Steve and Shannon’s Wedding at Eagle Ridge Country Club in Gilroy. Can’t wait to get a few preview pictures out for them to see… and after trying for three days, our 2 month old has finally given me a window to do some quick editing on a few favorites (but there are many more favs lined up for final touches).

Thanks Steve and Shannon for the wonderful evening. You guys know how to party!

I’m finally getting around to posting these pictures from Tanzania that I took during my Africa trip in March. The Kenya portion was posted here. Having our first baby and moving from Japan to California — all in less than 3 months — took more energy than I could have ever imagined!

I took these photos while documenting Compassion International’s Child Survival program, which is wonderful and effective outreach to marginalized young mothers and their children in Tanzania. This is how it works. Compassion Int. staff, along with community and church leaders, identify the most needy and form them into small groups. They meet at least once a week to receive encouragement, spiritual guidance, livelihood training, and enough nutrient-packed porridge to feed their baby for the week. The latter is actually prepared by the women themselves, by mixing a variety of beans, nuts, and flour and placing them in sacks to be transported to the local mill. By the next meeting, the porridge will have been milled and measured equally among the women. The allotment will provide a hearty meal for either a nursing mother, or if old enough, their baby as well.

The stories of these women were almost more than I could bear to hear. Like the first woman in these pictures. I found out after photographing her at church that only days before her husband was killed in a motorcycle accident. Widowed with such a young child, she’s facing a long and difficult journey in a country not able to provide any form of assistance. Her and the baby desperately needs the mercy and love that Compassion International is providing.

Compassion does amazing work and is by far the most effective organization I’ve seen that breaks the cycle of poverty, one family at a time. No matter your religion, if you’re not doing something about eradicating poverty, God called and said you have to. Really.

Stepping down from the soap box right…. now.

At the age of 19, this woman (above) was widowed just a few days before I took this photo. She’s being helped through Compassion International’s Child Survival Program

Down the trail from Compassion’s Child Survival project site, a young Muslim girl retrieves water for her family before school.

More pictures uploaded here

There’s a crazy challenge some photographers inflict upon themselves called “365″. It’s a picture a day of anything for one year and can be of any subject or theme. It can be random life, like my friend Paul’s 365, or it can be quite specific and collaborative like this one on clouds.  I’ve long resisted doing this simply because it takes time and lugging out the camera gear every day seems like such a chore.  But a funny thing happened to me last week that has given me great motivation to do a 365. We had a baby.

I won’t fill up the blog here with a picture a day, but rather upload a collage every week or so. I hope to put up tips and behind the scenes info for folks to try out with their cameras at home. I’ll occasionally put away my expensive gear and demonstrate how to take pro photos with a $100 point and shoot. Check back and leave a comment on what you think!

While talking to Nathan and Daphna a few months before their wedding, it was obvious they wanted something more than to hire me as their wedding photographer. They wanted a friend first and made me feel like one, even inviting my wife and new born to join their sacred celebration. How sweet is that? These guys are precious people inside and out and it was an honor to capture their most special union.

p.s. They could not have picked a more serene location for their union last weekend. Who knew that just above the U.C. Berkeley campus lies a grove of beautiful redwoods, just across the street from the Botanical Gardens which made for endless portrait possibilities.

Had a blast doing a MYLIFE portrait session with Justin and Kelsey, both from Amador Valley High School. Justin is heading down south for college soon and Kelsey is entering her senior year in the fall. Good luck guys and thanks for the great time in Pleasanton!

We’ll be providing awesome school portraits for all East Bay high schools throughout the summer. It’s time to say no to the corny studio pictures and get your MYLIFE on already! The first 11 people to join the Facebook page will receive a free package upgrade — worth over $110!

Elena claimed her senior status (class of 2011) with a cool set of portraits from around Ruby Ridge in Pleasanton. We found all kinds of cool locations around the golf course and especially at the clubhouse where we found some protection from the wind that was causing significant hair issues. Elena’s MYLIFE website is up now too, a free full screen website that displays all the awesome pictures!

Mention “ELENA’S BLOG POST” when you book your own school portrat photoshoot and receive a $20 print credit!

“Dan Johanson, Welcome Home!” read the huge sign being held by a staff from Compassion International. After a long red-eye flight to Kenya, it was a comfort to have someone waiting for me. And to be welcomed as some kind of long-lost family member was a great feeling, though a bit strange too as I don’t believe I have any African heritage. Nonetheless, the people of Kenya are wonderfully warm and hospitable despite the widespread poverty that most continue to endure.

Working “on-loan” to Compassion was really a wonderful experience on so many levels. First, they are an organization that simply does no better job at demonstrating mercy and love to those born into poverty. With over a million children sponsored, Compassion is one of the bigger groups that provides weekly bible programs as well as meal programs, medical and educational resources. And if a sponsored child achieves certain academic scores, they even have a chance for a full university scholarship. My assignment in Kenya was to document a few of their scholarship recipients (see some profiles below) as well as their Child Survival Program in Tanzania – will post that later. Their stories are truly inspiring and a credit to the hard work of Compassion’s staff and the sponsors that enable the ministry.

Once a sponsored child graduates from high school, they have the opportunity to apply for the Leadership Development Program, which provides a full four-year scholarship to any university. These are some of the LDP students I spent time with at the University of Nairobi.

I was really touched to hear there was an effort last year to provide free portraits for low-income families. Being overseas, I couldn’t participate and now that we’re moving back to S.F. Bay Area next month, I thought I’d search online to see if anything was going on. Well I couldn’t find anything on google. Perhaps someone searching will find this blog and leave a comment. I’m so very willing to help out and if there’s already an organized effort, I’d like to join. If not, then perhaps we’ll have to start our own! Either way, leave a comment if you can help out and share this blog entry on facebook by dragging the image below (hover it and you’ll see). FB seems to magical powers to connect people for these sorts of efforts.

“love is the ultimate app” – david jay, photographer

With Kyrgyzstan in the headlines today, I remembered I had some photos of the last large scale protest when I lived there in 2006. Back then, the U.S. Embassy warden sent out a emergency warning not to go near the rally in the main square. Needless to say, I grabbed my camera and ran as fast as I could.

Hiking the Muir trail in 2007 was the hardest, longest hike I have ever done. My brother and I hiked the lower half, totaling about 100 miles, while while cousins Andy and Zac hiked the entire thing. Plus some side excursions, they totaled over 220 miles of hiking. Both Zac and I ended up hiking in our sandals because our boots caused red-hot blisters. There’s no easy exit off the trail either so we committed to finishing it with climbing Whitney on the last day. My brother Matt, the writer of the family, wrote an article on our trip for Sierra Heritage magazine which is set to publish the piece this summer (2010).