Bisharat Photography Blog - 916.974.0664 » Volunteer Photography

Favorite Photo Friday {Sacramento Volunteer Photography}

Brenda — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 14:12:59 +0000

This is a quick post of our Favorite Photo this week. I had a great week this week, started off the week Monday helping a little with the grand kids, followed by back to school night at St Francis HS on Tuesday. Wednesday was our first session of kids for our upcoming project with St. Johns Shelter for Women and Children. We are excited to be a part of their calendar fund raising project. (more info on this later). We had fun photographing our first group of kids with lots of chaos and laughter. The kids are ranging in age from newborn to two years old. A big thank you to Koukla Kids Boutique who was there to style the children and provide the adorable clothing, as well as Rachelle from St. John’s lending an extra hand. We can hardly wait to see the final calendar and are hoping the sale of it will bring a little extra something to the women and children.

Here is one of my favorite photos from Wednesdays session.

Off to a full day today, including an Annie and Isabel Hospital Gown session with a new Mom (L-O-V-E)

Have a great weekend!

BloodSource Bus {Sacramento Volunteer Photography}

Brenda — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 00:46:01 +0000

Many of my friends and family know how passionate I am about the volunteer work I do and what it means to me. Well, if you have not read about my work with the Kott family there are several posts in archive on my blog/blogs about them. Here is a link to their website and some additional links to some of my blog posts (one), (two), (three) if you are interested in researching their story further. Without going into great depth about what a blessing the Kott family is to me and what they have been through, I just wanted to say how at times I am just in awe of life.

As I was watching the 4th of July parade pass down Fair Oaks Blvd yesterday in the thick of the crowd, with 100+ degree heat beating off of the asphalt and sweat dripping down my back I looked up to see this beautiful site.

The Bloodsource bus with Trevor’s photograph driving by with his warm, innocent, captivating eyes, and his ever so adorable happy smile.

It seems like yesterday that I took that photograph. Doesn’t that just give you the chills? That beautiful little face on the side of the Bloodsource bus. I believe there is a reason for everything and if this bus doesn’t make you want to go out and get swabbed or give blood what will?

Thank you, my little angel Trevor for the subtle reminders you bring to me at the most opportune times of how amazing my life is. I’m so happy to know you!

FAVORITE photo FRIDAY {Sacramento Outdoor Family Portraits}

Brenda — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 06:47:15 +0000

Thanks for checking in. We are excited about our new blogging venture here on Fridays. We have decided to work on doing a regular post every Friday.

“FAVORITE photo FRIDAY” is born.

Our idea is that every Friday either Kristene or myself will pick a favorite photo from the week and make a brief (well not so much this one :0) post about why that photograph was picked. Our hope is that we will be able to show an array of fun, beautiful and sometimes funny images with a little personal story behind each favorite. We hope you enjoy our FAVORITE photo FRIDAY postings and will visit often to see a bit of why we love what we do so much!

Let us know what you think by commenting at the end of the post and thanks again for your visit!

I had big plans for this new Friday Fun….and I’m coming in with this first favorite image a little late, however I think you will still love reading about and meeting my friends the beautiful and amazingly strong, “Drennan Family”.

This is a bit of a long story although I’m going to shorten it quite a bit; I would have to write a book to tell you the complete story of the Drennan family’s journey thus far. If you are reading this post you probably know that over several years now I have been involved with and area coordinate for NILMDTS organization. Sometimes, we get calls from hospitals, sometimes from nurses and sometimes from friends. The call to do some volunteer photography for this family came to me from a friend…

Caitlyn Dona Drennan was born August 25, 2010 at 8:51am at Barton Hospital in South Lake Tahoe, California. Caitlyn was immediately flown to Sutter Memorial Hospital NICU in Sacramento, California after Doctors discovered some abnormalities in her abdomen. Caitlyn (Mom-Jen is holding her) was diagnosed with stage 4 Neuroblastoma, which is the most common type of cancer in newborns. Caitlyn had a tumor in her abdomen that was affecting her liver, spleen, spine, and other abdominal organs. As I said I can’t begin to tell you their story and the journey they have been on since Caitlyn’s birth, I can however tell you that as of the day after this photograph was taken:

Then Drennan family was happy to make this post on their CaringBridge site:

