Photographer
"A man never stands as tall as when he kneels to help a child."-- Knights of Pythagoras
Robin Fryday's passion lies in capturing the beauty of children and families with her camera, and using her art to create and inspire change. Robin is West Pacific Regional Director of the Heart Gallery of America, Inc., (territories include Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii and Alaska), and co-founded The Bay Area Heart Gallery (www.bayareaheartgallery.com) in 2005, in an effort to combine her photography skills with the need to find permanent homes and lifelong relationships for children and youth in foster care. Community education is at the core of this traveling photography exhibit. She considers this project amongst her most rewarding work and is committed to combining her art with community service.
Robin teaches the art of photography to youth ages 11 to 16. She uses photography as a way for children and teens to explore their surroundings and open their imaginations. In addition to learning basic photography skills, she encourages self-expression which empowers the students, building confidence, self-esteem and hope. She is the owner and operator of Robin Fryday's School of Photography in Marin County, California, and has received grants from the Marin Arts Council (www.marinarts.org) to teach photography to youth in the low-income Canal area of San Rafael, CA. Robin also taught photography to youth ages 8 to 16 at Camp Discovery (www.campdiscovery.org), a summer camping experience for young people with severe, and often life-threatening, chronic skin conditions.
Robin's dedication and commitment to bettering the lives of children and families inspired her to travel to Peru, India, Bhutan, and Thailand to work with indigenous people. Her skill at capturing the spirit of the child is seen in her photographs of children from these countries and through her travels across Europe and the United States.
The work Robin has done with The Milagro Foundation (www.milagrofoundation.org), founded by Carlos and Deborah Santana, led her to India and the Little Stars School in Varanasi. She worked with the school's founder, Asha Pandey, to raise funds and awareness for the children of this impoverished area. Additionally, she worked with Washington Gibaja Tapia’s Path of the Heart (www.pathoftheheart.org) photographing children in the Peruvian Andes to assist with their fundraising efforts, as well as working with them on project development and fundraising in the United States.
Robin’s artistic journey led her to her current work on an independent documentary film, The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement. This independent documentary film is produced and directed by Robin and award winning filmmaker Gail Dolgin. The documentary brings to life the unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement, who dedicated their lives to the battle for racial equality in America.
Environmental portraiture is Robin's specialty. She studied photography at the College of Marin and UC Berkeley Extension. In addition to her work with The Bay Area Heart Gallery, her 15 years of experience include family portraiture, corporate events, the Bay Area Emmy awards, and both large and small schools.
Robin's fresh and unique approach to photography encourages children and families to have fun and immerse themselves in the photographic session. Her experience and skill in working with diverse populations creates an environment in which she is able to reach the true essence and spirit of the people she is photographing. Her work in the Bay Area captures the unique beauty of the region and is used as a background to enhance the expression of each person's special individuality. She uses only natural light in outdoor settings.
A love of people, combined with her love of photography and commitment to creative change and education results in photographs that not only capture precious moments in time, but will capture your heart forever.