A few weeks ago, I photographed the Move On MS fundraiser in NYC, where I had the pleasure of meeting Rolling Stone photographer and ambassador for the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America, Anna Webber. The fundraiser was organized by a friend of mine, Katie Ellsweig, who lost her mom to a 24 year battle with MS. I jumped at the opportunity to take photos at the event because I know on a personal level how much it means when people step up to get involved in something that is so dear to your heart.
This morning, my Mom, who was diagnosed with ALS a year ago, posted a link to an article about Dave Grohl. He gave away an autographed guitar to a fan who helped him spread awareness about Lou Gherig's Disease - something that not enough people know about. When I started to write this post, I did an image search for photos of Grohl to accompany it, and wouldn't you know, the one that I was drawn to just so happened to be taken by Anna?
In 2007, an award-winning wedding photojournalist took a chance on a nineteen-year-old kid who didn't know why digital cameras still had ISOs. Karen hired me as an intern, promptly switched my camera to the Manual setting, and then she taught me how to shoot, how to run a company and she believed in my abilities as a photographer. She taught me much of what I know about the industry and, without her early guidance & support, I doubt I would be where I am today. In addition to being an artist with a camera, she's also a brilliant writer, a great mom & friend and she became a coach in helping people live with multiple sclerosis through her own experiences. Karen has MS.
On March 29th, I photographed Move on MS, a fundraising event at American Trash in NYC. The event was coordinated by Katie Ellsweig, who's a big time PR lady at Big Machine Media, and who threw a sock hop themed 11th birthday party -- which I attended.
Katie put together Move On MS in honor of her mom, Jean, who lost her twenty-four-year battle with multiple sclerosis in the spring of last year. She was 52. Between Karen and Katie and my own family's comparable struggles, you can understand why I jumped at the opportunity to help. Neurological diseases are so devastating to patients and their families and it's so important to raise awareness and help in any way you can - whether that means you're marching on Washington to get bills like this one passed, sharing you story, or, in this case, donating a few bucks, having a few beers and listening to some rock bands -- sounds brutal, I know!!
In case you're not convinced by my personal experiences and scattered sarcasm, you should know...
all the cool kids are doing it.
Here are some of the folks that contributed to making Move on MS a success:
One of my all time favorite musicians and long time friend, Jason Guzman, with his lady, Arianna.
That's me making goofy faces & rocking out while simultaneously embarrassing Matt.
And (because what kind of music post would this be without music?) here's my favorite upon favorites from the show:
You can read more about MS or donate at www.msassociation.org Oh, and if you're in NYC this weekend, Oscar Rodriguez and his band are playing at American Trash on Friday!
