This has been a busy year, not that I’m complaining!! This business of photography is becoming increasingly more difficult to survive in, so I am very grateful for all the work that has come my way. Much of that work has been displayed on this “Where’s Jay” page: Antarctica, Around the World by Private Jet, the Galapagos, Svalbard and the High Arctic, the Cape of Norway and the British Isles. These trips pretty much filled my calendar as well as my frequent flier accounts. Add to that several workshops including FirstLight Smith Island and ATPI (Association of Texas Photographic Instructors) throw in assignment work, well, there went most of 2009.
A highlight of the year, and quite appropriate to discuss in this Holiday year-end wrap up, was a project which I was honored to be a part of. Portraits of Love, created by the The PhotoImaging Manufacturers and Distributors Association (PMDA) in conjunction with the US Armed Forces, invited photographers across the US to participate in this worthy event. Our job was to photograph families of deployed soldiers, with PMDA providing a print from the shoot to be sent to the family’s soldier overseas… all those I photographed have their loved one stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan. This project was important to me as my oldest son, Gavin, is a Chief Warrant Officer in the US Army, and has three tours of Iraq under his belt. Gavin is stationed at Ft Lewis in Washington State, and that’s where I was assigned to photograph. Olympus took care of my travel and lodging and their PR agency, Mullen, (thanks, Lauren Dugdale) handled all of the other arrangements. It was made even better as Matt, our 24 year old was able to go with me. Getting Gavin and Matt together is always a blast, as they love comparing notes on Dad…
We arrived at Ft Lewis and the military had provided a couple of large rooms in which all the lighting and backgrounds were already set up; several companies had joined in as sponsors. Families were scheduled to arrive in 20-minute windows of time, and once underway, the day was filled. One of the first families to arrive consisted of three young kids, around 4, 8 and 10. I was talking to the oldest son, and I asked him to tell me about his dad, who has been in Iraq for a few months. He got out the words “He’s my hero…” and whatever else he was going to say was unspoken as tears immediately came to his eyes. I couldn’t say anything as a huge lump appeared in my throat. He stood there for a few seconds, tears welled in his eyes…and finally completed his thought with “…I really miss him”. This may seem to have set the stage for a sad day, but just the opposite. This youngster’s Mom, and the whole family, were so strong…and as one family followed the other, the same strength accompanied each group. Families of one, two, three, up to 5 kids; women with no kids, just the couple’s dog; women by themselves; all were so appreciative of the small thing we were doing for them. What really struck me was when the shutter clicked, and when I knew I had the picture, that was the moment when I (and the building) kind of disappeared and the camera became the conduit between a soldier overseas and the family member back at home.
I photographed about 38 families for this project, and if you’d like to see some of the press done on this project, click on these:
NBC Nightly News
I hope we all remember these families at this time of year, as well as the other 11 months, and the huge sacrifices they are making. Thanks to all of them.
And a Happy Holidays to you!!
