If you haven’t been to Montaluce Vineyard then you are missing out. It’s almost like you stepped out of Georgia into an Italian Winery. What a great location for an inspirational shoot. Our model for the day was Christel Bethea who was an inspiration to all of us. She was a trooper throughout the entire day. I cannot thank everyone enough for making this shoot a success. I will be sharing more photographs as soon as they are available. Special thanks to:
The first time that I sat down with Ralph Bell was at a pink glove society event one Saturday afternoon. We instantly connected because of his military background with the Air Force and the fact that he used to smoke the same brand of cigarettes as my father did during the Vietnam war, Winston let me know that we were going to get along. Well, Ralph is a kind man who has a heart to help people. I hear it in his words and I saw the passion in his eyes. Although we only spoke for about 30 mins I got to know a lot of him and I had the please of meeting his wife. I knew instantly that Ralph needed to be the second man in the breast cancer photo shoot and I was even more excited when he agreed to do it.
Last October Katy Ruth Camp of the Marietta Daily Journal wrote a story about him that I thought was pretty inspiring so I thought it would be best to let you read it yourself. Enjoy.
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Ralph Bell of Marietta has a message for men: You, too, can get breast cancer.
“It’s rare, but it is possible,” said Bell, who is himself a survivor. “I’ve spoken to women’s groups since my recovery about the importance of early detection, of doing self exams, and there are always some who look at me like I couldn’t understand. But I went through the same sort of protocols and ups and downs as women who have had breast cancer. It’s not just a woman’s disease.”
On a Friday afternoon in April 2004, Bell, then 56, was sitting on his living-room couch. He had recently been laid off from his job as a senior executive at a health-care support firm. He was contemplating his future, praying for God to give his life a purpose. [click to continue…]
When Nichole (The president of Shades of Pink) told me about Eric I knew he had to be one of the male breast cancer survivor models. After playing phone and email tag I had the great joy of sitting down with him at cafe intermezzo on Dunwoody. I sat down with Eric and I asked him to tell me a little about his story. In short, It was go time! I sat there listening to his story and was amazed at not only at the words that he was saying but what he was communicating. Every story was backed by passion and character. Just to give you a little taste if you ever get a chance to meet him ask him about the time he took his children to the zoo (when he shouldn’t have gone because of the chemo and radiation) because he promised that he would. The fact of the matter is that Eric is a man, father, husband and son who knows the meaning of legacy and character. There have been more that one stories relayed to my friends that they too found inspiring and moving. I would do him and you (the reader) an injustice if I were to tell his story for him so here’s his story from www.dunlapspeaks.com
One day, after working in the yard, Eric noticed a spot of blood on his shirt. He immediately dismissed the occurrence, thinking he’d likely scratched or cut himself inadvertently — though he could not locate the actual scratch or cut.
The next day (on a different shirt) another spot of blood appeared. Again, Eric could not locate an actual scratch or cut. Baffled — but somewhat more concerned — Eric sought medical advice. Initially, the doctor determined the blood was caused by “some form of trauma” to the chest region and concluded the bleeding would stop. The bleeding did stop. [click to continue…]
Rachel was one of the first people I met when I emigrated to Georgia from North Carolina and I am so glad she decided to return and write for the 2010 “To Have & To Hold” Breast Cancer Project. She has a talent of communication that not only informs but also one that transports us to and connects us with the subject. It was important to me that the writer have a passion for the project because the fact of the matter is that these stories will be the stories that will be given to future generations of friends and family.
Last Thursday I had the great opportunity to photograph Becca from GetMarried.com for the 2010 To have and to hold breast cancer photo shoot. We started setting up around 9am and finished our last shot (a group shot) at about 9pm at Barnsley Gardens. We were up at the Civil War Home for the entire day and man what a place to be! You can have your wedding ceremony and reception on their perfectly manicured grounds. The home is loaded with history and you can walk through each of the first floor rooms and mingle with your guests. The second floor is gone as well as the roof from a storm. There are lights throughout the home that really gives it some atmosphere and I can guarantee that your guests are going to remember your wedding day. I really liked it and would love to go a photograph a wedding or two there. Here are a few of the behind the scenes photos taken so adeptly by my social media team Brooke and Whitney from the day via Iphone. Enjoy.
