Cancer Survivors: Calendar Shots for Gilda's Club
Photos by Bruce Giffin • Story by Sandra J. Wilson

Photographer Bruce Giffin, dressed in his basic workday casual clothes, walked out chest-high into the cold lapping lake with his camera held close to his face. He was positioned to get that au naturel shot of Debra, one of his calendar girl subjects. Would the light be right? Would she still have the courage? Would she go ahead without her wig?

He didn’t have time to go fetch his waders. He had to act now – so he did. He successfully froze the slice of time he – after 20 years of shooting people – intuitively knew he wanted to capture. Debra smiles through sun- squinted eyes set in a round face. Her full hands are confidently wrapped around a long black paddle. She sits tall and snugly in the one-seater, skin-on-wood khaki kayak she built herself. She is ready to dip the paddle in and pull through the restless water. It is a photo of a confident adventurer. She could very well be selected as Ms. August. Story continues...
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