Our first issue in 2009 of the Hearing Loss Magazine (published by the Hearing Loss Association of America) was delivered to member mailboxes about a week ago. Reflecting back on 2008, our focus in the magazine was to include some members of a younger generation that are affected (but thriving despite it) by hearing loss. These cover subjects are in the links below. To view the pdf links, click on the gray-colored link, then on the same link again in the next window. The pdf should begin to download and open automatically. The other links (in red) are direct links to my previous posts.
January/February 2008: Yew Choong Cheong was our cover subject in an article by Bill Nevin, director of communications for the West Virginia University Foundation. Cheong is a 28-year-old West Virginia University graduate student and one of just four recipients for the 2007 International Young Soloists Awards given by Very Special Arts (VSA arts). The award earned him an invitation to perform at the Kennedy Center, along with a $5,000 scholarship to further pursue his studies in music. All the images for this feature were provided by Greg Ellis, WVU Photographic Service. Read Bill Nevin’s article here: yewchoongcheung.
March/April 2008: Our March/April cover featured HLAA member Mike Royer, his wife Alicia, and friend Sue Cummings in a Walk4Hearing event. Want to learn more about Walk4Hearing? Read a recap on the event written by HLAA past president Anne Pope here: walk4hearing
In this same issue Mike wrote a personal story about growing up with a hearing loss and finally getting a cochlear implant. In June I photographed Mike and his family in my studio (photos posted here and here), and then Mike asked me to photograph their third child, Ashley, coming into the world this past September (see that posting here). What an honor to do so! Read Mike’s article here: mikeroyer
May/June 2008: One of my top most-visited blog posts to date (with 555 total hits!) was our May/June cover girl, Abbie Cranmer. The final cover made its debut here in that posting. I discovered Abbie’s wonderful blog last year and knew we just had to feature her. She came all the way from New Jersey for her photo session in my studio, bringing her cousin from Maryland to serve as my trusty assistant. They were both such fun to photograph. See the results of that photo session here. Abbie has quite a fan base—that post alone garnered 307 visits to date! Check out Abbie’s blog about her cochlear implant journey here and download her first published article: http://www.cindydyer.com/BionicWoman.pdf
July/August 2008: Our fourth issue in 2008 featured Virginia-native Alexa Vasiliadis, an 18-year-old dancer who wears a hearing aid. I photographed Alexa’s performance in The Nutcracker in December 2007. It was my first time to see a live performance of The Nutcracker. See those photographs here. I photographed Alexa again in the dance studio here and here. I posted our cover shot posted here. A very thoughtful Alexa and her mother, Lynne, sent yummy homemade baklava (Alexa made it using her late grandmother’s recipe) and Panera Bread gifts card to Barbara and me. These “thank you” gifts were unexpected and much appreciated! Read editor Barbara Kelley’s interview with Alexa and see my accompanying photos here: alexafeature
September/October 2008: This issue featured Harvard senior Patrick Holkins, whom I photographed earlier this fall. Click here for an August posting where I asked viewers to vote on which cover photo they preferred. The votes were tallied and the cover that won the most votes is posted here. Patrick interned with HLAA this summer, and with the association’s support, he created and launched HearingLossNation, a non-profit online community designed specifically for hard of hearing individuals between the ages of 18 and 35. Patrick is also the moderator for the online forum. Sign up to participate here. Read Barbara’s feature interview with Patrick, accompanied by my photos, here: patrickfeature1
November/December 2008: Our final issue of the year featured Washington Redskins player Reed Doughty. I photographed Reed in August at Redskins Park and that posting, along with photos from the session, can be found here. Barbara’s feature interview with Reed, including some of my photos, can be found here: reedfeature
ON ANOTHER NOTE: HLAA Convention 2009 will be held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, June 18-21. Vinton Cerf, Ph.D., vice president and chief Internet evangelist for Google and widely known as the “Father of the Internet,” will deliver the Keynote Speech at the Opening Session. Learn more about Convention 2009 on the HLAA website here. HLAA also celebrates its 30th birthday this year! (I designed this fun little birthday logo for the event.)
AND FINALLY: I photographed Brenda Battat (Executive Director) and Nancy Macklin (Director of Events & Operations) of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) in my studio in October. The images below are from their photo sessions.
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