Afternoon Slice | Philanthropic Photographers, part 1
Tuesday August 24th, 2010
This is the first in a series of posts concerning the philanthropic work our photographers are doing for their favorite causes. We begin with New York wedding photographer Emma Dodge-Hanson’s amazing efforts to generate awareness about Adoption Advocates International.
Growing up, Emma’s mother Susan Hanson volunteered as a documentary photographer with Americares, a non-profit organization that provides disaster relief and humanitarian medical aid to people in crisis all over the world. Throughout Emma’s teenage and college years, it was not uncommon for her mother to call her and say, “Get your passport ready.” With those four words, it was inevitable they would be headed somewhere in the world to help others.
On these intense trips, Emma realized she was capable of using her talent for photography not only for professional success, but also to help others. She could use her pictures to give a voice to people in need. Currently she uses her photography to help tell the stories of the 2.5 million orphaned children in Ethiopia going through the adoption process with AAI.
In 2007 Emma’s work was published in a book called Faces of Layla: A Journey Through Ehopian Adoption. She worked with AAI advocates and authors Melissa Fay Greene and Jennifer Armstrong to talk about the children at Layla House, an orphanage in Ethiopia. The photos and text dispel the notion that these orphans are sad or hopeless — instead, it shows that the children are full of life and excited to meet their new adoptive family.
Thank you Emma, for sharing your story with us! For more information about Emma’s work visit her website.
