Re-Entry

On October 20th, 2017, I took part in a project at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base in Oceanside, CA. For this collaboration, I teamed with Working Wardrobes, a company based in Irvine, CA. Working Wardrobes provides workforce readiness services to men, women, and veterans. This project was an effort to assist female veterans in gaining the proper tools to help them transition into the workforce. Some of these tools included resume-building workshops, interview education, and a new wardrobe. My portion of the project was to provide them with a portrait.

Over the course of the day, I photographed 33 women. My responsibility was to create a portrait they expected. I also wanted to offer additional images to represent each woman in a way that would highlight more than their military background. Due to the schedule for the day, I had an average of about 6 minutes per person. However, I feel the path that one navigates during this time while connecting with a subject defines the result. My intent was to make each person feel appreciated, respected, beautiful and comfortable with whom they are, as they are.  

Each woman was bright, pleasant and special in their own unique way. I am very thankful to have met each person and to provide them with a useful image. Overall, it was a great experience and in the near future I look forward to participating in a similar event, this time with male veterans.

With that, I am looking to expand this idea and continue contributing to the betterment of people through photography.