Founded in 2010 by acclaimed photographer Brownie Harris (right) and CastleBranch
CEO Brett Martin (left), the nonprofit organization HeartsApart.org provides soon-to-be-
deployed service members with professional quality photographs of their spouses
and children at no cost. Each service member also receives a weatherproof bifold
card designed specifically to fit inside a uniform pocket to take on a deployment. In
2012, HeartsApart.org was recognized for its hard work, becoming a Joining Forces
Community Challenge Finalist.
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WBM november 2018
“IT’S not just the ser-vice
member who
makes the sacrifice,”
he says. “It’s also the
spouse who takes
over at home and the children who
go long stretches without a parent.”
Eight years after its inception,
the organization’s photographers
are still bringing these sacrifices to
light.
“Showing a service member
with their family makes it personal,”
Harris explains. “The photographs
have really helped humanize war.”
These are not your typical stuffy
photo shoots. Families are encour-aged
to get creative and bring
props.
“I always ask families what they
like to do together and use it as a
starting point,” says Eric Adeleye,
a HeartsApart.org photographer
from Wilmington. “One family liked
to read together. So for part of the
shoot, they all wore pajamas and
gathered around the service mem-ber
while he read a book to every-one.
Every shoot is different. We get
to know each family throughout the
course of the shoot, and they make
each one unique.”
Moving toward the rear of the
studio, you come upon the reverse
side of a photo backdrop. Once
blank, it’s now almost entirely
covered with handwritten notes
and drawings from families thank-ing
HeartsApart.org for positively
impacting their lives.
“It’s astounding how truly appre-ciative
the families are,” Harris says.
“At my first shoot, the wife started
crying. She was so grateful. She
didn’t think anyone cared about the
military anymore.”
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