Today was the best day, though. Caitlyn had her Broviac catheter removed from her chest!! It is literally the first time in her life that she doesn’t have something hanging off or coming out of her. It feels amazing and wonderful to pick her up and squeeze her and not worry about the catheter. Both days and both procedures went very well and as usual, Caitlyn was a rock star. Yesterday, in the ACU(Ambulatory Care Unit) where we check in and wait for her procedure, the nurses were so excited to see her and couldn’t believe how big she had gotten and how happy and silly she was. She has been there many times before for many of her scans and all of her ABR’s so they have seen her grow and thrive. The Child Life team had her crib all set up with tons of toys and distractions and Caitlyn was on fire!! She was full of giggles, smiles, squeals, and growls. She had the whole unit wrapped around her little finger. And today, on the 5th floor where they do outpatient procedures, it was the same thing. Caitlyn has had many a transfusion on that floor so again, the nurses were excited to see her and they realized full well why she was there. End of therapy Broviac removal because she is CANCER-FREE!!! They were just beside themselves with joy and happiness for Caitlyn and our family. There were many hugs and a few happy tears by the time we left.

I have been very blessed to be called by this family on a few occasions to come and photograph their little Caitlyn. There was no possibility of doing that without including her brother {Caitlyn’s favorite person ever} Cameron. What a special friendship I was able to develop with them and I am so grateful to have them in my life.

Here is the reason I chose the above photograph for my very first absolute “Favorite photo Friday” image: When I had my first experience with the Drennan Family, Cameron was shy and apprehensive, totally held back in the smiling department and barely engaged with me. I have to admit I really feel I have a talent when it comes to engaging with children so it was a little alarming to me that I couldn’t win him over. This week I was excited to meet up with the Drennan family for Caitlyn’s 9 month photographs at a park here in Sacramento before the family moved back to Lake Tahoe. I could not get enough of little Cameron this session and I’m happy to say he could not get enough of me! In the above photo he literally is running to me to give me a big hug. It is unusual for me to take a photograph where I am involved in the emotion of the photograph. Usually, I am capturing the emotion of the people over there. When I look at this photograph I can feel the emotion of Cameron and I hugging. It will literally be in my heart forever!

There are so many other amazing things about that day that I would love to share, however I will limit my sharing to more photographs that I took of this wonderful family!

We already have a plan for Caitlyn’s 1 year…..looks like I will be going to Tahoe! YEEPEEE!

Plates Graduates {Sacramento St. Johns Shelter Photography}

Brenda — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 22:37:40 +0000

Recently I had the pleasure of attending and photographing a fantastic event at Plates Café and Catering! Eight hard working women were recognized as having graduated and were honored with a special framed certificate. There were several highlights that evening. Tina Macuha of Good Day Sacramento was the master of ceremony and was very entertaining with her witty since of humor. (BTW, she and Ju have a new blog check it out!) The Mulvaney family has been very supportive of the restaurant and has worked endless hours helping with so many of the tasks at Plates as well as the training of the women there. The restaurant will now be hosting on the first Thursday of every month a special guest chef. Patrick Mulvaney of Mulvaney’s B&L was the guest chef that evening and let me tell you, the food was beyond amazing. Each guest chef will offer a special menu on those Thursday’s and the dinner is served family style. What a great idea for taking the family out, you can have dinner together and support St. Johns!

St. Johns Shelter for Women and Children has some wonderful community support, several events I have photographed for the Shelter I have seen Congresswoman Matsui offering her time. She is simply an angel and has such a big heart when it comes to supporting this cause and helping these Women, Children, Plates Cafe and St. Johns. Here is a video she recently published honoring Bobbin Mulvaney as her Point of Light, sharing about the Mulvaney’s involvement at Plates and a little about one of the graduates.

I am always very moved by the stories of these women and the hardships they overcome. This was a joyful celebration!

Thank you…

St. Johns Shelter for Women and Children and Plates Cafe and Catering

for a heartwarming evening and a nice full tummy!

Pietra’s Celebration of Life

Brenda — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 05:25:35 +0000

I wasn’t going to post about today, but I was just so moved it only seemed appropriate to say a few words. My day started as usual, up at 4:30AM to the gym and home getting the family breakfast/lunch before making my way to my office. I’m so fortunate that all I need to do is walk out the back a 100 yards or so and am there. Feeling solemn and a little sad about Pietra’s 1:00 memorial service, something kept reminding me that Pietra such a happy and positive person would have wanted me to celebrate her. Driving to meet my good friends Angela and Bob and their girls Lauren and Kendall I was looking forward to seeing all of Pietra’s Village of Hope Friends, Families and Community. Ruby Roxanne (Pietra’s BFF) did an amazing job reflecting on what a wonderful mother, friend, daughter and wife Pietra was. The Green Valley Community Church was decorated so beautifully and the volunteers there were more than generous, having Kleenex on the chairs, helping people be seated, ushering in and out and providing lots of wonderful food for all.

