CHILDREN'S TRUST

THE CHILDREN'S TRUST, MIAMI HEART GALLERY held it's opening at the Freedom Tower in Miami on Friday, June 12th. I had two images displayed in the gallery, one of two sisters Georgianna and Georgie, I shot at Fair Child's Gardens. This was a group effort by mostly South Florida photographers, stylist and the Trust. I was honored to participate along with fellow photographers Carl Juste, Jeffrey Salter and Al Diaz.

MIAMI, FL – June 12, 2009 – For the second consecutive year, The Children’s Trust is spearheading an initiative promoting the adoption of foster children in Miami-Dade County called the The Children’s Trust Miami Heart Gallery. This groundbreaking work in Miami-Dade County seeks adoptive parents for 58 children, and the museum-quality exhibit features portraits of those available for adoption, photographed by some of the world’s top photographers. Based on a national model of other Heart Galleries in cities across the United States, the Miami Heart Gallery captures the unique personality of the children through portraits taken at Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and Amelia Earhart Park. The photographs will be on exhibit to the public from Saturday, June 13 through Sunday, July 12 at The Freedom Tower, located at 600 N. Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL 33132. The exhibition will be open Tuesdays thru Fridays, 12 p.m. – 5 p.m. and on Saturdays, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. and will subsequently travel to different venues throughout Miami-Dade County.

SPJ AWARD

Miami Herald reporter Casey Woods and I traveled to Bimini to find human smugglers for a story, a task we thought would be difficult. An island swamped with pirates and smugglers in the 70’s and 80’s, we thought it would be a distant history. Well, one thing we didn’t count on, most smugglers from the last century still lived on the small island. And still dabbled in the trade.

It was part of a larger project for the Miami Herald on immigration. The SPJ awarded two of my fellow photographers and me second place in FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY SERIES.

Society of Professional Journalists The Miami Herald; Carl Juste, Charles Trainor, Jr. & John Van Beekum; Illegal Immigration: Changing Course

Comments: A sweeping and powerful story on illegal immigration. The entry shows a consistently high level of photography throughout the entire story

Miami Herald photographer Patrick Farrell also won in first place BREAKING NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY The Miami Herald; Patrick Farrell; A People in Despair: Haiti’s Hurricane Season
Comments: Comments: Patrick’s picture is beautiful and compelling. He captured a tragic moment during a horrific time that truly spoke to the struggle of the Haitian people. This man, embracing his lifeless daughter, is an emotionally engaging picture that was sure to stop readers’ in their tracks

Image above: Rudolph Lambert Kemp, an admitted smuggler and pirate, stands next to ship wreckaged off the west coast of Bimini.

PROUD PULITZER

On Thursday, May 28^th, my dear friend Patrick Farrell was honored with a Pulitzer Prize from Columbia University. He won in the Breaking News category for his coverage in Haiti, A People in Despair: Haiti’s Hurricane Season www.pulitzer.org/works/2009-Breaking-News-Photography. Since he won the constant remark I hear is, “it couldn’t of happen to a nicer guy”, and may I add, ‘or a better friend.” We are all proud of you Patrick! Images above are from his winning entry.

MEMORIAL DAY

A late Memorial Day post but a worthy one. Costello, my godson, and I shopped for the soldiers at war today. For the last two years we have shipped supplies to the soldiers through www.anysoldier.com. We have made a commitment to send a selection of the supplies they requested on the site several times a year. You can actually pick a soldier from any state and view his unit’s list.

After traveling the state in 2007 photographing the parents of soldiers who lost their children in the war, I was moved to do what I could to help and support the soldiers. It taught me that until you sit in the living room of a family that lost their child in the war, you would never truly understand its consequences.

Images above: Costello and his sister Carmela with the supplies. And Harry and his family, they buried their son in their backyard near Tallahassee. A request he gave his father before leaving for Iraq.