Open Letter to Komen

(open, meaning I sent it to every newspaper, Tv station and journalist with an email address).

**************************************************************************
September 28, 2006

CERTIFIED MAIL-RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
REGULAR U.S. MAIL
AND EMAIL
Ms. Ann Beytagh
Associate General Counsel
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
50505 LBJ Freeway, Suite 250
Dallas, Texas 75244

Re: Cards for a Cure

Dear Ms. Beytagh:

We are in receipt of your letter dated June 21, 2006, a copy of which is attached hereto as Attachment A. We admit we thought it was certainly sent in error, as we are both in pursuit of the same end: a cure for cancer. That our path to that end is channeled into the various support systems for the families of sick children, rather than through a Corporation such as yours seemed to us to be inconsequential. We are able to donate 100% of every donated dollar to our charities since we do not have the corporate overhead associated with a large foundation such as Komen. We assumed that the letter was a form letter of sorts, meant to dissuade would-be scam artists from preying upon innocent donors.

We then received an email on September 22, 2006, a copy of which is attached hereto as Attachment B. The email clearly insinuates that if my corporation refuses to bow to the demands of your attorneys, we may be facing a legal action.

As we are sure you are aware, small business owners rarely possess the capital required to fight a protracted legal battle against a giant corporate entity such as Komen. We have consulted multiple attorneys here in Missouri and been advised of the potential costs involved in defending the corporation against a federal trademark infringement suit. It would, of course, bankrupt the business I have spent years building, and would possibly bankrupt my family as well. You are correct when you assumed I would not allow that to happen.

Page 2 of 2


As a prior supporter of your foundation, I am very disappointed in the action you have chosen. Obviously your corporation will no longer be the beneficiary of any donations from my corporation, or from my family.

We will be changing the name of our charitable project as of this date. We expect no further correspondence from your corporation or your attorneys with respect to this issue.

Although my attorneys advised me heavily to not take this personally, I do. I have been an avid supporter of Komen, the American Cancer Society, Alex’s Lemonade Stand and other Cancer-related charities since the death of my brother 23 years ago.

I find it SHAMEFUL that a corporation such as yours uses its influence, not to mention donations, to fund legal maneuverings against someone like me, just a photographer trying her best to give back to a world that she believes is beautiful, even in the face of so much suffering. Perhaps a better way to “help” people “be aware” would be to be “aware” of the pain such things like this cause. I only hope that any other honest people you have harassed into submission won’t decide that their efforts just aren’t worth it.

Still Ticked at Komen

I hate to keep beating this particular horse, but my blog buries posts after like a week, and I would hate for anyone to think I wasn't still STEAMED!!!

Lucky for me I have clients who are attorneys, so one of them graciously offered to help me. I am waiting to hear back from him. Hopefully he doesn't tell me to just change my project's name.

After all, it *IS* the principle of the thing, right?

Shame on You!!

Twice now I have received threatening letters from lawyers at the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (of which I have been an avid supporter). They are apparently pretty ticked off about my raising money for children with cancer.

They state they are 'concerned' that people will be 'confused' about the purpose of my Cards for a Cure project and that they 'insist that' I 'cease and desist immediately using that name' because its is too close to one of the billion phrases they use, mainly "Cards for THE Cure".

I guess they think people in the midwest here are so STUPID that they cant READ what the $$$ from my notecards is for.

My assistant did a Google search for the same name as I am using. I believe she got like 12 pages of places using the same name.

I sure hope Komen isn't using MY DONATIONS to fund legal action against me.

Nah, they are probably using YOURS.

Skylines

When I was growing up, my parents used to joke that KC had no skyline (they lived many years in NYC, so I think their expectations may have been a little high for 1975 in Kansas City).

Over the years we have gotten some more skyline, and when I moved back here from DC, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I *like* the KC skyline....

One of my sons likes it too.

