People + Southwest

Lot’s has been going on around here lately and I have a few things I want to post about while I have some down time. The first couple of stories are below.

First: I was honored to have the opportunity to travel down to Tampa to photograph a cover story for a People Magazine special Health issue. The story is about a woman called Jessica Kessler who has been suffering from chronic dry eye since her eye surgery a decade ago. Many thanks to Jessica and her family for giving us so much time and special thanks to Florence Nash for the project.

Just to get out of bed in the morning, Jessica has to coax her eyes open from being nearly glued to her eyelids.

I also recently had the chance to meet a remarkable guy right here in Alabama and make some photographs for Southwest’s inflight magazine (Southwest: The Magazine, imagine that). Rodney Smith Jr. started a foundation that provides lawn care free of charge. He’s having big impacts on his immediate community, but also taking his mission to every state. And most impressive to me, with his mentoring program, he’s inspiring countless children to serve the elderly, disabled, single parents, and veterans.
He seems to be all over the news, but if you happen to fly @southwestair some time soon, be sure to look for the story about him and his work (or you can read the story online here). And if you want to see where in the world he is right now, check him out at @rodneysmithjr and @raisingmenlawncareservice.