Inaugural Photo Tour Goes to Haiti
Photographer Carolyn Lane in Ibo Beach, Haiti, July 2007
Phodographer Carolyn Lane in Ibo Beach, Haiti, March 2009
The first Dog Meets World Photo Tour group including Carolyn Lane, Leah Hudson and Brittany Lane flies to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Carolyn wants to fulfill a promise made to herself to return to Haiti and shift the paradigm of taking photographs to “Taking and Giving” photographs! She intends to find the girls from Ibo Beach and give them a copy of this original group picture from 2007 and take new individual ones for each of them! Mission Accomplished!
Leadership Jax connections come through!
Organizations like Leadership Jacksonville (www.leadershipjax.org) unite like-minded philanthropically-oriented local citizens to become “community trustees”. Dog Meets World has come into existence with the help of many members of my class of 2002! Ray Makowski and Sam Hall have joined the Advisory Board, Cathy Hagan has helped from the Small Business Development Center, Eleanor Maxwell has volunteered bookkeeping assistance and Jill Sprowell offered services from the Jax Chamber of Commerce. Thanks LJ colleagues for helping grow DMW!
First Foto Photos!!
Phodographer Madison Hughes in Guatemala, March 2009
Patti Hughes, owner of Natural Life, took her family, including 3 young daughters, is in Guatemala on a design research/vacation. A heartfelt supporter of Dog Meets World, she took along 2 Selphy printers and plenty of film with the intention of being one of the earliest and definitely the youngest field phodographers. And it was the inaugural trip introducing the new plush toy dog “Foto”. I could hardly contain my excitement today when the first photos were emailed…incredible eyes, youthful beauty, backgrounds, clothing! A huge “Hi Five” to this remarkable camera crew….kid-to-kid photo diplomacy at its best.
Pro Photographer “Gets It”
This pretty much says it all…Sharlene happens to be amazingly creative professional photographer, owner of Photo Art Works from Titusville, FL who heard about DMW from her sister and she emailed immediately:
Carolyn,
What a fabulous, fabulous idea! I am moved beyond words, tears are literally in my eyes—-it is just—-did I say, fabulous?! You have opened my eyes to a new concept because I had no idea (perhaps because I have never considered the idea) that 3rd world children (and, I’m sure in many cases their parents, too) have never had a photograph of themselves. Oh my! How precious life is, how important each step of the way and to never have a single picture to document that dear soul…. It is a wonderful, exciting undertaking! I would love to learn more and to help in any way that I can.
Sharlene
The Making of Foto….
Little Foto plays an integral role and therefore must be completely adorable, lightweight, happy and unique! In addition she needs to resemble her real live namesake and model. Okay, so you just have some firm in China make you a little plush stuffed dog…how hard can that be? What firm, what fur, what face, what feet, what feeling, what what what!
After a disastrous start, Patti Hughes, owner of Natural Life, came to the rescue by recommending Mentor International Corporation and a zillion sketches and email descriptors later we have a prototype and it meets all expectations. Salient features of our model include perfectly soft fur, sweet smile, versatile enough to stand or sit on command, long floppy ears, jester-colored white and black butt, endearing heart and peace signs on her front paws and an identifying collar with a camera icon “dog tag”! What else could you want from a plush animal fetching goodwill and photos for the globe’s kids?!