My Lens & Me

I’m Back & Psyched!

I’m Back & Psyched!

Pandemics Happen

Pandemics Happen

The Cuban Zest For Life

The Cuban Zest For Life

For angels and survivors. I ask that you not look away. Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Love spoken here.

For angels and survivors. I ask that you not look away. Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Love spoken here.

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lisanalven

Care to swim in the ocean? You’re in a wheelchai

Care to swim in the ocean?
You’re in a wheelchair, no problem.

Talking these photos put me in my happy place. Being that I am not afraid to talk to anybody, and being insanely curious, gave me the opportunity to connect with respect and compassion. I LOVED this. It hit all values I hold dear, Love, Kindness, Empathy, and Service.

Disabled people are 50% more likely to develop secondary conditions without access to exercise. Yet access is next to impossible for many.

Once a month on Miami Beach an army of volunteers enables those with mobility issues an opportunity to float freely in the ocean. Adaptive Beach Days are joyous thanks to one badass C5 quadriplegic, Sabrina Cohen. Thanks to Sabrina over 8000 mobility challenged people from around the world have been able to enjoy the calm, warm, and healing ocean water here in South Florida.

It never ceases to amaze me how people rise up and do remarkable things. Necessity is the mother of invention but it takes hard work and grit. Sabrina is one such person. At 14 she was a swimmer and all-around athlete until a catastrophic car accident changed her life. Now she is changing lots of lives, for the better.

In 2006 she created the Sabrina Cohen Foundation initially to raise funds for spinal cord injury research. Now, her latest campaign will build the nation's first of its kind Adaptive Recreation Center to provide year-round beach access and fitness programs to the disabled community.
YAH!!!!

79 is the new fabulous. Using words to describe

79 is the new fabulous.

Using words to describe my photos fascinates me. The word “Gravitas” may mean seriousness and ultimately the weight of wisdom, but when combined with age, it also gives us the freedom to be ourselves and lighten up. If you have some preconceived notion that women, or men of a certain age “shouldn’t” do such pictures, may I suggest you “lighten up”. One gift of photography is that it helps us dive into the mystery and magic of our bodies, helps us still feel alive at any age, and helps me realize that the photography I offer is not for the approval or pleasure of others, it’s for those who co-create their photography experience with me.

My mother used to say “How did I get so f**king old!” My father, having lived till he was 98 said, “I don’t have a legitimate right to complain” and I’m not sure who called the latter years of life, the “f**k it years”, but this now makes sense to me.

Today I am presenting my sexy, fun, seriously wise friend Ellen. She speaks her truth. She withholds nothing. She never misses an opportunity to be supportive. She hates that I tell her she can be brutally honest. But that’s what I love about her. Over the 13 years that we’ve been friends, she has expressed her missteps as a way too young parent and a perfectly imperfect human. And most importantly, she is committed to becoming a kinder and better version of herself in her swansong years. Especially at this chapter of her journey, #kindnessmatters

My Lens & Me capture how connected and inter-related we all are rather than our seeming differences. We all age. I see it as something to celebrate. Why, at the societal level in the West, do we instead mask it? Why is age shunned?

Ellen and I made a conscious decision not to retouch her images. A little “loving support” retouching is part of my job, but for this post, we felt it important to keep it real. As I said, she is crazy honest.
❤️❤️💃❤️❤️

“Thank you for focusing me on how remarkable he

“Thank you for focusing me on how remarkable he is rather than mourn what he has lost.” Cam’s mom.

This post is about empathy, as Cameron lives it like a calling card. What’s also clear is that he, like most people that I am drawn to, exhibit the values of what I hold dear; Love, Empathy, Kindness, and Service.

We met several times while I was photographing special needs dances.
He has no agenda. The committee in is head is offline. He’s completely present. He’s not trying to impress me. He’s not trying to be wise. He just is.
My husband calls him Forrest Gump.

“I’m the luckiest man in the world.”

“Irony is rich. Almost dying saved my life.” When I asked him what would you like to do to help other people he answered “Anything I can. If I could help someone tie their shoes, I’m happy.” This is why I love him.

Quick backstory. Cameron began using drugs at 14. At 32, his last overdose was devastating. It led to a brain bleed, coma, and a 6 month stay in the hospital. His brain injury left him retrograde amnesia. He lives in a group home. He is intelligent and high functioning and is often with others with way more deficits than he. He is committed to being of service to his friends. His evolution inspires me. He takes full responsibility for his drug use, and wants to reach others with his story. He made lemonade. He is a power of example.