Yup I am in need of an intern that loves social media, can write press releases, and wants to help breast cancer survivors share their stories. Here is all the info below.
FIRM: Project Storyboard (BREAST CANCER AWARENESS photo project)
LOCATION: Atlanta GA
POSITION: Social Media and PR Intern
DURATION: ASAP till Oct 10, 2010
QUALIFICATIONS: Looking for a creative intern who is independent and original to serve as an integral part of all Marketing/Public Relations aspects of the Breast Cancer Photo Project. Must be highly personable, organized, motivated, goal-oriented, and possess strong, witty writing skills. Must be proficient with Facebook and Twitter. Weekly communication on Project updates required.
DESCRIPTION: Project Storyboard is organizing the “To Have & To Hold” 2010 Breast Cancer Photo project. This project will include men and women breast cancer survivors and each of their stories will be told with photos and in their own words. There will be 12 different photo shoots throughout the Atlanta area and the Intern will be required to be present at 9 of them. This project will also publish 3 books. Social media will be used during the photo shoots. Intern will write 2-3 press releases weekly and write a newsletter of updates from press releases and reminders. A Soiree will be held in October that will celebrate the release of the books and photo gallery. Team communication will be done primarily via phone and email. Will meet once a week to verify accomplished goals and determine upcoming goals. Will work with myself (the photographer) and spokeswoman for the project.
SALARY: The knowledge that you help preserve the stories of men and women with breast cancer for future generations. No financial compensation is attached to this position.
HOURS: 8-20hrs per week.
INTERESTED: Tweet #intern at @storyboardlife or Facebook message me at facebook.com/peterdoyle with subject INTERN. Or post your interest in the comment section.
GUESS WHAT? The SONY a900 and it’s friends are on their way. When I got up this morning I took a gander at my email before getting out of bed and to my surprise there was a FEDEX tracking number. A FEDEX tracking number you may ask? Yes. SONY is supplying the a900 DSLR and some Carl Zeiss lenses to the “To Have & To Hold” Breast Cancer Photo Shoot. The locations are going to be awesome and the shoots are def going to be big. We are looking to photograph on the beach, pre-civil war house, vineyard, and abandoned buildings. I want each photo shoot to help tell individual story of the models. That is why I love shooting with Carl Zeiss Lenses. The first time I looked through a Carl Zeiss lens I knew this was the lens for the project. It’s clear and almost piercing. There’s a lot of communication through the eyes and I don’t need the lens to get in the way. I always want to make sure that the models always get the best because I want to make sure that they are not only comfortable and confident in front of the camera, remember they are not models, but they have the best possible equipment to help tell their inspiring stories. So Thank to Sony for supplying the camera and lenses for this project!
The “To Have & To Hold” breast cancer photo shoot will start on May 6th and we already have 8 of our 12 models. These men and women are truly inspiring and I can only sit back and ask myself during rough times, “what do I have to complain about?” You will be introduced to Dawn who had her surgery while she was pregnant. Christal and Lisa are going to inspire you in that they are survivors who will be competing in a triathlon at the end of May. What can I say about the Eric and Ralph who have decided to participate and share their stories. I sat with both of them and so motivated to really make a difference in all who I come in contact with.
This is really what this project is about. It is about the stories of men and women who have changed their family history and are creating a legacy that will out live their future generations!
Don’t forget to sign up for the email list to keep up to date with the project!
THE INAUGURAL photo shoot for the “To Have and To Hold” 2010 breast cancer photo shoot is about two and a half weeks away! Barnsley Resort here we come. If you haven’t been to Barnsley then you need to look them up and make a romantic weekend of it or even better…take the family for a few days of rest and commune with nature.
