Grandma becomes Temp Mom; Creativity Finds Another Gear

 

Grandson is eager to show off his
newly-developed one-on-one skills

          Earlier in the summer, we worked on a story with Raising Arizona Kids Magazine talking about Kinship Care as a fostering option.

          Grandma, Kelly Ray jumped right in when her kiddos needed her with a great mix of stability, discipline, love and fun.

           On this day while they play in the courtyard of the apartment complex she challenges the grandson to a little one on one.

          Then she spreads out a blanket on the grass in front of her apartment and breaks out the coloring books. The kids swarm to join her in some coloring before homework time.

          As the sun begins to wane, it's time to join her at the table for homework, and when the kids get a bit rambunctious, a little study break for a game that involved some energy-burning jumping, all before dinner.

          Photographing kids who are in foster care, even if related to their care-giver , always involves obscuring the kids' identities. It's a challenge for a photojournalist whose work largely depends upon the emotional expressions that spread across peoples' faces. 

          When in a story you're not able to show faces, your creativity kicks into another gear as you try to make photographs that tell the story and are visually interesting, if not intriguing, without fully showing faces.

Coloring on the grass

Math homework

Homework time

Jumpy-jump, a little energy burn

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