Brazil Trip 2009

If you're interested, I've been keeping a blog from my experiences of teaching photography in Brazil for the past two weeks. We'll be here about two more weeks. Check out the blog at:

mcmissionbrazil.blogspot.com

Beautiful Blight - A Book of Abstract Photographs

In addition to working on the adoption portrait project, I have been working on a series of abstract photographs from a section of Bozeman, MT that was deemed "blighted". These images were assembled as a book and a partial preview of the book can be viewed at http://www.blurb.com/my/book/detail/647037.

The Linabary Family

Well, the Linabary family marked the last family to be photographed for my "Forever Families" adoption project. Although James (from Colombia) was the only one who participated in the Summer of Hope program, the other two boys (Gabriel and Samuel) were also adopted. They were adopted around the age of three from Sierra Leone during the time of civil war in that country. The family has just recently discovered that Gabriel's biological father is alive. This was a wonderful and exciting discovery for Gabriel! I loved meeting and chatting with each of the boys. They all seem to have an idea of what they want to do when they grow up - Gabriel loves horses, Samuel is a bookworm and wants to return to Sierra Leone to build libraries and teach, and James loves to design and build things.

I am nearly finished with the multi-media show I'm creating with the images and interview clips from this project. I can't wait to show it to share the stories of the trials and trimumphs of each family while adopting older kids from other countries.

The Osen Family

I had the opportunity to photograph the Osen family again today...or part of them I should say! In addition to their two biological and two adopted children living at home, they also have three older children who are living away from home. The only daughter living at home had this to say when asked what encouragement she would give to other biological kids whose parents are going to adopt: "It doesn't mean they don't love you. They may get more attention at first, but it doesn't mean your parents don't love you. It's just that they (the adopted kids) are new people, so they're going to need more attention." Brilliant. She's a wise young lady.

The Furniss Family

The Furniss Family is made up of mom and dad and four adopted kids: Kati, 12, from Russia; her biological brother Alex, 16; Jenalyn, 16, from the Philippines; Timothy, 1, from Bozeman. This was my second visit to photograph this family and this time I was able to interview to chat a little bit about the highs and lows of participating in international adoptions of older kids. Just like the other families, they wanted to stress that this process is not easy and that anyone interested should not go into it without being prepared. Each kid has had his or her own issues, but Dave and Laura give them a loving home and a "forever family".

The Osen Family

I began photographing the third "Forever Family" this past weekend. This family is made up of five biological children (three of which are older and live away from home) and two adopted boys from the Philippines. The four younger children who live at home are all home schooled. The love and concern this family has for each other, and particularly the adopted boys, was so very evident! Since they're all home schooled, the father built a little "classroom" in the basement where each kid has their own desk area where they can study and learn.

While talking with the parents, I started to realize the importance of photographs of the children prior to their adoption. The mom was able to track down photographs of the boys' biological parents and images of them as babies. It seems that these images play a big part in the construction of the their identities. I'm happy to be able to provide a new "visual record" of their family and I'm already excited about my second visit!

Forever Families

I am so excited about my current portraiture project! I'm photographing families who have adopted older children from other countries after participating in the Summer of Hope program (www.summerofhope.org). The program gives kids (ages 8-15) who are living in orphanges around the world the opportunity to spend four weeks in the home of an American family. The program aims to give these kids an experience of loving home life and ultimately a hope for the future. Many of the families who act as host homes during the Summer of Hope program end up adopting the kids that stay with them, or help to connect them with other families who are interested in adopting. I've come to understand that adopting older kids can be very trying, but also very rewarding. A unique situation is created when an older kid is adopted from another country.

I have had so much fun getting to know the two families I have photographed so far. The second family's photo shows how the baby was stealing the show! Everyone had so much fun trying to get him to look at the camera and to smile. However, I think this image tells a lot about the family's collective personality (fun!).