Guest blogger Giovanni Savino writes:

After binging for several hours in the photo-technological kaleidoscope of the PDN PhotoPlus Expo at the Javits Centre I was starting to feel a bit dizzy.  So I decided to head home to digest the great quantity of new gizmos I had the opportunity to admire, and to reflect on several evolutionary aspects of the business of photography I kept seeing all day long, while bouncing with the crowds, not being able to find the concentration to accurately analyze them.

On my way to the exit, I stopped at a small booth where, unexpectedly, I had a conversation that truly inspired me, while simply, humbly reiterating one of the main reasons I have been so passionate about photography all my life.
At that small booth I discovered a non-profit organization called MAGIC HOUR FOUNDATION. They are seeking support from photographers who want to give something back in name of reciprocal human cohesion and compassion.

MAGIC HOUR FOUNDATION plans to offer free portrait sessions, via a network of local professionals to terminally ill patients and to their families.

As we all know, one of the main reasons behind taking a photograph is to create a mnemonic repository. Photographs are often the only trace left of things and people that are no more. So it made perfect sense to me to hear about their project of preserving, through photography, the last memories, perhaps the last few moments of joy of loved ones who we know are not going to be with us much longer.

It was a deep moment of reflection for me; their sobering and emotional idea caught me by surprise and reconnected me with my own family losses, while inspiring me to offer my services to this noble enterprise.

MAGIC HOUR FOUNDATION was a truly remarkable project I came across at a time and in a place where I least expected it, as it usually happens with all the really strong stuff in life.