There were many highlights of the day, here are a few that really moved me….

Lauren, (Trevor’s sister) really wanted to get up and speak. She walked up on stage and talked in front of everyone about how Pietra inspired her to like art. Pietra taught art after school and Lauren loved having art with her. She then said in a very quite voice Pietra can you give my brother Trevor a kiss up there in heaven? Wow…..out of the mouth of babes!

After the service friends and families were invited to write a message on a balloon and then all were invited out to the front in the soft drizzle of rain to release their balloons. It was an amazing sight to watch everyone send their own message up to the heavens for Peetie.

Ruby spoke about the trip that their families took to Tahoe around New Years. She mentioned that Pietra enjoyed the trip SO VERY much. She said it was as if Pietra was seeing the snow for the very first time and as they hiked they had to stop at every little tree branch, every little icicle and make snow angels.

It was amazing to see it snowing like crazy right there in Placerville today when we were leaving her celebration, having said our goodbyes.

I can’t help but think that was a little bit of Peetie’s doing!

So many moments that took my breath away, I’m honored to have been a little part of such a wonderful persons life!

Prayers for the Duffy Family {Volunteer Photography}

Brenda — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 00:18:42 +0000

I received a call from my very good friend Angela {Trevor’s Mom} about a year ago. She asked if I would do her a favor, which is sort of funny because she knows that I would do anything for her. My response was just that. She said her good friend Pietra had just been diagnosed with Lung Cancer {Pietra did not smoke} and she would really like to offer her some family portraits done by me. Of course I said I would be more than happy to do so and we arranged a day and a location to get together. I have to say I was not expecting such a fun afternoon. We met in Folsom at the Power House, Angela brought {Spencer’s favorite lunch} Chipotle and we all chowed down before getting on to the playful business of taking photographs. We hiked around the grounds for a couple of hours enjoying that fresh winter afternoon and I was in amazement how happy and full of love the whole family was. We concluded the session at the ice cream parlor, as a special treat and I felt blessed that I was invited to stay and share this intimate, special time together with the Duffy Family.

Click here to view a short version of the portrait session we had that day.

When I called Pietra to let her know her session was ready for viewing, I will never forget what she said to me. I had a bit of a cold when we had done the session and was a bit concerned about getting to close to her since she was going to be starting her treatments. I knew it would not be good for her to get sick. Anyway, when I spoke to her, she went on and on about how concerned she was about me and if I was OK and was my cold OK? That is the person Pietra was, always concerned for others and so generous with her love and positive attitude.

Friends gathered around Pietra and the Duffy family immediately to help and organized an amazing Spaghetti Dinner Fund Raiser. I was honored to attend the evening and document some very fun moments brought together by such a loving community of people. The generous raffle donations from family, friends and the community were literally never ending and I think all the children were asleep by the time the raffle ended.

Recently, on a visit to the hospital Ruby, Pietra’s best friend took an Annie and Isabel gown to her. It doesn’t surprise me that Pietra remained steadfast in the mind set that she was going to be able to kick this cancer and still had a big smile on her face while snuggling with Ruby and taking this photograph.

Sadly, Pietra lost her battle to cancer a few days ago and she is dearly missed by her family and her many, many friends. My heart is very heavy however somehow I feel lucky to have been one of the many to have been touched by Pietra a very special angel. Please keep the Duffy family, Shawn, Spencer, Savannah and Heidi {their dog, who Pietra adored} in your prayers. On behalf of the Duffy family Angela kindly set up a donation page on her blog to collect funds for the Duffy family. If you would like to contribute to the Duffy family you can visit this link.

