and cap returned. Brands were all de-emphasized as it’s the materials that has our attention captivated. Most important point to make is that all the items are attached to the metal (recyclable) display with wire. The idea is that we can replace items as they deteriorate or the industry regulations change! 

There’s an earful into the thought pattern for how Recycled Beauty tackles a visual communication challenge! We’ve gotten some great feedback. What do you think would’ve made it even better? We’re always looking to expand our message for grander material coverage or to simplify the message for better understanding. 

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Events based on food is a sealed deal for many people on their list of “must things to do’s”! However, it’s the icing on the cake when the funds raised go towards nonprofits that help make our world a bit healthier, brighter and overall happier! The funds raised from Taste of Cambridge went to benefit Caspar Inc. They are helping people that have been affected by substance abuse, homelessness and mental illnesses. 

Special thanks to all the vendors that helped participate in making it a huge successful event. A few of the supporting restaurants and businesses is Harvest Restaurant, Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, Bombay Sapphire Gin and Roxy’s Grilled Cheese. Relationships such as these are wins for our community. And most definitely wins for our taste buds! 

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Success Story! And it’s a tasty one at that! Mad Mini Ice Cream Sandwiches needed a facelift for their product packaging. They wanted to have differentiation from the other novelty ice cream products yet feature their all-natural ingredients. Place Creative, Vermont based design firm came to us to do the packaging photos for a wide variety of flavors. The design and photography is fun & playful while clean and inviting.  

The new packaging just hit the ground running!  

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Happy Earth Day! Get this, plastic film (you know the kind that beautifully puckers when stretched) is recyclable when brought back to the store!!! The iconic How2Recycle labels tells you all you need to know.

Special thank you to Stephanie Arnett on this photo for the insight & specially rigged printer for printing on alternative materials!

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Harpoon Brewery has launched a new product line called UFO! It was a delightful experience to have been able to do the packaging photos for them! Delicious beer they have going on over there! White Ale is probably my go-to UFO - crisp, light bodied and brewed with orange peel & coriander..... #Yumm!

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TetraPak’s blog “Groundwork” wrote “The Art of Recycling” about Recycled Beauty. The blog draws a connection between Recycled Beauty and the texture & color frequently found in Callaway Photo’s food photography. Ahhhhh case in point, the blister pack from the Separated Materials photo has the paperboards’ iconic furry, textural surface which is very reminiscent to a cake’s textural surface of being fluffy & sponge like. Fun times!!!  

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PDN’s Objects of Desire - Still Life Photography Competition 2017

Battery City up for the challenge.... We’re going for the gold with this one! 

Photographing used / spent / dead batteries is one feat. The moment that it evokes something outside of being just a pile of batteries into something else is an incredible feeling. I crave that feeling. I find the cross section between being a spokesperson for the environment and tapping into a creative zone addictive.

The Battery City series was commissioned by Raw Materials Company (Canadian) to illustrate their curbside pick up service. 

In other news, a special thank you to Product Stewardship Institute’s acknowledging this body of work Recycled Beauty created for Raw Materials Company as written here in their member news update announcement. 

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I’ve had the pleasure of broadening my roster of food stylists even further. Each stylist (just as each photographer) brings their own strengths and unique style to a shoot. This collaboration was with the fabulous Joy Howard!  

To make the canapé photo on the right, the little gems of grape tomatoes needed to be roasted. I loved Joy’s foresight to plan for a process shot in the interim. She meticulously placed the tomatoes on the parchment paper with precision randomness by way of a rainbow gradation! I say it’s that kind of thinking that makes for a great teammate! 

Reach out to Ennis, Inc. to contact Joy Howard.  

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We are delighted to announce that Recycled Beauty has caught the eye of Resource Magazine (UK-based magazine with environmental objectives). Libby Peake, thank you for writing such a wonderful depiction of the Recycled Beauty story. 

Here’s a link to Resource Magazine’s online version.

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Recycled Beauty Bike Team takes our mission to the Capital!

The Recycled Beauty bike team biked from New York City to Washington, DC with Climate Ride. The team raised over $14,000 for environmental awareness. The team's primary beneficiary is the B Labs; creator of the B Corp movement which is using the power of business to do good for the environment.

Check out our jerseys... YES, they are made from recycled H20 bottles. Recycled Beauty talks all about it on the front and back of the jersey via photographs!

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Popcorn. Caramel. Chocolate......

This is just the beginning for Ava’s Caramel Popcorn! Photographing her various unique flavor concepts is a journey to comprehend and an adventure to experience. 

In AVA’s own words - 

The Freshness:  Each and every batch of caramel popcorn is prepared fresh-to-order for maximum crunch and fullest flavor, straight from our kitchen to you. We don't have any popcorn that's been sitting in a tin for 6 months! ​

The Flavor:  Our from-scratch caramel sauce -- comprised of European-style cultured butter, pure cane sugar (no corn syrup here!), fragrant vanilla, and genuine sea salt -- is slowly simmered to develop intense caramel flavor with a rich buttery finish. This luscious sauce is draped over freshly-popped popcorn to create thick clusters that explode with flavor.

The Innovation: Sea Salt Caramel Popcorn is just the beginning. Inspired flavor combinations make extravagant use of the finest chocolate, freshly roasted nuts, and creative ingredients that elevate caramel popcorn from a casual snack to a true artisan confection.