The Bottomless Toy Chest

I got a job this summer working with this non-profit through former friends of mine I attended high school with.  I volunteered to be their photographer for events, fundraisers, gift-wrapping parties etc.  It has been a pleasure meeting both children and their families who have developed the strength and courage by being faced with cancer.  This job means so much to me, I feel so honored to be apart of their team. 

 Local supporters of the community take a break from swimming and put their hands in to show support during a fundraiser sponsored by The Bottomless Toy Chest on June 28, 2009.  The Bottomless Toy Chest is a a non-profit devoted  devoted to delivering art projects, crafts and interactive toys to hospitalized pediatric cancer patients.

Portland, OR

Rebecca Jones and ten month old grandson, Julian Iroquois Anton sing and dance on Tuesday morning to the sound of the television playing in the background.

Seven year old, Isabella VanIttersum amuses oneself in the cold water on a hot summer day just outside of Portland, Oregon on May 16, 2009.

Jaime Anton, 29, wipes the sand off of the bottoms of his feet from walking the Oregon Coast Highway along the Pacific Ocean on May 19, 2009.

This summer I spent a few weeks with my mother visiting my brother, Jaime who I have not seen in three years and his newborn son Julian Iroquois Anton who was born on July 31, 2008. I also had the pleasure of meeting his fiance, Leanna VanIttersum and daughter Isabella. My visit to Portland was beautiful amongst many other things but nothing felt better then getting to be with family and capturing unforgettable moments.

A Little Video Never Hurt Anyone

Have you ever found a subject matter to be so intriguing that you can't seem to get enough and before you know it you have about 25 or more frames of what just took place. Well, if you said yes which I feel most of you did then let me bring up my next point. When looking through those frames you start to see how they come together to tell a story. Now the first thing I noticed was 'Damn, 2.5 frames per second? They were not kidding around.' As photographers we tend to dabble in other medias combining our images with multimedia or design. I like to do a little of both here and there depending on my mood.
On this particular day it was about 75 degrees and sunny. I was in Encinitas, California visiting family when I decided to meet up with a friend of mine and his brother to spend the day at the beach. We walked, of course, my friend Travis with his long board and me with my camera. I was taking pictures of homes, fruit trees and ducks behind fences. It wasn't until we approached an open fire hydrant when the "mood" struck me, "Now this could get interesting." I asked my friend Travis and his brother to go take a drink. Travis pondered for a minute but then jumped at the oppertunity. As I watched him through my lens (snapping at the speed of light) I began to realize how much of my life is dedicated to photography.
The way I see it is through my camera.
And once I have done that, it is as though I have been taught a new way to see without my camera. Ironic, huh?



After capturing both boys with the open fire hydrant I decided then to make it into a slideshow. I even knew what song I was going to use for it; "Why Don't We Do It In The Road?" by Dana Fuchs. I was excited to put together a little 30 second video of what had taken place on our way to the beach and send it to them, hoping to get some laughs. When putting these videos together you can stick to simple programs like iPhoto or iMovie, like I did. Grab a music file and incorporate that too if you would like to add something extra. You save it as a .mov file so you can view it in Quicktime and you're all set to show off your stuff! Once I started incorporating pictures with video I found myself doing it more and more. It's different for everyone so take time to try everything out and get a feel for what you like and what you dont. Who knows, you might suprise yourself :]

While there is perhaps a province in which the photograph can tell us nothing more than what we see with our own eyes, there is another in which it proves to us how little our eyes permit us to see. - Dorthea Lange