Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Larry LaCom on December 13, 2009 at 1:57am

I was truly blessed to be a part of this. I had fun, it was great to get together with fellow photogs and just plain wonderful people who turned out to help their fellow man (and woman, and child). It was an "expanding" experience. One vignette: I got to photograph a homeless guy named Greg, who said he'd never had this done before, and when looking over his photos, he said he looked like his dad. He was truly grateful, and I was truly blessed. A huge "Thank You" to Jen May for organizing this huge event - what a job!! I totally look forward to the next one!! Also a big thanks to my team members, Hector and Mike, and for a short time, Nina. Thanks to everybody for coming and giving of your time and wonderful talents!!
- Larry LaCom

Permalink Reply by Rodney Washington on December 13, 2009 at 2:15am

Today was the one of the best christmas presents I could have gotten. It was beyond gratifying to spend the day with so many wonderful photographers not just here in LA, but all around the world collectively sharing their gifts across the globe. I am truly honored. Can't wait until next year, as matter of fact, I want to organize something with my local tribe sooner.

God Bless everyone connected with this event and those who came out today to support despite the rain and what have you.

Jen you are goddess:-) Thank you for stepping up and leading us today so graciously. Happy Holidays Everyone!
- Rodney Washington

Permalink Reply by Daniel Perlin on December 13, 2009 at 2:15am

Guys, I want to thank you all for this amazing day. Once again photography has brought me to meet people that are cool, down to earth and warm hearted. I`m here in LA until March, so if any of you are up for some photoshooting, drinking some beer or coffee, just send me an e-mail. You are all great people. Much love

- D.P.

e-mail: daniel.perlin@gmail.com

Permalink Reply by Michael Bandy on December 13, 2009 at 2:23pm

I was able to meet an amazing and generous bunch of photographers and volunteer's in general. They are all amazing people to have been a part of this. My station was certainly not the busiest but the family we shot. A Mother and her two girls were more than worth it. Making them smile and feel great and their enthusiasm at picking the shots and seeing the results printed for them was amazing. It even prompted the mother to take more of an interest in photography. Our group was great. Larry was super helpful and my good friend Hector is an amazing photog and it is always a pleasure to work with him. It was great meeting and talking to Nina and I wish she could have stayed longer. And then Daniel showed up all the way from Brazil. That is Rad!! We got to hang out a bit after the event and he is a great dude! As for everyone else, Cale is just a ridiculously amazing videographer and editor and his photos are phenomenal. Frank was so much fun to be around and brought enthusiasm and energy to the entire main room. Myke D was more than generous throughout this entire process and has some mad skills behind the camera. Everyone involved was awesome and I wish I had more time to have been able to hang out and get to know you all more. Looking forward to the next one and I hope you all keep in touch.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/bandy.michael?ref=profile
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ronindice/

Permalink Reply by Terry Marsters on December 13, 2009 at 8:22pm

Hello Everyone,
What a fantastic day, I was at Station #6 and when we were not busy, it was great to just chat and talk about our ideas and such. I had a lot of fun,fun,fun. At one point during the day, the rain had let up and I walked to the gas station next door and thought I am going to find some people(spur of the moment) I asked one man and he thought I was totally bonkers, then this young lady came out of the gas station and asked me if I had any work for her,I replied "No",but I would like to offer you some free portraits,some food and some great people to make you feel like a million bucks. She was so grateful for the attention and warmed up to the camera after a few shots, she was just so taken aback about why we are doing this,she was just so amazed. It was a great day and already in the works for Ventura County next year. Everyone was just so attentive to all the guest and to each other. There were nothing but Smiles all day, and that is why we do what we do.!!!!!Merry Christmas everyone and I hope all of you have a prosperous year in 2010.

Permalink Reply by Deborah C. on December 14, 2009 at 12:19pm

Wow, what an incredible event! I was amazed by the volunteers enthusiasm and compassion towards each other and the families/individuals that came. All I saw were smiles, hugs, and pats on the back all day!
Due the rain, there probably were not as many people that would have turned out. Didn't seem to stop our volunteers from going out on the street with signs offering "free portraits." The effort was not in vain. One man who had been riding a bus saw the sign. He told me it was "blessing," as he had be down on his luck a little, got called yesterday for an acting job, but they needed photos from him. He didn't have enough money to get them any. He saw our sign and couldn't believe it. As luck would have it, he had all his "outfits" with him. He was so happy with his photos and couldn't thank the people at Help-Portrait enough. Thank you to everyone for making this
guy happy... his smile was never-ending!
Special note... Thanks especially to Jen-May. Your effort in this has been amazing!
Also, thank you to Kodak for Sponsoring this event. Not only for sponsoring, but for sending such nice people to work with us. Thank you to Starbucks. I told them what we were doing and they immediately donated coffee.
To all of you... thanks, great getting to know you... let's do it again!

Permalink Reply by shannon leith on December 15, 2009 at 7:24pm

one of my favorite things about being on the check-in team was seeing people leave with their yellow envelopes in hand.... smiling as they left the main room.

i'd ask them "so how did it go??" and this one girl gave me a BIG smile and said "I FELT LIKE I WAS IN HOLLYWOOD!" she said she had never felt this glamorous before. that this was her first Christmas photo. in fact, this was the first professional photo she had ever had taken.

another lady said that she was SO excited to give these photos to her sons as Christmas gifts because they haven't seen her sober in years, and she has now been sober for 10 months. we all cheered and she was so happy. what a celebration of her as a person. ahh! so cool.

another guy was homeless and taught ME so much about faith and life. he talked about how much of a gift this was, and how what really matters is loving people and loving God. he stayed till the end and i offered him our leftover sandwiches, and he said he was going to take them back to share with his friends. he gave me a big hug and left with his photos and his sandwiches. so powerful.

i'm looking forward to doing this again,
and for me... it was great to meet all of you.
excited to be part of a group of people who are there to help others.


!!!
------------- shannon