This year we are going to have 12 men and women tell the story of their experience via photography and the new 2010 “To Have and To Hold” a life for generations book. Last year all 12 models were photographed and interviewed from 6am till 8pm! They were certainly troopers and I can’t thank them enough. “To Have and To Hold” breast cancer photo shoot video
But this year we are going to spend more time with each model and each of them will have their very own photo shoot and experience! I am looking forward this year’s project because it will include more stories from survivors that will shed more light onto the individual experiences of these men and women. We always need to remember that although the movement of breast cancer awareness and increased research must be a joint effort with all those who have experienced this disease we cannot forget that breast cancer first affects the individual and it is the individual who we need to focus on from time to time.
One thing that I am looking forward to is working with Amy Osaba again on this shoot. If you haven’t visited her website then you certainly need to. She has such a great eye and a creative imagination that this “enchanted” shoot is going to be over the top and fabulous!
Back in March I had the pleasure of sitting down with THE Grace Ormonde of Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Magazine to talk for a few moments. So how did it happen? Simply she was looking at portfolios at WPPI in the ToFurious booth from the photographers there. (and yes there was a line) Well, I didn’t have my portfolio, unless you call a portfolio on an iphone sufficient? In fact, I really wasn’t interested in showing my work because the quality of work that shows up on the pages of Wedding Style makes mine look like chump change. What I was interested in was taking a few moments to tell her how much I appreciated her work in promoting thirst relief in her magazine and to have her sign one of the recent issues. I sat down, gave her the magazine and asked her to sign. I did give her my card and pulled out a copy of the book “To Have & To Hold” that I help create from last year’s breast cancer photo project and laid in on the table. I stated that it was something I worked on and would like to do it again. What happened next caught me by surprise. It was almost like she didn’t hear me ask for her autograph. She just kept commenting on the breast cancer project, she kept commenting on my business card. I, again, asked her to autograph the magazine because I was a little embarrassed. As stated, the work she sees on a regular basis that makes mine look….again….like chump change. But she kept asking more questions about the project and how she liked the project. She was genuinely interested in the what I had to say and what the project was about.
She signed my mag with not only her name but also the encouraging note,
“Thank you so much for what you are doing for women.”
My first thought was, “Are you sure you want to write that? I mean. Yes, I did photograph 12 ladies who were affected by breast cancer but the fact of the matter is that they were the ones in front of the camera for 13 hours. They were the ones who decided to tell their story for the world to read. All I did was give them a way to share their story not something that qualified for ‘what you are doing for women?’” And maybe this is the secret of her success. She helps others become successful. She stays true to herself and what is important to her. Think about it. Her magazine’s demographic are affluent brides. It may be okay to put a layout or two of men, women and children who need clean water but not 6 PAGES OF IT! And even though there were those who said it would be a bad idea she did it anyway and for that she is shown to be authentic.
She will always bring in a crowd of wedding photographers because having your work shown in Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Magazine gives you more than just a few notches of cred in the wedding industry and with your clientele. She could honestly just ride her fame and just show up. But she doesn’t. She took time out and for a few moments she encouraged me on a project that I thought every morning was going to be a failure and at the time a big let down for everyone involved.
Even though she gave a little encouragement to me after the project was competed I was already thinking about this year’s project. It is considerably larger and I need all the encouragement that I can get. So if there is anyone that has given you a little encouragement don’t forget to give them a little “thank you” but also don’t forget to give others a little encouragement too.
When I speak to people about this year’s To Have And To Hold breast cancer photo shoot I always bring up the fact that there are going to be at least two male breast cancer survivors in the project. Most are a little confused by this because most never hear about males suffering from this disease. Although it is a very small percentage it does happen and just because men do not think about it or even think they can get it, they can. The most important thing we can have to make us better in all aspects of our life is information. So with that in mind here is some information about men and breast cancer. For more information visit Healthline.com.
