Saving Little Hearts is an organization dedicated to helping children with congenital heart defects and their families by providing emotional assistance and educational information primarily through the distribution of Care Packages.

Several weeks ago, Karin Coulter, director of Saving Little Hearts, contacted me about the possibility of photographers donating time to create portraits of Knoxville’s “heart kids.” Through the KNOX PHOTO community, I was able to help spread the word to local photographers — and several, including myself, volunteered time and talent to help the organization.

This past weekend, I was so happy to meet up with my heart kid, Landin. We had to reschedule our photo session a couple of times because of the rain; but, luckily, we were greeted with beautiful weather on Sunday and had a great time playing at Fort Kid and the World’s Fair Park.

Landin, who is only 14 months old, has already been through two open heart surgeries. But you’d never be able to tell from his energy and infectious smile, which are both probably the results of being loved so much by his parents and sweet big sister, Abby. He’s a curious little boy — and it was fun to watch him pick up pebbles around the play area… and attempt to eat them! And he surprised us all towards the end of the shoot when he started to run across the playground to his sister by the swings. Landin may have tiny feet and little legs, but he sure could move fast!

I know I always say this, but I love being a photographer. I’m so thankful to be able to meet wonderful families and children like Landin and Abby, and capture photographs of them as they play together and show their love for one another through smiles and hugs and laughs.

(Check out the slideshow below.)

Landin and Abby 2009 – Images by Lia Ballentine

Congratulations to John Shim, whose winning photograph — Delicate Hands — was submitted to the Worldwide Photo Walk contest!

The toughest part about being the leader of the Downtown Knoxville Photo Walk was choosing which image would go on to represent the group in the big competition. Everyone submitted such awesome photographs to the pool, and it was so difficult to choose just one to submit.

After much deliberating, I picked John’s image. The black and white photo is beautifully composed. The perspective and depth of field is interesting. I like how the soft, bokeh’d background contrasts with the subject’s gritty, clay-covered hands. The moment captured is amazing, too. See the way the artist’s fingers are forming the sculpture (with pinky and index fingers up!)? And the tiniest details, such as the sharp clay knife on the ball of clay and the silly t-shirt graphic… all of those details make this seemingly simple black and white photo so visually complex and full of interest.

So once again, congrats to John — and congrats to all of the photographers who participated in the Photo Walk! Thanks for sharing your creativity with photographers around the globe!

In front of Remedy Coffee on Jackson Avenue -- ready to start walking!

The Worldwide Photo Walk on July 18 was awesome! It was a beautiful day in downtown Knoxville, and it was so amazing to make new friends with great photographers in the area.

We had a wonderful turnout. And in fact, because there were two walks in Knoxville, there must have been a hundred photographers running around the Old City and Market Square. A photog flashmob!

Thanks to Remedy Coffee for being the starting point for the walk. Remedy is the best coffee shop in the area! They even gave out free drink coupons to all of the photo walkers. Thanks to Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria for setting up a pizza buffet for the hungry walkers. And thanks to Express Photo for giving the photogs a special discount on gallery wraps!

Now that the walk is over, there are images all over the place. To see pictures from the Worldwide Photo Walk, you can go to the main event site — or you can check out the Worldwide Photo Walk group on Flickr. Photos from the Downtown Knoxville Photo Walk can be found at the following sites:

• KNOX PHOTO
• Worldwide Photo Walk 2009 – Downtown Knoxville (on Flickr… just created today!)

Also, you can check out the individual photographer’s sites to see photos. Check out the KNOX PHOTO group or KNOX PHOTO Facebook Fan Page to find some of the photographers. I’ve posted my photos on Flickr.

I’m really excited about doing this again next year! Can’t wait.

(And in the meantime, KNOX PHOTO is going to host some mini-walks just to keep the momentum going. Yippee!)

My Reflection

The KNOX PHOTO community continues to grow! There are so many talented artists in the area, and it’s awesome to see them sharing their work and inspiring others through our little social network.

Now, in addition to the Ning site, KNOX PHOTO is on Facebook — and you can be a fan! It’s a great way to stay updated with the latest news and announcements from the group. I’ll be posting great links to photography contests, resources, events, and more. I’ve also got other projects in the works for KNOX PHOTO (coming soon).

Hope you’ll “fan” us soon! (And don’t forget, you can follow KNOX PHOTO on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/knoxphoto.)

This shirt is available through Cafepress, and the coolest part about it is that 100% of all t-shirt sales will benefit Kids with Cameras — a wonderful organization that I first learned about through the documentary “Born Into Brothels.”

Kids with Cameras was founded in 2002 by photographer Zana Briski out of her work teaching photography to children in Calcutta’s red-light district. We believe that photography is an effective tool in igniting children’s imagination and building self-esteem. We believe in the power of art to transform lives, for both the artist and the viewer.

Kids with Cameras is a non-profit organization that teaches the art of photography to marginalized children in communities around the world. We use photography to capture the imaginations of children, to empower them, building confidence, self-esteem and hope. We share their vision and voices with the world through exhibitions, books, websites and film. By linking with local organizations, we work to strengthen the children’s education and general well-being, providing financial support through sales of their prints or by developing our own homes with a focus on leadership and the arts.

I’m really grateful to Bobby for coming up with such a wonderful design for the t-shirt. We’re really proud that the Downtown Knoxville Photo Walk has grown from being a social photography event to a socially conscious photography event.

If you’re interested in purchasing this shirt, visit Bobby’s Cafepress store at http://www.cafepress.com/wwpw2009.

Also, there’s still room for more Photo Walkers! Click here to sign up for the walk.

I created this site with the intention of having a virtual space/gallery for all the participants of the Downtown Knoxville Photo Walk to use. But then I started thinking about how valuable this community could be if I opened it up to every photography lover in Knoxville — so that’s what I did. KNOX PHOTO is now an open network, and it’s meant to bring all our local photographers together, regardless of your level of expertise. If you want to learn and improve, hopefully this can put a novice photog in touch with a pro, who (in turn) would be willing to mentor and provide tips to the newbie photog.

I’m still exploring all of the functionality that the Ning site can bring to this community. And from what I know, there’s so much that can be done. I’ve already enable Flickr importing on the site, so members with Flickr accounts can pull in there latest photos from Flickr to be displayed on KNOX PHOTO. The blog function is up, so members can blog directly on the network — or even use the RSS feature to pull in entries from their personal and professional blogs.

The front page of the site features a “Welcome” from me, which explains the mission of KNOX PHOTO. And below it is a list of photo-related events happening in town. That list will continue to grow, especially as the community grows.

Joining KNOX PHOTO is free! So sign up today! I’m looking forward to watching it grow and hope to see you on there soon!