operation breakthrough

Happiness is taking photographs of the wonderful kids at Operation Breakthrough.

Have you begun following me on Instagram yet? Please do! I've been posting images regularly there @gloriabakerfeinstein.

three boys

down time

Yesterday I was on a shoot for Operation Breakthrough. We met some of the families (that are being featured in our upcoming fundraising video) at the park. My sidekick, Lynne, was to do the filming and I the stills. 

It's not unusual for our families to be late. As Jennifer, our fearless leader in all things related to shooting for OB likes to remind us: families living in poverty cannot always be precisely scheduled. Life gets in the way. Cars break down. The bus runs late. The auntie who promised to babysit the younger kids doesn't show up. Can't get off work. Kids didn't get any sleep the night before because the furnace shut off, and they're tired. 

What could've taken an hour rolled into three.

I try to be patient as we hang around waiting for things to happen. Sometimes I'm good at that, but I must admit sometimes I am not too good at that.

Yesterday was the first nice day in Kansas City in a long while, and the park was full of kids. I had my camera, and there were kids running around. I was in my happy place. 

I made this picture during the down time.

In my presentations, I always encourage photographers to be open to what's in front of them, even if - especially if - it was not what they were expecting. Down time? Embrace it… there's always something wonderful happening. As Robert Frank says: keep your eyes open.

spring is in the air

The weather's getting nicer, and the kids are outside playing. I spent the morning taking pictures at Operation Breakthrough; these little people totally made my day.

twins

These fraternal twin sisters are two of my favorite subjects at Operation Breakthrough. I had the pleasure of taking a few pictures of them today while working on the annual video. To me, they seem like very old souls. 

happy mlk day

Photos I took this past week at Operation Breakthrough:

christmas at operation breakthrough

There are many services offered by Operation Breakthrough throughout the year, but at Christmas they come fast and furious. This past weekend close to 750 Kansas City families saw their children's "wish lists" for the holidays actually materialize. Each family is "adopted out" to another family who has offered to take the wish list and actually shop for the toys, games, clothes, etc. The goodies (plus wrapping paper, of course) were distributed to appreciative moms and dads Saturday and Sunday in an extremely well-orchestrated and smooth operation involving a lot of committed volunteers and donors. Here are a few pictures I took of the goings on.

my morning shoot

Some new pictures I made this morning at an Operation Breakthrough event. What a beautiful boy.

halloween at operation breakthrough

The kids lined the hallways in their donated costumes and, holding onto their parent's hand, made their way to the treat tables. Always a big day at Operation Breakthrough.

a morning at operation breakthrough

I love these faces.