Photo Corners headlinesarchivemikepasini.com


A   S C R A P B O O K   O F   S O L U T I O N S   F O R   T H E   P H O T O G R A P H E R

Enhancing the enjoyment of taking pictures with news that matters, features that entertain and images that delight. Published frequently.

Stephen DiRado Awarded 2018 Bob & Diane Fund Grant Share This on LinkedIn   Share This on Google   Tweet This   Forward This

3 December 2018

The Bob & Diane Fund has announced Stephen DiRado has been awarded its $5,000 grant for 2018 for his decades long work With Dad. With 58 submissions from 18 countries the contest was judged by a jury of photojournalism professionals, all of who expressed unanimous high praise for the awardee's work.

slide show

"The work brings softness, dignity, respect and tenderness to people living with Alzheimer's. Stephen is very conscious of the string that ties all the images together," says Chip Somodevilla, senior photographer, Getty Images News.

Alzheimer's disease affects more than five million Americans, killing more people than Breast and Prostate Cancers combined. In DiRado's home state of Massachusetts, 130,000 people over the age of 65 are living with Alzheimer's while 337,000 family caregivers are bearing the burden of the disease. On average, Alzheimer's caregivers in Massachusetts provide 384 million hours of unpaid care.

DiRado took over 3,000 images with an 8x10 view camera starting in 2004 when he began visiting his father Gene Wednesday evenings, Friday mornings and Sunday afternoons. His father passed away in 2009.

He plans to use the grant money to publish a book of the images, which he first began sharing on Facebook. "One hundred years from now," he said, "I want this to be a book that tells you what Alzheimer's was like."

"The visual stories of patients and caregivers can humanize what is, in fact, a very cruel and dehumanizing disease," says Fund Founder and Executive Director Gina Martin, whose mother, Diane, succumbed to Alzheimer's after a five-year battle. "My hope is that the work funded today and in the future will have a profound and lasting effect on people, persuading them to support and advocate for a cure."

Stephen's work With Dad can be seen at the Washington Post and featured on the Fund's site.

Making the Fight Against Alzheimer's Disease A Focal Point: Visual Storytelling Grant to Promote Awareness of the Global Epidemic for Third Year in a Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Bob & Diane Fund, a grant-making organization dedicated to promoting awareness of Alzheimer's and dementia-related diseases, is awarding $5,000 to Worcester, Mass., photographer Stephen DiRado for his decades long work With Dad.

Alzheimer's disease affects more than five million Americans, killing more people than Breast and Prostate Cancers combined. In DiRado's home state of Massachusetts, 130,000 people over the age of 65 are living with Alzheimer's while 337,000 family caregivers are bearing the burden of the disease. On average, Alzheimer's caregivers in Massachusetts provide 384 million hours of unpaid care.

Today's announcement attempts to bring awareness, interest and support for funding research efforts by awarding a photographer whose work tells the stories of patients with dignity and respect.

The Bob & Diane Fund, which launched in June 2016, is the passion project of Gina Martin, whose mother, Diane, succumbed to Alzheimer's after a five-year battle. Diane's high school sweetheart and husband for almost 50 years, Bob, was her primary caregiver and died just 3 months later. Their legacy of generosity and compassion for others was what inspired Gina to create the Fund in their names.

"The visual stories of patients and caregivers can humanize what is, in fact, a very cruel and dehumanizing disease," says Gina. "My hope is that the work funded today and in the future will have a profound and lasting effect on people, persuading them to support and advocate for a cure."

Stephen's work With Dad will be presented in the Washington Post and featured on http://www.bobanddianefund.org.

High Praise

With 58 submissions from 18 countries the contest was judged by a jury of esteemed photojournalism professionals, all of who expressed unanimous high praise for the awardee's work.

"Stephen's story is like a slow drip of time, where we can see both aging and time pass. He has a consistent visual voice and style," says Sarah Leen, director of photography, National Geographic Magazine.

"The work brings softness, dignity, respect and tenderness to people living with Alzheimer's. Stephen is very conscious of the string that ties all the images together," says Chip Somodevilla, senior photographer, Getty Images News.

Keith Jenkins, Director of Digital Content, NPR, "[I] like how the photographer brings us along on the journey and that we see life, not just an illness."


BackBack to Photo Corners