Haiti Update

I wanted to say thanks again to all who participated in the Hope for Haiti donation drive a while back. It was an awesome result and I’m truly grateful. After having flights postponed for a while, my sister and the group of doctors and nurses were able to travel to Haiti recently to help in the relief efforts. I asked my sister to share her thoughts from her trip.

As a photographer’s sister, I’ve come to appreciate photography and even more so the stories the photos tell. While the pictures of my week in Haiti speak volumes, they do not even begin to capture what has really happened there and what I had the privilege of experiencing. From the moment we hit the ground, the view was completely different than the ones I had seen before. The small Port Au Prince airport is filled with large cargo jets and military entourages. No questions are asked at customs or immigrations…the people are just thankful to have the help. On our way up to the home we were staying in for the week, we were told that the sites we were seeing…crumbled buildings, piles of trash, and tents everywhere…were nothing in comparison to what we would see later in the week.

The further we got from the city, the physical damage was much less apparent but the effects were by no means less real. We served almost 800 patients in 4 days in a small mountain clinic — many of the stories similar — people who could not sleep or eat after the earthquake, panic attacks, trouble breathing, and rashes after bathing in the only water they could find in Port Au Prince. While none of these seemed hard to believe, they became so much more meaningful after we toured Port Au Prince. We’ve all see the pictures on the news, and I’ll share some too, but they do no justice to what has and is happening there. Everywhere one looks, there are huge buildings crumbled to the ground as if a bomb went off inside each of them. Schools with empty desks visible through the holes in the walls. Piles upon piles of trash line the streets next to all the tents — some sturdy and others comprised of sticks and bed sheets. The palace and the cathedral are both in shambles. And there are tent cities every few blocks with some holding thousands upon thousands of people.

In the midst of all of this, the people are truly trying to move on. On the other side of the streets are all the vendors trying to sell their produce or wares. And in the tent cities, there are smiling children playing with toy cars made out of empty plastic bottles. There are truly no words to fully describe what we saw that day, but I count it an absolute privilege to be given a very small glimpse of what these people are experiencing. It truly puts things in perspective.

Thank you so much to all of you who donated through the “Hope for Haiti” fundraiser! With that money, I was able to buy medical equipment and supplies to better serve the patients at the clinic.

Here are a few more photos that my sister wanted to share from her trip…

New Canvas

Here in Springfield, we were treated to warmer weather for a few days and now we are back to cold and rainy. I am looking forward to warmer weather coming soon as that will mark the beginning of plenty of new photos from engagement sessions, weddings, and a few other projects to come. In the mean time, here are a few photos of a recent 20×30 canvas that I ordered to have on hand as a sample.

Win A Free Engagement Session

Sign up below to win a free engagement session with Daniel Turner Photography. Three winners will be selected. One at the end of March, one at the end of April, and one at the end of May. Also included with the engagement session will be a high resolution photo disc. No purchase is necessary to enter. The engagement session must be local to the Springfield, Missouri area. If you have any questions, please e-mail me. All fields on the entry form must be filled out. Thanks and Good Luck!

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New Item | Metal Murals

February 11, 2010

Here’s another new item that we’re offering as an add-on to your package.

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