The Gold hope project
About four months ago, I was approached by and organization called The Gold Hope Project, to photograph a local Montana baby. I had never heard of TGHP before but as soon as I did a little research into their mission, I was proud to have been asked and immediately jumped on board, proud to be a partner photographer to provide a “Hope Session” for this amazing little boy. Meet Ryder. This little man was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a form of cancer that mostly effects the eye. This was all thanks to a friend of the family who was babysitting, took a photo of little Ryder when he was 6-months-old, and knew right away that they needed to seek medical assistance.
They are in the middle of a lot of medical battles, from constant lab work, lots of doctors visits and communication and much travel back and forth to Denver where he is being treated by a specialist. Despite all of these hardships this little warrior (and his family) faces, he was a total joy. He wasn’t too thrilled to be wearing cowboy boots for the session but it wasn’t long before I told his momma to free him from his torment and let him go barefooted. That made him happy. We did a mix of both fine art and traditional photos for Ryder. He got to wear an antique outfit from my client closet that is from the late 1800’s for some of the session. I just wanted to keep shooting him, he was so darned adorable. We literally went until the last possible second when my client had arrived in the parking lot (I’m notorious for doing this bc I never want to stop creating art and will continue until I absolutely have to stop).
If you know of anyone in need of a Hope Session, or are in need for your own family, please reach out to this wonderful not-for-profit agency to get the ball rolling. If you have any questions about what I do, please feel free to email Info@TSGallantPhotography or call (406) 696-6760.
