SickKids: Photographing this special section was a moving experience for Star photographer

SickKids: Photographing this special section was a moving experience for Star photographer My assignment editor first asked me to work on our SickKids special section back in February. Josh was born without the ability to smile. It is a rare privilege to be invited into a person's life, particularly if those people are at their most vulnerable. The children are scared, sore and surrounded by strangers. Yet, time and again, patients, parents and staff allowed me to ask them questions, chat, and finally take their picture or interview them for a video. I agreed to the assignment, of course. Elisa Linton turned 18 on March 31. Turning 18 is a major milestone. Her family had a small and simple party for her at their house. The atmosphere was quite jovial. I wasn't sure how I would react to spending so much time there, now. The first step along the way is to sit down with members of the communications team at the SickKids Foundation. The SickKids team was great at identifying and suggesting ideas for what was happening around the hospital. The most difficult task went to the SickKids team of identifying subjects to go with the stories. It is difficult finding a parent with a potentially terminally ill child who will agree to let us tell their story and take their photo. (Of course, the privacy of the family and the hospital's need to respect it is paramount. I had a camera in my hand with a wide-angle lens and I snapped a quiet frame or two. It was one of those totally uplifting experiences. There is a story behind each story we covered. She was diagnosed with Sanfilippo B Syndrome when she was 4. The condition is progressive and most kids die before the age of 16. After some thought and discussion, a tentative story schedule was arranged. It's very important while taking photos of somebody to make a personal connection with them. I just felt black inside, however. It is a difficult thing taking pictures of such strong emotion. Just a few years ago, my daughter unfortunately spent three weeks at SickKids, and months after as an outpatient. My daughter is fine now, the hospital a distant memory for her. Surgeons were going to perform the first of two operations to correct this. While chatting, a few small tears started rolling down Kevin's face. SickKids: Photographing this special section was a moving experience for Star photographer Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 10/05/2012