Happy Anniversary St John’s {Sacramento Volunteer Photography}

Brenda — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 20:34:11 +0000

Last week I had the pleasure of documenting the 25th Anniversary of St John’s Shelter and the Grand Opening of Plates Cafe and Catering. It was a grand event, which included some very respected Sacramento men and women speaking about why they support St John’s and why the programs at the Shelter are so highly effective. There was also a lot of buzz about how wonderful the food, service and atmosphere was that afternoon at Plates Cafe. The chefs and the many women on staff made sure everyone had plenty of tasty food and little desserts to sample, as well as cool beverages. Many of the guests had not yet been to Plates and I heard several people mention that they would be holding all their future lunch meetings at Plates Cafe. If you get a chance please frequent Plates for your breakfast and or lunch Monday through Friday. Again, you will not only be eating some delicious food, but you will be contributing to women learning some new job skills and helping them take care of their families.

Wow..Another Giveaway! {Sacramento Volunteer Photography}

Brenda — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 21:33:25 +0000

Two Free Tickets:

St. John’s Shelter 25th Anniversary and Plates Grand Opening

If you subscribe or read our blog from time to time you probably know I cannot say enough wonderful things about St. John’s Shelter Program for Women and Children and what they do for the women and children in our community. When I talk in public about this organization, I hear from many people what satisfaction they get by volunteering their time at St. John’s and or bringing much needed items to St. John’s Shelter. You can always find a list of what they need or want by checking out their wish list, and they even have an Amazon wish list for convenience. Every story I hear from volunteers of the Shelter is like music to my ears! I have been fortunate enough to see first hand some of the Women with crushing stories turned into some of the most amazing successes through the love and commitment of St. John’s Shelter.

Last week we had great fun running a contest to win a dozen free cupcakes from Esther’s Cupcakes. This week we thought it would be a good idea to continue the fun and run another giveaway, this one to benefit, St. John’s 25th Anniversary and Plates Cafe and Catering’s Grand Opening! Plates has been open for a little while now, and they have been perfecting their menu, service, training and facility and are ready to “show it off”!

If you are interested in attending the Anniversary Party and Plates Grand Opening for free, (tickets are $25.00 each), please follow the directions here and you may be the lucky winner of 2 Free Tickets, that is a $50.00 Value!

1) Leave a comment on our Blog as to how you might like to help St. John’s Shelter

2) Go to the Plates Facebook Page and “Like”

3) Go to the St. John’s Shelter Facebook Page and “Like”

That’s It…..

We will choose the winner on Wednesday Morning…again, the Grand Opening is Thursday at 4:30 PM at Plates Cafe!

Here are the directions to Plates Cafe…Look forward to seeing you there!

"Plates"

Plates Grand Opening {Sacramento Volunteer Photography}

Brenda — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 05:24:11 +0000

St John’s Shelter for Women and Children recently opened Plates, a lovely cafe and catering restaurant. I’m very excited to be documenting their upcoming Grand Opening Party in addition to St. John’s 25th Anniversary Celebration. The event is being held at Plates Cafe on September 9th from 4:30 to 6:30 PM and tickets are only $25.00! Plates is located inside Depot Park at 14 Business Park Way, Bldg 149, Sacramento, Ca. 95828. Plates serves breakfast and lunch and also has a meeting room that can accommodate groups up to 80 people. I have had the pleasure of eating at Plates on a few occasions and personally really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.

You can purchase tickets to the event here or you can fill out this form You may also stop by and visit Plates and buy your tickets there! Don’t miss out, this is going to be a fabulous time, I can hardly wait to get the pictures up on our blog!

Read more about Plates on the Twin Soup Blog

You can also follow the specials and happenings of Plates Cafe and Catering by liking their facebook page here

Plates Cafe and Catering Grand Opening

Plates entrance to cafe

Cooks in Training

Cooking it up

Great dishes served at Plates

Hot, Hot, Hot

Brenda — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 22:28:53 +0000

It was a HOT night last night at 33rd Street Bistro and M.E. boutique! If you were unable to attend the hot party, the photographs will give you an idea as to how much fun was had by all who attended the First Annual HOT MOM’s COOL KID’s fashion show and wine tasting event! Great wine was served and some very hot Mom models styled by, Sister|Brother and hair and make up by Firefly Salon modeled the beautiful boutique clothing. The kids were dressed by the number one children’s clothing store, Koukla Kids and many other businesses donated very generous prizes for an awesome raffle. All proceeds will benefit the SacKids Museum. The museum is just days away from breaking ground to start the official building of the new museum. It was an honor to help with this event and bring the community together to donate toward this wonderful project.

If you are interested in donating, contributing or wish to get on the Sacramento Children’s Museum mailing list click here!

If you want to take advantage of the coupons offered by the sponsors click here!

If you would like to see more photographs from this event Click Here!