Photography Workshop at Lake Clark National Park

I had the pleasure of joining Dale Franz for another Franzfoto Safari while at Lake Clark National Park - there were 8 of us photographers total, and it was an amazing experience! Some of the photos on previous posts were taken with Dale's Class, but I thought I would share a few photos of the group!

Dale has another similar trip planned for the first week in July 2010 and I highly recommend it! They will be staying next door to the Homestead, the Silver Salmon Creek Lodge.








I thought that Lynn's mosquito netting above was funny the first day, but I donned it day 2, as it's a necessary part of the equipment. In this photo below, I don't know if Art was taking a rest on his Canon 500mm lens or if he was just dodging mosquitoes! Art was on last year's Yellowstone trip - so it was good to see another fellow student! Art has been back to several of Dale's trips - that's the sign of a great photography instructor, lots of return students!




This last photo shows the gang traveling via ATV guided by Drew from the Silver Salmon Lodge. Drew has been living out there for several years and even spent a couple winters as a caretaker, so he's the local brown bear expert!

Kirk took this photo of the gang from his ATV and Heather & Tyler were with him. When 9 year old Tyler saw me with the gang of photographers, he pulled me aside & said, "Mom, do you know you're the only girl in your workshop?" Luckily it was another GREAT group of photography students and they welcomed me although I'm not one of their kind!

Lake Clark National Park - Day 3

On Day 3 at the Alaska Homestead Lodge, we were having so much fun we decided to stay an extra day! Our hosts, Sheila and James Isaac have been so wonderful, their guide Scott has been so helpful, three wonderful home cooked meals a day, fresh bread at most meals....we are loving this place!

The kids and the bears are getting more comfortable with each other - Tyler is smiling on the swing as one of the brown bears passes by the lodge behind him. But we do always make sure there is an adult with the kids when they are outside! The hardest thing for me personally is to remember that if a bear ever approached you are NOT to run - every cell in my being tells me to run when a bear charges! But luckily we have not had any bears charging us and we've always had a trained guide at our side!

There are several other lodges in this national park, and the National Park Service website has more detailed information.










These last few photos are taken of a full grown male brown bear called a boar - they are a little different shape and coloring than some of the others, and you can tell they have some scars and have had a tough time. They are also about 900 pounds and I think they are a little ugly looking.....but when you are the top of the food chain, looks don't really matter I guess!

Flashes of Hope

This year I had the honor to photograph another dozen or so kiddos through the Flashes of Hope program. These photos are some of the most difficult childrens portraits I take every year but they are also the most meaningful photos I take every year.

Flashes of Hope is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating powerful, uplifting portraits of children fighting cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. They have branches in 30 cities now and each month a different volunteer photographer spends a day at Children's Hospitals and photographs these beautiful kiddos!

The sessions are always free to the families, and they are given 10 black & white photos from the shoot to keep forever. Two 8x10 prints and the rest in smaller sizes.

Professional photographers can apply to help out online at the Flashes of Hope website! I highly recommend it!








These last three photos are of one of my favorite little buddies....I have photographed him twice now, once through Flashes of Hope and once through another Summit County program called Domus Pacis. With the coincidence of meeting up with him twice, I figure I was meant to become a part of his support team - and he has one HUGE support team! But you can see why....he's obviously an adorable 5 year old with HUGE personality!

Flashes of Hope - Giving a Gift of Photography

Flashes of Hope is a wonderful non-profit that brings me to the Denver Children's Hospital about once a year. There are 27 chapters of Flashes of Hope around the country, and hundreds of professional photographers have shared their gifts with families with children struggling with severe medical problems.

Flashes of Hope is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating powerful, uplifting portraits of children facing cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
The portraits, taken by award-winning photographers, help children feel better about their changing appearance by celebrating it. For families of terminally ill children, it's especially important to have a portrait that preserves forever the beauty, grace and dignity of their child.

There is no way to describe in words what this experience does for me each time, but I will try to describe it in photos....











The organization is always looking for more volunteer professional photographers and I promise it will be well worth your while! If you're a member of ASMP, there is no application waiting time.

The video that really convinced me to join Flashes of Hope was this one by Daryn Kagan. Watch it and it might change some things for you!

This Denver 9News Video Clip is also a more local view of what's happening with Flashes of Hope in Colorado and featuring Denver photographer Ray Ng.

Domus Pacis - a wonderful Breckenridge non-profit!

I have had the pleasure of working with a local non-profit in 2008, called Domus Pacis (latin for House of Peace). The Domus Pacis Family Respite offers families suffering from cancer and other life threatening illnesses an opportunity to spend a week in the mountains and have fun with no cost to them! Most families facing this type of illness, have spent most of their money on medical costs and can't afford a carefree week or weekend in the mountains! So Domus Pacis helps them ENJOY their time with their loved ones!

You can read more about them in either of these newspaper articles:

Summit Daily News June 2008

Summit Daily News Article December 2008


In 2008, Domus Pacis helped 8 families come to the mountains and enjoy a week of rest and relaxation and their goal for 2009 is to help 30 additional families. Please help them accomplish this goal!

If you have any services or time to donate, please call Duck White-Petteruti at 970-547-4745. And check them out online at www.domuspacis.org. Some areas of need are:

Housing

One of the challenges of the organization is to have the right size house at the right time for the patient and their family, which requires us to have a wide variety of potential accommodations. If you have a property that you could donate for the organization's use during non-peak weeks, we would be so grateful for your assignment of the week(s) to the Domus Pacis Family Respite.

In Kind Donations

- Restaurant Certificates/Discounts
- Gift certificates to Grocery stores
- Snowmobile tours, Tubing, Ski lessons/rentals/lift tickets
- Kids Activities Certificates/Discounts
- Spa Services (nail care, massage, etc.)
- Horseback Riding, Boat Rides
- Historical Tours
- Treats (sweets, fruit, snacks, etc.)
- Board games
- Welcome Baskets