Statistics regarding men and breast cancer:
Breast cancer in men is rare – less than 1 percent of all breast carcinomas occur in men. Consider the latest statistics available from the American Cancer Society:
The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2007 about 2,030 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among men in the US.
One thing that I had that I don’t is wit. Not only wit but the wit that makes you sound smarter than you are. But here is a story I found on the blog Join Our Loop that made me laugh. It’s the wit of Susan Jeremy. In fact, here’s and excerpt:
I got a new boob! I wasn’t looking for one, it just kind of happened. I was living my life, not on the market for any new body parts when, boom! I got one . . . I had to make a similar choice when my ‘89 Dodge Datsun had transmission problems.
Humor can certainly change just about any situation from a negative to a positive. I’m certainly not going to steal some content. So if you want to read the rest of this story then chick here and visit our friends at Join Our Loop! Enjoy. BTY, I would be interested in what your first thought was when you read Susan’s words.
I was looking around twitter today and stumbled across @pasqually of stowederby.com who tweeted this video. What a great way to generate some awareness and in fact I bet this was done on the employee’s time. This video was posted on Youtube since Nov. 13, 2009 (my birthday!) and has garnered almost 9,000,000 views! So with that in mind we can all do something that is creative and fun for any great cause. SO BE CREATIVE AND DO IT! Enjoy. Oh, let me know what you thought about the janitor!
I would like to welcome GetMarried.com as one of our newest sponsors for the 2010 To Have & To Hold Breast Cancer Photo Project. Last year I meet with one of their writers for a sit down interview at Cafe Intermezzo to talk about the “To Have & to Hold” 2009 breast cancer photo project. The same passion I had then is the same now, “Let’s create something that will last. Let’s create something that will help generations to come. It’s all about a person’s legacy” The 2009 project was composed of 12 ladies who were either breast cancer survivors or came along side their mother who had breast cancer. Every other Breast Cancer photo shoot that I found didn’t have breast cancer survivors. So not only did I decide to create this photo project but I also published a book that told their stories. GetMarried.com recognized the value in authenticity and helped get the word out. A Big thank you to them last year and a even bigger one for this year. In fact, Becca from GetMarried.com will be our model for our first shoot at Barnsley Resort on May 6th.
Visit GetMarried.com and see how they can make your wedding planning A PIECE OF CAKE.
YUP, YUP,YUP…WE NEED PR PEOPLE!!!! Last year’s “To Have and To Hold” photo project was a great success. I was pleased with the results only after preparing a month and half for the shoot. But this year we are starting out early in the year and we want to get the word out to a [...]
As you know the 2010 “To Have & To Hold” breast cancer photo shoot is set into motion. Throughout the year I will be posting stories from breast cancer survivors. If you are a breast cancer survivor and would like to share your story in a published book in which 100% of the net proceeds [...]
The week of being in Haiti almost seems like a dream. Other than the fact that I have photographs and video to prove I was there I would almost swear that I didn’t even go at all. But juxtaposed with that is the fact that I am still writing about my experience there. I am [...]
Everyone these days seems to like behind the scenes stories. Stories are what give meaning to the mundane, don’t they? So I thought I would do the same with a few of my photographs from Haiti. The first thing that everyone notices about Port Au Prince is the trash. It is everywhere! What you will [...]
The first time that I sat down with Ralph Bell was at a pink glove society event one Saturday afternoon. We instantly connected because of his military background with the Air Force and the fact that he used to smoke the same brand of cigarettes as my father did during the Vietnam war, Winston let me know that we were going to get along. Well, Ralph is a kind man who has a heart to help people. I hear it in his words and I saw the passion in his eyes. Although we only spoke for about 30 mins I got to know a lot of him and I had the please of meeting his wife. I knew instantly that Ralph needed to be the second man in the breast cancer photo shoot and I was even more excited when he agreed to do it.
One thing that I had that I don’t is wit. Not only wit but the wit that makes you sound smarter than you are. But here is a story I found on the blog 
