Magic Hour Foundation
In 2017 I heard about this amazing non- profit organization that does absolutely wonderful things. In 2007 two photographers received a call from a friend saying that they were trying to sell their car so they could pay for a photo session. They told them to keep the car and did the session for free, only to have the customer pass away a year later. This really struck them and they decided to find a way to help and give back in a way that wasn’t being done.
For no charge they pair patients with photographers willing to donate sessions and images. They raise enough money to cover prints and a beautiful handcrafted box to hold the images. And most importantly, they freeze time, they capture the now for families that can’t hold on to it long enough.
My very best friend, had a beautiful child on February 12 2014. I flew out March 1st to meet my beautiful god-daughter and visit with my lovely friends who were now new parents!! We did a little session (we laughed so hard that night!) and then I flew home. A few weeks later, the very night before my friend went back to work from her maternity leave, they rushed her husband to the hospital for what ended up being Stage 4 brain cancer.
The unimagable had happened. You never think it will happen to you. My beautiful friend had six weeks with her family. Her complete healthy family. And then the diagnosis. Followed by surgeries. Followed by chemo and radiation and hell. 10 months later we all said goodbye to him knowing he was close to his last breaths before his daughter turned one. You never think it will happen to you.
We are left with memories and pictures. And I am so thankful for both. I am so thankful I flew out when my god-daughter was just 3 weeks old, and my friends were ‘healthy’ and happy and well. I am so thankful for these images and the ridiculous memories I have with them. I am thankful for the stories I will tell my god-daughter of her crazy creative father who loved her more than life itself. Today I am thankful.
After he passed, I decided I wanted to do something like this. Something where I found patients who knew their time was limited here and wanted to leave their families with images to remember them by. I had no idea how to find these people. I didn’t know how to go about it, or how to be sensitive about it. Was I emotionally strong enough to handle this? I really wasn’t sure, but since I can't cure cancer I had to do something. I read about Magic Hour Foundation in an online photographer’s group and could not sign up fast enough. I am not allowed to post images from my sessions (unless the client's want me to) but knowing that I am able to preserve the present moment forever is such a gift. I am thankful for the opportunity to give back.
