Member's Spot Light: Sandy Levy
Introducing our first ASMP South Florida Member's Spotlight: Showcasing your best project, be it a portfolio work, editorial publication, advertising campaign, social awareness job or fine art project.
Please enjoy our first SpotLight for Miami photographer Sandy Levy, in his own words:
I would like to talk about a very touching moment as a result of photographing kids waiting for adoption for the Heart Gallery of Broward.
What happened was that a child named Cleveland was one of the kids that I photographed several months ago for the Heart Gallery. I shot Cleveland, just a week or two before he turned 18, he was adopted.
This is particularly special and critical because: Once a child turns 18, they are no longer in the program and are considered adults. Then they are more or less on their own. It is quite unusual for a child that old to get adopted. In some extreme cases, they end up in the streets.
Barbara Schechter Executive Director of The Heart Gallery of Broward County pulled me aside at an awards presentation event on Oct. 14, and told me that my photo was responsible for Cleveland's new Mom becoming interested in adopting him. Obviously Barbara was very pleased and frankly, it really gave me a very warm feeling as well, as this was also very special for me.
Barbara contacted me a week or two later asking if I could be at the courthouse when the official adoption took place in the Judges chambers. She told me she would understand if I could not be there, but she hoped that I would be able to go. Of course I accepted and I did not mind taking a camera.
The reason that Cleveland's adoption was rushed in the judge's chambers before National Adoption Day was that by Nov. 15, Cleveland would be over 18 and therefore ineligible for this type of adoption.
Cleveland and his Mom also thanked me privately and that was very nice to hear. In addition, Cleveland would possibly like to become a photographer. I found out he is already an accomplished amateur photographer as he proudly showed me some of his photos.
I must say that the feeling of satisfaction knowing that an image that you make was in some way at least partly responsible for a difficult-to-adopt child to find a family, is quite amazing and wonderful.
I told NBC 6 that I cannot recall another photo assignment that was as personally satisfying to me in my 40 years as a professional photographer. Not monetarily satisfying of course, but personally satisfying!.
You can find more information about Sandy Levy and his photographic work at his main website:
www.levyphoto.com
You can also find more info about Sandy and all our shooters in our ASMP's South Florida Chapter, by visiting our Local Search Engine, Find a Photographer, in the link below:
www.findaphotographerflorida.com
"We live here, we shoot here, find us here!"
Kind Regards!!
