Mr. Gates Sr. often has been asked, ” How do you a raise a kid like that? What’s the secret?” 

Fortune magazine called and needed some animated portraits of Mr. Gates for the May issue.  He’s releasing a book entitled Showing Up For Life which is a series of personal stories that provide a glimpse of the family life.

Gates Sr.  has a presence when he walks into a room.  He’s about my height, 6’5” or so and just demands respect (in a good way). At 83,  he’s a pretty awesome man to still be so active in making the world a better place.  

You can read the fortune article here.

I recently photographed Steve Mullen, owner of Grocery Outlet in Seattle., for Time Magazine.  The story highlights several businesses across the US that are either struggling or striving during the recession.  Steve’s happens to be one of the fortunate few that is seeing tremendous growth.  His store sells overstock grocery items at bargain prices. 

I’ve now completed a handful of jobs highlighting our country’s current economic state.  It’s a bit depressing,  but I’m also optimistic that shifting the way we live will create a better tomorrow.  To everyone out there feeling the pinch or the difficulties of being unemployed,  all I can say is hang in there. Things will get better.

Not too long ago,  I traveled to Fort Wayne, Indiana then to Chelmsford, MA, and finally to Deland, FL to make black + white portraits for AARP.  My subjects were seniors who recently lost their jobs due to the unfortunate economy.

My first stop was Fort Wayne,  where I photographed Dave Tindall.  The idea of the assignment was to create a strong BW portrait and then a secondary still life image that would illustrate what job the subject just lost.  Dave was a super warm man who has worked in construction all of his life.  

Don Hearn lives in Chelmsford, MA, which is about an hour outside of Boston.  He has worked as a golf course superintendant for the past twenty years and was recently laid off.  Despite the tough circumstances,  Don was a cheerful man who is optimistic about the state of our economy.

The last stop was Deland, FL, just outside of Orlando.  Allison worked for a local newspaper for over a decade before being abruptly laid-off when cutbacks hit her office.  She wasn’t too pleased with how her termination was handled,  so we lit her newspaper on fire.