I'm NOT a street legal Chevy

I get a lot of calls for family portraits (not something I do), and I always wonder WHY people call me for those sessions when there isnt ONE family on my site. Or why people just stare at me when I say Oh I dont offer family portraiture in my studio. They always look confused (now they seem confused when I say I dont photograph children over the age of 5. unless they are High School Seniors).

So I was talking to my husband about it. He made a comment that I thought was pretty accurate. He said its like going to a car race (we arent Nascar fans, but he was reading the sports section at the time, so it was either that or football). You go to the track and you see the lead car is the best, the fastest, handles the curves like a dream. And its a Chevy.

You think to yourself "If the Chevy can do THAT, it will have no problem driving me to the office everyday". So you buy a Chevy. But here's the missing piece...you dont buy THAT Chevy.

If you went down to the pit and told the driver "hey where can I get that Chevy so I can drive it to work tomorrow"....he'd say "thats not what THIS car does. Its not MEANT for that, its not the right choice". He would direct you to another place, a place that has a car that, although isnt the performer you saw at the track, is a solid car, with a good track record and will do what ITS meant to do: drive you safely around the city.

So, no, I'm not a family portraiture expert. I dont offer it b/c I'm not the right choice. I'm a specialist, like that race car....if you need a specialist, someone who does ONLY what I do (makes me pretty good, folks), then yeah, I'm a good choice.

If you need a street legal Chevy, I'll be happy to direct you to a great dealer. ;)

Newborns

Soft and squishy, curled hands, flakey skin. I love them.

I love their little yawns....but if you ever go into a session thinking "I'll get a yawn shot", you won't. They can tell you want one....I fake 'em out by putting my camera down...then they do it.

They are like little leopards...stealthy with those yawns. ;)

Blue Angels in KC

I, like every other photographer in this town, went to the KC Air Show yesterday with my family. We are very lucky, b/c my husbands office is near the airfield and we can either sit in air-conditioned comfort and watch, or go outside and have a great view.

Its better for my kids, they arent sucking jet fuel on the tarmac for 4 hours. And my husbands office has vending macine, full of Gatorade and microwave popcorn. And there are things to do when they get bored....

Like, follow the leader:



Find your hands in your jacket:



Geology:



Then, the Blue Angels....



And through our city:



Hope some of you got out there!

NAOCP

I am very honored to have been recently accepted into the National Association of Charitable Photographers (www.naocp.org).

This organization provides no-cost photography (and other donation services) for NICU, Hospice, Military Deployment and other groups to whom professional portrait photography may be out of the question.

There is no charge for these services and I personally gift the parents with a Session Album containing the 5x7s from their session, a CD of images and a DVD slideshow.

If you want to help, please visit the site and see what you can do! Every little bit we can each do everyday to improve someone's life is worth more than anything you can possibly imagine.

Since I just was accepted, I have no images to share here, but can share this little guy from the Ronald McDonald House work that I do...what a pistol! Love ya, Iz.!

Boston

My hubby and I went to Boston in July (before the dreaded back injury). Since we returned, I have been trying to get to some of the stuff I shot. I have only managed 3 or 4 images...

Here they are:

Acorn Street in Beacon Hill (very famous street, saw it on a postcard, even)


Doorway in Beacon Hill (can you tell I liked the neighborhood?)


Fanueil Hall (used to be historic, now a mall, lol)

MY Sept 22 Seminar

I know a lot of photographers read my blog (and I'm flattered, thank you!). So I thought I would post that I am hosting a seminar on Friday, Sept 22, 2006. Its filled up already, but you can always email me to be on the list for another.

Its going to be really cool, we will find out what kind of teacher I am , I guess.

We are doing a newborn studio session (with 3 yr old brother, too!), an outdoor 10 month old baby (I hope, B.....can I borrow E?) and then in the afternoon, a VERY cool 20 year old has agreed to be my "high school senior" model. She looks 17, so it will be perfect.

