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17 January 2010Haiti: A Call to Action by Justin Schuck This weekend President Obama called on us to do whatever we can to raise money and help the people of Haiti in the aftermath of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated the capital city of Port-au-Prince and much of the surrounding area. I now call on my friends to do the same, and join me in this effort and help me organize the first of several service projects in Haiti. In the immediate aftermath of the 2005 gulf coast hurricanes that devastated parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, I launched a similar awareness campaign on JustinSchuck.com. Now I come to you again asking for your help and compassion. As we move forward I will provide additional resources on my dedicated Haiti page. The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund On Saturday, President Clinton and President Bush announced the creation of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund as a central resource to donate money towards the recovery and rebuilding efforts in Haiti. I feel very proud that these two former presidents have taken this call to action. Their presence will lend a unifying credibility to the fundraising effort. The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund will ensure that all funds raised go directly to the organizations and groups that need it the most. We are being asked to send only money at this time so that people on the ground can decide for themselves exactly what they will need to save lives. Please visit their website to learn more: http://www.clintonbushhaitifund.org We've come a long way, baby. Since the 2004 South Asian tsunami and the 2005 gulf coast hurricanes, we have seen great advances in technology and fundraising capabilities. The U.S. State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the American Red Cross used the power of mobile communications to raise an unprecedented amount of money via text messaging. By texting "HAITI" to "90999," users will be charged $10 on their phone bill, the money going directly to relief efforts. The swift action on the part of the government and Red Cross in launching this innovative program made it easy for people to give what they can. In the months to come, I hope we continue to remember to text our donations so that we can provide a sustained stream of revenue for aid. Where do we go from here? Like many I feel restless to help, donations to aid organizations do not ease these tensions. Words eloquent enough to describe the range of emotions I feel for the Haitian people have not found my tongue. I want to be on the ground, getting my hands dirty, clearing rubble, building homes and comforting the impoverished of spirit. It will be several months before we are able to fully understand the scope of this tragedy, but my convictions are simple: I plan to organize, with the help of friends and partners, service projects in Haiti once the immediate crisis calms and the journey of rebuilding a nation begins—as early as this spring if the stars align. I urge you to heed my call to action and join me in helping the people of Haiti. If you are interested in volunteering or contributing in any way to this effort, please email me directly with the subject "HAITI SERVICE PROJECT" to info@justinschuck.com. Haiti Tags To stay up-to-date on the latest from me, use this link to find my blog posts on Haiti. Twitter Hashtags I am asking my friends and followers to use the "#JustinSchuckHaiti" hashtag at the beginning of tweets to provide an easy way to follow the conversation on the web. JUSTIN A. SCHUCK - Since 1980 Subscribe to the RSS feed JustinSchuck.com / Blog / Facebook / Flickr / Twitter LinkedIn / Myspace / YouTube / Vimeo Guerrilla Photo Shoots / JustinSchuck.com/Haiti  Labels: AIDS, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Bush Clinton Haiti Fund, Catholic Relief Services, George W. Bush, Government, Haiti, Justin Schuck, JustinSchuck.com, News, Twitter, USAID, Volunteer, Website 11 October 2009A new website, a new direction Today I am proud to announce that the latest iteration of JustinSchuck.com (ver 6.3) is now online and ready for your happy consumption. With this latest version you will notice the most stark change to the website since Version 1.0: the absence of the Justin Schuck Photography logo. There are now sections for my bio, photography, design, social media and marketing, charity work, and contact information. The JSP logo is also gone from the various social networking websites to reflect a change in the business.  As many of my close friends and a few of my favorite clients know, I have been winding down my business over the last 9 months to allow me to concentrate on my design and marketing projects. The last 18 months have been challenging for the business, and will continue to be so in the near term, but I feel a great sense of pride with the work I have produced. I am working hard to get "caught up" loading content into my Flickr account, as well as tying up as many loose ends as possible. Since 1997 I have had the honor and privilege of working with amazing families, companies and individuals. My work has taken me to New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Athens, Mykonos, Scotland and Dubai. I have been so fortunate that so many people have shared in the experience with me and I look forward to growing in more creative ways going forward. I've taken some time to ask (and answer) some question you may have about the future: What will you do now that you won't be a photographer? I will always be a photographer, just as I will always be a designer. I'm actually really excited that I will have loads more time to focus on my many pet projects that have taken a back seat to my production work. This includes especially my Guerrilla Photo Shoots project. What if I want you and only you to take my photo? Well, I'm not ruling out taking the occasional photo, even for an old client, but in terms of a business, there will be no more Justin Schuck Photography. Anyone wishing to hire me may contact me directly by email. Each inquiry will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Will you shoot my wedding? Absolutely not. No way. No how. Tough toenails. Sorry. Long before I made the decision to shut down Justin Schuck Photography I made a pledge to accept no new wedding clients. I photographed my last wedding on October 3rd 2009 in Boston. So does this mean you're going freelance? No. I have new endeavors and projects in the pipeline that will be my primary focus. What does this mean for Justin Schuck Photography clients? JSP will exist until all outstanding client obligations have been met. This may require additional time to complete certain elements of pre-paid packages. I am working very hard with the limited resources available to accomplish these in a reasonably timely manner under the current circumstances. I have sent emails or letters to my clients recommending photographers whom they can turn to for outstanding imaging services. The four individuals I most recommend are Noah Deveraux (weddings and editorial work; New York-based), Henry Villarama (weddings, commercial, public relations events and individual portraits; Washington DC-based.), Tony Veloz (fashion photography and individual portraits; Washington DC-based) and my friend Michael Dumlao (all of the above except weddings; Washington DC-based). Wait, why are you doing this again? I'm doing this because I love photography so much that I choose to not make work of it. I want to get back to the excitement I used to feel every time I picked up a camera. Some of that has been lost in the last couple of years, not that there haven't been many great moments because there have been great ones. Why is your Facebook fan page still called "Justin Schuck Photography?" Unfortunately Facebook will not let me change the name. The only way to do that would be to make a new fan page and that would take a lot of work. I hope that will be clear. If it turns out that people do not understand the purpose of the page—that is to showcase the photography of Justin Schuck—then I will address that issue if it comes up. What's the status of Justin Schuck and Company, LLC? I will maintain the LLC for the foreseeable future to afford the protection that it provides in all my endeavors. Since I will still be operating JSDS and L/A Events, there is still a place for the company. Soon Justin Schuck Photography will not be a part of the mix. What happens next? We all walk forward. That's all we can do. JUSTIN A. SCHUCK - Since 1980 Subscribe to the RSS feed JustinSchuck.com / Blog / Facebook / Flickr / Twitter LinkedIn / Myspace / YouTube / Vimeo Guerrilla Photo Shoots / L/A Events Labels: Big News, design, Justin Schuck, Justin Schuck + Company, Justin Schuck Photography, JustinSchuck.com, News, Newsworthy, Website, Wedding Subscribe to Posts [Atom] 
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