Meet the Photographer - Anne Geddes' Meningoccal Campaign

Long before I was lucky enough to work with some talented photographers taking amazing images of newborns in my hats, I had seen and loved Anne Geddes' work with babies.  

She recently began a project featuring survivors of Meningococcal disease and having seen some of the images I just had to share them with you.

The campaign will see Anne partner with meningococcal disease support groups from around the world, photographing 10–15 families across three continents who have experienced the impact of meningococcal disease.   The pictures will be published on 24th April which is World Meningitis Awareness Day. 

The aim is to educate parents about the threat of meningococcal disease and the importance of prevention and vaccinations.  

At the same time the stunning images celebrate the survivors and honour those who have lost their lives to the disease.

Anne hopes the campaign will inspire parents to do what they can to protect their children against this terrible disease.

“You just need to look at one of these children and you’ll understand the impact of this devastating disease. I’ve never met a parent who doesn’t want to protect their child, and as a mother it really would be your worst nightmare to see your child go through such an ordeal. We need to empower parents to understand meningococcal disease, to and know their options to help protect their children.It is my goal that these images will capture the inspiration and strength of these survivors, and at the same time I want their own parents to look at the images and think their children have never looked so beautiful.”
To learn more:  http://protectingourtomorrows.tumblr.com  and www.comomeningitis.org

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Meet the Photographer - Karen Wiltshire

I'm ashamed to admit that although I've known about Karen Wiltshire for some time because she's based in Poole, Dorset, I'm sorry to say our paths didn't cross much.  However, following her successful nomination for Baby Photographer of the Year in the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers, it's no surprise that she's been in the press recently with her amazing images of new-born babies.  

The images suggest that it may be easy to capture babies looking so tranquil but Karen has an amazing knack for getting them to sleep including soothing them to sleep by stroking their eyelids. She has also been credited with using the sound of a hairdryer as babies are used to the sound from mums drying their hair.  But admits that this was a throwaway comment and she wishes it were that simple.  

However it is true that she is often handed meaningful props by parents including guitars, footballs and tennis rackets for their babies to pose with.  It's difficult to imagine where they found a racket this tiny though.

Although Karen had been photographing for several years it was only recently that she turned to newborn photography, she has already been rewarded with some prestigious gold and silver awards for her efforts. 

Not so long ago she was attending workshops to hone the specialist skills required for newborn photography but now she helps to run them.  If you check out her Facebook page, you'll be able to find out more.

You can also see more of her work on her website www.kw-photography.co.uk

And if you want to see some of our other favourite photographers, check out our website 

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