I'll be sure to post some photographic "evidence" of what we did after the date!

For now, a shot from my wanderings on the plaza yesterday...

Rain Boots

My own 2 year old wears his rain boots everywhere...people just smile and smile whenever he is out with me wearing them. I suggested to a Mom recently that if her 2 yr old has some, to bring them to the session.

Needless to say, a 2 yr old without rain boots would be a sad sight! He didnt want to take them off, which was OK with me!

2 Seconds

Anyone who spends more than 5 minutes talking with me about photography (my fave subject right after my family) has probably heard me say that I think good photography is mostly an illusion. A play on a moment which was captured on film but “created” in the photographer’s mind in the seconds before the shutter clicked. It is how I personally view my photography. And I have recently been thinking about those seconds. You know the ones I just mentioned? In those few seconds, I make the image in my mind, for those few seconds, its perfect, its real, its alive, and in an instant, its gone. Did I get it? Yeah, sometimes I do. And that is perfect.

Over the last couple of years, I have tried my hand at a lot of photography. I started with only natural light, outdoors mostly. And I liked that. Then I did some indoor natural light (boy that was trickier). Then I invested in studio lighting and learned (still learning!) about that, so I did that for a while. I even rented some studio space and became a “studio” photographer. And I liked that. Then I moved back to natural light, mostly outdoors. And I still really like that.

I also tried a lot of different styles to my work. I have tried candid, posed, posed but candid, and just confused myself. I have been back and forth and up and down and have come to the conclusion that I like a lot of things. That makes me a good photographer (although a hard person to pin down on the answer as to what I like best).

As much as I like it all, I know what I LOVE. That is maternity photography, newborn photography, baby photography and child photography. It is one or two kids only so that I can concentrate on those seconds instead of trying to corral all the kids and parents into the shot. It is NOT traditional, NOT posed, NOT grouped, that’s NOT me. I like to connect with the kids, and up until about age 5 (or when they go off to school), I really can do that. I love singing the Mickey Mouse Hot Dog song, and talking about my favorite Princesses. I love mud fights and Thomas the Train. I love baby drool and how a 6 month old falls sideways when he reaches for my pull toy ducks and Mom or Dad catch him and he cracks up. I love squishy newborns with their little hair swirlies. I love having a beautiful pregnant woman tell me “I didn’t know I looked that good”. Well, you do!

So, since that is my LOVE, that is what I have decided to do. Live in those seconds, grab those times, create my illusions, if only for a couple seconds. The moment is gone as soon as I blink, so I have to grab it.

I want my current clients, my future clients, my friends and my family to know that I will always do my best for them, and by focusing exclusively on maternity, newborn, babies and children up to school age (yes, this means no large sibling group shots and no family work), I will be able to give to them what I create in my mind in those seconds. Before I blink, I’ll create my illusion, and create your portraits. And they will be perfect.

I can’t wait to start my new journey….from this moment forward, I will be starting down a road that has taken me almost three years to come back to. I know I will miss out on some of your portraits now, but your families and children will always be in my heart, and in my soul.

~Susan

I've Got a New Attitude

I am in the process of transitioning my portraiture, and have found some willing Moms who share my vision (or just trust me) and have been lending me their kids for my new stuff. I would ultimately like to get away from the little-Mary-in-the-park-type work and into a more hip, trendy, and artistic field. So, basically I am announcing my *new* attitude. I will be suggesting some new places, trying new things and probably making some of you wonder if I'm losing it...but just look at the real images I can achieve when I truly LOVE what I am doing. I think you will agree, the location doesnt matter, its all the attitude....do you have it?

Color My World

So I rarely like color, as anyone who knows my work will tell you. But, sometimes a shot just SCREAMS color, and for this little guy, this one was it! He is one of my favorite clients, I just love him and his parents are fabulously cool (hey, anyone who listens to the same music that I do has GOT to be cool).

Little Gap hat baby...