Giving Back

Tuesday August 31st, 2010

A group of us at Wonderful Machine decided to lend a hand to a community in need, so over the weekend we volunteered for our local Habitat for Humanity.

From left, top: Ed Cunicelli, Peter Clark, Cassie O'Connell, Asad Haider, Henry Randolph; bottom: Jess Dudley, Paul Stanek, Heather Astorga, Daniel Buschmann.

We spent the day priming the entire interior of a house under construction in North Philadelphia, with the patient supervision of full-time Habitat workers Cassie and Henry. We got covered in latex, and Peter’s back is still sore.

How many WM staffers does it take to paint a wall? (Photos by Bill Cramer/Philadelphia)

Since the spirit of giving is in the air, I thought that this would be a good time to share some of the charitable work that our photographers have been doing.

Ed Cunicelli

Our Philadelphia-based photographer Ed Cunicelli not only joined us on our Saturday painting session, he has been working hard as a volunteer with organizations that support Native American youth. It started when Ed did some work for the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health. His travels to the White Mountain Apache Indian Reservation and various towns within the Navajo Indian Reservation were an eye-opening experience. “I hit the history books and asked a lot of questions,” said Ed. “I soon realized that there has been a systemic culture of one letdown after the next. I didn’t want to be a part of that and looked for ways to start doing something.”

That opportunity was Native Vision, a camp for Native American youth. Ed volunteers his time and his photography to Native Vision, and has started to teach the kids there about photography. “Working with Native people has changed my approach to the way I make pictures,” Ed said. “I now take my time and think of what why I’m making certain descions… I now understand the importance of knowing when to put the camera down… and I also never take a picture I don’t give back.”

Ed hopes to someday publish the work he has done with Native American youth.

Kevin Brusie

Many of our photographers work with Flashes of Hope, an organization that provides children with life-threatening illnesses with portraits taken by professional photographers. For example, Steve Williams in the Orlando area, wrote about a recent shoot on his blog, and he told me it was “a really great thing to provide photos of these brave kids to their families. ”

Kevin Brusie, who is based in Boston, was so inspired by the work of Flashes of Hope that he decided to bring it closer to home. He worked with the Cleveland-based organization to bring the project to Maine’s Camp Sunshine—since 2008, he has organized photographs for approximately 190 children and their families.

For Kevin, this work is the “ultimate test” of his ability as an environmental portrait photographer, working to make the children and their families comfortable without knowing their condition. “You come away with an even finer sensitivity to your subjects,” Kevin said. “It makes us all better photographers, and people.”

Lynton Crabb

The third story brings us to Australia, where Lynton Crabb has been working with the organization Alzheimer’s Australia. “Working with the organisation is especially important to me, as my father was a long time sufferer of early onset Alzheimer’s until he passed away 5 years ago,” Lynton explained. “It is special for me to be involved and feel a kinship with other people who have had the same experience.”

Lynton has produced several portraits that have been used for ads, posters, corporate literature and a traveling exhibition. For Lynton, the goal of this photography is “increasing awareness of Alzheimer’s disease in the community, recognizing the [caregivers] and projecting a respectful image of the Alzheimer’s sufferers.” Because of the personal importance of this subject, Lynton says, “I would be proud if the Alzheimer’s images were viewed as one of the defining parts of my body of work in years to come.”

This is just a small sampling of our photographers who do charitable work, and we’re excited to hear about all the others in the future.

-Asad Haider