Summer has been very hard for me.  Not working a full time day job and relying on photography as my only income has become a struggle.  But with taking care of my mom, that has turned into a full time job in itself, albeit, unpaid.

After spending a year in Denver, I have started making some good connections with schools and teams, and a plan formed in my head.  I want to do a personal project that would be all volunteer on my end, but benefit some very deserving people.

I have an idea for a Wounded Warrior project.  As you know, Wounded Warrior Project helps wounded soldiers do things they never thought they would be able to do again, or do for the first time.  My idea is to take three or four soldiers, give them basic instruction in sports photography, take them to a few sports games in the area from high school, to college, to professional, and then give them an outlet through one of my wire services, and then take their best photos and have them presented at a local photo gallery for the public to see.

I have a couple companies that may provide me with either loaner gear or gear for the soldiers to keep, from bags, to lenses, to cameras, but that is not set in stone.  I have a couple wires that I know for a fact that would host their photos and present them for sale to a worldwide market, and I am close enough to enough sports teams to get them access to a few games.

But to get started, I am working on a digital photography E-Book.  My goal is to send a copy of the E-Book along with my proposal to the Wounded Warrior Project in Colorado Springs to try to get things rolling.  Once I get approval from Wounded Warrior Project, I would start approaching teams and companies to sponsor this with gear and access.  Once all of that is completed, I would send copies of the book to the soldiers selected, to give them a introduction to Sports Photography, then I would have a one day hands on workshop with the soldiers to give them their gear, and help them get familiar with it, and then schedule a high school game, a college game, and a pro game for them to photograph with me.

I am very close to finishing the writing portion on the book, but trying to write the book, put it together to get it sent to Apple’s iBook store, is putting a strain on me.  Between taking photos to try to earn a living, and taking care of my mom, and stressing about money, I am asking for your help.

The book I am writing is going to cover 5 main sports.  Football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and soccer, from youth to professional.  It will give basic instruction on how to shoot these sports with basic gear all the way up to professional level gear, what kind of photos to look for, and information on how to begin a photography career either as supplemental income or potentially a main source of income.

Why did I choose Wounded Warriors?  My family has ties back to the Civil War and World War I.  My dad was in the Army Corp of Engineers in World War II, and one of my cousins was killed in action in Viet Nam while rescuing wounded soldiers taking fire.  Currently my oldest nephew is in the Navy.  While I was living in Alaska booster shooting for Eagle River High School, many of the families I worked with were military families, many of the coaches were either active duty, reserve or retired military, and many of the student athletes I photographed over the years entered military service after high school or are active in ROTC or enrolled in military universities like Air Force Academy or Westpoint.  So, military is close to my heart.

So, I would like to presell the E-Book to help offset my cost of getting this program up and running.  If you preorder an E-Book, as soon as it is completed, you will have it sent to you.  I honestly do not know how much I will need to get this project off the ground, but I am asking for $20 for preorders.  This is NOT a non profit project, but once the book goes on sale in the Apple iBook store, I do want to donate 50% of the profits to Wounded Warriors.  You are basically pre-buying the book to help me finish this project without going bankrupt.  If you can not afford a book, but still want to help, please click the Donate button bellow.  To pre order the E-Book, click the Buy Now button.

I thank you.

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