Weekend Wisdom, Stacy Pearsall and the Veterans Portrait Project

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Last year Bryan Caporicci and Rob Nowell had an idea for a new podcast series. They wanted to call it "Saturdays with Skip", but I felt it sounded too much like the movie "Tuesdays with Morrie" and I'm not that old yet. LOL So, we settled on Weekend Wisdom. To date, there are now twenty podcasts in the series and each one has been unique with amazing information and insight shared by some of the industry's leading artists, educators, and writers. 

In all honesty, I had no idea how much fun these would be to do.  Or, for that matter, how much I'd learn in the process. This new episode with Stacy Pearsall, expands on the topic of personal projects with a very special twist, giving back to something in which you believe.

Stacy is an artist, educator, writer and award-winning combat photographer. She first entered combat as a photographer in Iraq in 2003 and spent 280 days covering humanitarian relief missions and Special Forces operations. Her images have been used by the President, Secretary of Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff to make informed decisions in the battle space.  She served as a military photographer in the United States Air Force until injuries lead to her medical discharge.  

I first met Stacy when she spoke at Skip's Summer School in 2010. Her presentation, including her images and her ability to share her story brought the audience to a standing ovation. Now, she's focused on a project to give back to a very special community, the members of the military. The background on this project says it all:

"Some are smiling. Others gaze at a distant point. All are veterans. The Veterans Portrait Project (VPP) began while Stacy Pearsall recovered from combat injuries sustained in Iraq. Spending hours in VA waiting rooms surrounded by veterans from every generation and branch of service, Pearsall was compelled to honor and thank them in the only way she knows how, photography. The Veterans Portrait Project totals 3,000 veterans and grows daily."

Click on any image below to find out how you can help Stacy with the Veterans Portrait Project. And while you're looking at her images listen to a remarkable podcast by one of our industry's most committed artists!