Recapping Help Portrait 2010

This was my second year volunteering for Help Portrait. I must say that it keeps getting better and better every year. This go around, the weather decided to cooperate and caravans were organized to shuttle our subjects to and from the the Road Home Shelter. The turn out was great and the day has been the highlight of my holiday season. An amazing group of photographers, hair and makeup stylists, and support staff spent the day turning a downtown night club and dance studio in to a full fledged photography studio where families and those in need could come get a hot meal, a warm coat, and a personal photo session with some of northern Utah's talented photographers.

A special thanks goes out to all those who made this happen, especially to Dave Brewer for stepping up to be the local organizer for the second time. It was great to see some familiar faces and meet the new ones too.

See the highlight video of this year's event.
Video 1
Video 2

Life's Turns

It has been a while since my last post. Things have been a bit crazy lately and the normal flow of life has led me through some crazy twists and turns. After working nearly 4 full time years as an EMT-I for Salt Lake City, my employer has not been able to secure financial stability and has made the decision to leave our great state, which will render me unemployed and laid off 4 day before Christmas. This is a first for me as I have had continual work since I was 13. I will miss serving the citizens of Salt Lake and running an ambulance on the street. Working within the 911 system of our capital city has been a life-changing experience.

To raise my spirits, a good friend of mine contacted me on Face Book about Help Portrait, a growing national movement where photographers get together on a set date and take professional studio quality photos of those who cannot normally afford to have them done. This included everyone from families, single mothers, and the homeless.

The day was amazing and while the number of subjects was limited, I met some great new photogs and captured some great images. This was Help Portrait's first year here in Utah, so next year will only get better. During downtime when we were not shooting our designated clients, we spent our time shooting each other. It is very rare to find me in front of the camera...

My next post will highlight some of the great photographers I had the honor of meeting and include images and the stories behind them as well as some of our subjects that came in for their portraits... Stay tuned.
-Ben
http://www.help-portrait.com
KSL News Article