Sam Nolte in Chicago Tap Theatre's "Tidings of Tap"

Chicago Tap Theatre's production "Changes" a science fiction tap dance opera featuring the music of David Bowie. In Center, Artisitc Director Mark Yonally as "Altego".

In the coming weeks, as I get the back-end work done, I’ll be posting images of Chicago Tap Theatre’s production of “Changes”.

If you can, go the Red Cross, donate, help out, how you can, today.

Red Cross shelter set-up in Mesquite, NV at Virgin Valley High School.

The American Red Cross, Southern Nevada Chapter responds to a home fire.

Red Cross shelter in Mesquite, NV at Virgin Valley High School.

The sun setting as the Virgin River floods in Mesquite, Nevada.

Homes damaged in Beaver Dam, AZ during the flooding of December 2010.

The Virgin River in Mesquite, NV as seen from the bridge leading to Bunkerville on Dec. 21st 2010.

Tom Delux gets water from the Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle. Tom is visiting his mother who leaves in Beaver Dam and there are four disabled people in the home he was getting water for.

Gary responds to a home fire helping the displaced woman

Sadly it was a bit chilly to be travelling without a coat, because this would make a nice little promo bit for future years if it didn't have the coat. Miss Nevada with a Red Cross sign at Sunrise Vista Golf Course.

Las Vegas Lifeguard Games

American Red Cross Southern Nevada Chapter - Everyday Heroes - Youth Good Samaritan: Melissa Garcia

It was another hot afternoon in July of 2010 when Melissa Garcia was babysitting her two younger brothers; Noah, three, and Sam, eighteen months. The boys were in the living room as Melissa prepared an afternoon snack for them.  Melissa heard a strange noise and turned to the boys, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.  Then she heard the noise again, she walked over to the boys and noticed eighteen month old Sam looked panicked and pale.  She then realized he wasn’t breathing. Knowing what to do because of her formal Babysitting training and CPR certification, Melissa began giving the boy back blows until the object came out; it was a small piece of thin plastic. The boy instantly resumed to breathing and playing just as he normally would.

Everyday Heroes Breakfast:

Join us for our fourth annual Everyday Heroes Awards. Every day in our community ordinary people make extraordinary contributions, by putting their needs aside to help others in times of crisis. The American Red Cross is honored to salute these unsung heroes.

The awards will be presented at the Everyday Heroes breakfast, October 21, 2010, at 7:30am at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. They are presented by the Southern Nevada Chapter of the American Red Cross and Harrah’s Entertainment, with generous support from both Greenspun Media Group and 8 News Now and their Community Pride Partners: NV Energy and McDonald’s.

For tickets click here.

American Red Cross Southern Nevada Chapter - Everyday Heros - Aquatics: Dee Dee Cunningham

Dee Dee, 9-years old, and five other children were swimming in the backyard of Dee Dee’s grandmother’s house, when Dee Dee was faced with a life and death situation of her 6-year old uncle.  Just learning how to jump into the deep end with his floaties on, Dee Dee’s uncle was sitting in the Jacuzzi. Unannounced he took his floaties off and made a dive into the deep end.  Coming up for water and air only once, Dee Dee noticed her uncle drowning and jumped in to save him.  Pulling him from the bottom of the deep end, Dee Dee was able to save her uncle from drowning.

Everyday Heroes Breakfast:

Join us for our fourth annual Everyday Heroes Awards. Every day in our community ordinary people make extraordinary contributions, by putting their needs aside to help others in times of crisis. The American Red Cross is honored to salute these unsung heroes.

The awards will be presented at the Everyday Heroes breakfast, October 21, 2010, at 7:30am at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. They are presented by the Southern Nevada Chapter of the American Red Cross and Harrah’s Entertainment, with generous support from both Greenspun Media Group and 8 News Now and their Community Pride Partners: NV Energy and McDonald’s.

For tickets click here.

For years I’ve done volunteer work, volunteer work as a photographer.  For years I’ve read the arguments as to why this may not be a good idea, and they may be right, but for me, volunteering is the right decision in some cases.

I volunteer because it makes me happy.  That simple.  I love that it helps people out, whther that be people who are having a hard time, or people that could use hand, or helps the arts in it’s many forms.  The volunteering I do, I believe, helps people, makes people happier, and makes the world a better place, and that makes me happy.

I ultimately am a pretty simple man, I like to be happy.  If volunteering someplace, or someway, doesn’t make me happy, doesn’t give me a sense of fulfillment, then I don’t do it, and I don’t do it because it doesn’t make me happy.  That’s ultimately selfish, but that’s fine with me, I can live with myself knowing that.

I do the work when I can, and when I can’t I say “no”.  I say “no” to shoots whenever they conflict with something else I’d rather be doing with my day, or with work, because I need money too.  That’s one of the benefits of being a volunteer, being able to say “no”, being able to set the bounds that work for you.

Now the argument against doing this, and I’ve never read it as a hard argument, but more as something to seriously consider, is that there are other people in these organizations which are making money, are earning a living helping out these organizations.  Why shouldn’t the photographer, who is also providing a valuable service, get compensated?

I’ve done plenty of work for non-for-profits where I have gotten paid.  I’ve loved it when I’ve had that work.  I feel good, I feel like I’ve done something meaningful for the world around me and I’ve put food on my table.  It’s a total win situation.  It’s great, but again, why sometimes would I do essentially the same work and not get compensated?

I’m not going to say I shouldn’t get compensated, I’m not going to say any photographer, or person, shouldn’t get compensated, they should.  They totally should, but sometimes that just isn’t possible for everyone.  The world’s an imperfect place and there’s never enough money to go around, if there was the whole profession and basis of economics would come crashing down.  At some point I have decided, and I imagine many others have decided, that other forms of compensation are worth it.

I have long since decided, that in some cases, and only some cases, that the reward of the happiness I receive volunteering is worth doing the work.  I’d love to get paid, who wouldn’t?  But at the end of the day, between not doing the work and doing the work and being happy for it, I choose doing the work.

I enjoy going home, feeling happy, feeling fulfilled.  I’m happy with what I did.  And I volunteer so I can be happy, so I can be fulfilled, so I can be the person I want to be today.

And when that calculus changes, then I’ll move on, but that ain’t today.

This image is from the Las Vegas Lifeguard games.  A series of events testing, not like certifiying testing, but fun testing, lifeguard skills against other lifeguards.  It was held this past weekend and also was, happily, my first volunteer event for the Southern Nevada Red Cross.  The Red Cross provides training for the lifeguards.

This event was a combination swimming, calling in the emergency, and obviously, CPR performed by two lifeguards.

On a little paperwork note, I’m working on changing the embed function below the posts so I can choose to have images like this opted out, until I get that done in the next few days, please respect me and Southern Nevada Red Cross and don’t embed this anywhere without their explicit permission.