The Beginning of a Heart-Felt Photo Project

Thanks for stopping by this new blog to honor our military veterans from Southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa.

Things are just starting to get rolling with my "Portrait of a Veteran" photo project. I had my first photo session today with a great man and disabled Viet Nam veteran from Iowa. More on that later.

Please allow me to set the scene for this effort on my part. No, I'm not a veteran myself. My son is a veteran, having served in the U.S. Air Force as a Crew Chief on a large refueling aircraft, flying all across the globe, including duty time in the Middle East. My dad wasn't able to enter the military due to a serious injury to his back, but his brothers all served during the War. My mom witnessed first hand the attack on Pearl Harbor Hawaii that sent the United States into the fray of world war.

As a photojournalist, my job has been to record moments in the lives of people. Having worked for newspapers for many years, I have photographed many aspects of military life in the various communities I lived and worked in. As a person who is seeing retirement age looming off in the near future, I wanted to have a cause, a purpose in my photographic life for many years to come to use my cameras for the good of this area of the Midwest I now call home.

While sitting on my front porch this past July 4th, looking at one of our town's beautiful lakes, I felt like God laid the idea on me to do something for the veterans of this area using my talents as a photographer. A photographic project came to mind. A project where I would try and photograph as many local vets and service men and women as possible. Then with that amassed collection of interviews and images, put together a traveling gallery exhibit and a coffee table-style book.

I will need your help to make this all happen. I'm seeking donors and underwriters who are willing to join me in honoring our heroes and make this project happen. If you feel compelled to help, drop me a line. I would love to come to your office, business, community service club or organization, or just over a cup of coffee, and talk to you about my vision and how you can help.

I already have one donor who is committed to help fund a small part of the project, in which I'm very grateful. But more funding is needed to help cover expenses, publish a high quality book and print large photos for a traveling gallery
show. In kind donations are also welcomed.

The one thing I really need are veterans to interview and photograph. I hope that as the wheels of this project begin to turn, the momentum will start to pick up and word of mouth of the project, through this blog, Facebook, my website, and the community, will help spread the word and get more local veterans to share their stories and allow me to document them as a tribute to their service to our country.

I will offer up more details on the project in the days and weeks to come. And again, please drop me a note if you, a family member, co-worker or someone you know in the community is a veteran who have served out country. I'm keeping the area to south-central Minnesota and north-central Iowa...our local communities.

Thanks again for your interest in the "Portrait of a Veteran" Photo Project.