I met him at the annual wine and chocolate event about a year ago. He was soft-spoken and unassuming.
Lots of people say they want to take photos or write for the newspaper and I welcome them to do so.
There are so many talented folks in Lake County and it”s so great when they contribute to their community newspaper.
It can be challenging to find the time and resources to be a regular contributor and we all understand that around here.
I think it was Woody Allen who said, “90 percent of life is just showing up.”
Right away, Nathan DeHart walked the walk. He volunteered to take photos often. He quickly became an integral and important part of our editorial team.
He showed up.
Nathan made himself available for nearly all of our editorial meetings. He didn”t have to, but he did it anyway.
Back in the old days, they called that “paying your dues.”
If you want to do what you love with your life, you become an apprentice and gratefully accept experience and knowledge as payment. Nathan did that.
His work was highly respected by community members immediately. He has a rare gift when he shoots photos.
Because our humble newsroom is made up of so few people, we are more like family than co-workers, dysfunctional at times, but we care about each other a great deal.
Nathan belongs.
After an editorial board meeting one day, he told me, “I”m so happy to be a part of this. For me it”s like being part of the family. Bam, he gets it.
I am proud to say that he is off to use his tremendous talent and passion for the highest quality of photography to change the world for the better. For the next couple of months he will be telling haunting and meaningful tales through his lens.
On Wednesday Nathan left his hometown of Lakeport to fly to Southeast Asia to document the efforts of nonprofit organizations.
He is working with Silent Images, a photographic nonprofit organization that documents the work of other nonprofit organizations around the world.
He spent the last 18 months building his photography business around Northern California as well as taking photography assignments from the Record-Bee.
He will travel first to Bangkok, Thailand and then to Cambodia to spend a few weeks documenting Agape International, a nonprofit group that works to prevent human trafficking.
He earns no money during his trip. He raised the funds to support himself while abroad.
“I”m there to serve these organizations that are doing really good work and am trying to provide them with methods of sharing their stories and their work.”
That”s one of the traits that I appreciate about Nathan, he does what he does because he loves it. He has a genuine desire to have an impact on the world.
I have no doubt that he will succeed in any venture he undertakes.
We will sure miss him around here. The good news is, he will be keeping in contact with us. We will update the readers on his adventures and epiphanies.
Nathan plans to blog about his experiences at nathandehart.wordpress.com. Anyone interested in seeing his portfolios can visit nathandehartphotography.com.
Carpe diem, Nathan!
Mandy Feder is the Record-Bee managing editor. She can be reached at mandyfeder@yahoo.com or 263-5636 ext. 32.
