Jon Adaskin, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: An Open Letter to the Guests of Siloam Mission On Saturday, December 8, 2012, I along with several colleagues took part in the annual Help-Portrait event here in Winnipeg. We were at different venues around the city for the day, giving portraits for free! I was at Siloam Mission. This [...]
Tamara Okoti, organizer of Help-Portrait Abbotsford, BC, Canada shared these photos and memories from their December 2011 event in which 300 people received free portraits from 100 volunteers. "This is my second year co-organizing this event, and it is always so great to know that you have impacted someone's life by way of a simple [...]
"A lady came in with her husband and their 6 kids and 9 grandchildren. Her husband had a stroke recently and was not doing so well and they weren't sure how much longer they had with him. In all their years they had never had photos done - even individually, and now when it mattered [...]
"A homeless man staying at the shelter we served at had recently lost his mother and brother to illness. He said they were both looking down on him while he had his picture taken and he felt so proud. 'I have never smiled for a picture before today.'" –Domenica Anderson, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
"I photographed a couple who had recently lost a baby and are now expecting again. They are finding it really hard to let themselves connect with this new baby. Having their portraits taken was the first thing they'd done to celebrate the new baby, and it was a real turning point for them. I learned [...]