HEADS UP, My new Recovery Boards are forthcoming. Pictured below is one I gave to him to play with. He chose to write; “Love everyone, hate no one. Happiness is an inside job. I don’t have the rite to hate.” What if each day we were to affirm and intend these words?
More to come about my new product in the near future!

Children never cease to amaze me with their resili

Children never cease to amaze me with their resilience, wisdom, and grace. I’ve often wondered if childhood illness is reserved for special souls sent here to teach us how to love, how to be kind, and to show up with empathy and compassion.
Cancer, especially in children, is a big lesson in what matters most. The hard stuff teaches us not to sweat the small stuff.
Kindness and love matter.

Zoey. She’s fantastic. She’s a feisty, bossy, funny, loving, normal 13 year old, except she is in the midst of brutal and experimental trials for stage 4 neuroblastoma.

I invite you to see Zoey as my lens and me see her, for who she is, and not her illness. Please view this images with love, kindness, empathy but not pity. Show up and celebrate love on life’s terms, today and everyday.

Zoey met Madison during their treatments almost 5 years ago. While Maddie was prepping for A Prom to Remember at Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital I witnessed a deep connection. It was strong; I knew I wanted to capture more of it. Despite the age difference, theirs is a beautiful love.

Next, a shout out to Sissy, and every other sibling of a child facing big challenges. The emotional toll on the sibs can be devastating and overlooked. I do my best to honor these children and include them when possible.

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month. Every day in the US 43 children 0-19 will be diagnosed with cancer and 800 worldwide. Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death in children in the US.
Nearly 60% of survivors will experience severe or life threating illness as adults. Despite these facts, childhood cancer research receives

If you want love, be love. Could we be the embodim

If you want love, be love. Could we be the embodiment of a divine love? I hope so.

I’m invigorated, and starting anew, writing about what I hold dear, Love, Kindness, Empathy, and Service.
My mission of “Capturing images of love on life’s terms”, are meant to elicit these values.

Big love is more than romance.
What does it look like? To me, it looks like Marjorie and Jay. For 8½ years he’s been her caregiver, a complicated and intimate affair. Like all love, it has its messy moments.

These images were taken at The Family Café, a conference for people living with disabilities. I am grateful that I chose to say “yes” as the driver of the van. Knowing that “no” is a complete sentence is empowering, but sometimes saying “yes” is better.
Showing up when inconvenienced, and doing it anyway when we are uncomfortable matters, it matters a lot. This too will be a reoccurring theme.

When speaking to them about my intentions, I was moved to tears. That’s usually a good sign that I’m on to something good.

Never underestimate the human spirit, especially of my friend Marjorie.

“We love you. NO BARRIERS. NO JUDGMENT. Rebel Re

“We love you.
NO BARRIERS. NO JUDGMENT. Rebel Recovery & Club
Today is National Overdose Awareness Day. I attended an event hosted by Rebel Recovery. I learned how to administer Narcan, a lifesaving drug that can reverse an opioid overdose when given in time. Their mission to save lives, no matter what moved me deeply.
Bonnie Hodges and Barbara Shafer shared their pain having lost children to addiction. They wanted us to know they were kind, they were loved, and their lives meant something. For many, the stigma of addiction, the shame, keeps them from reaching out or feeling worthy of help.
This story is personal to me. I am no stranger to loss from drugs and alcohol. I have lost family and too many friends to count. And, I have my own story, and but for the grace of God go I.
Whether you or someone you know is suffering from SUD (substance abuse disorder), there is help. The new paradigm of recovery embraces whatever works. This may include mindfulness and different approaches to sobriety other than the 12 steps, although it appears that community remains key to success.
In order to ask for help, we must embrace our vulnerability and know that we have worth. We must try not to judge our loved ones or ourselves too harshly. We must love like the community I met at Rebel Recovery today.
Let’s Human Up, by allowing our empathy, love, and kindness be our guides.
In Gratitude, Lisa
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine is showing up in cocaine, heroin, and medications like Percocet and Oxycodone, and Xanax. Overdoses involving opioids killed nearly 93,000 people in the US in 2020. 2021 is on track to surpass that. Overdoses are occurring across all age ranges, races and ethnicities, and socio-economic backgrounds.

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