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Since the beginning of this school year, Josette Duran has kept an unusual morning routine at the request of her son, Dylan. Every day, she packs him a lunch of two sandwiches, two bags of chips, two drinks, and two servings of fruit. At first, Duran thought her son had perhaps hit another growth spurt and needed double the fuel. She finally asked him if he was getting enough to eat and received a surprising answer about why Dylan needed the extra food. “It’s for this boy. He only eats a fruit cup for lunch,” Duran shared her son’s response in an inspiring Facebook post. “Can you make him lunch too? I don’t think he has lunch money.”

It turned out that Dylan had befriended a classmate whose family really needed the help. The boy’s single mother had recently lost her job and could no longer afford to buy school lunches. After learning this, Duran was even more eager to help out the boy and his mother because she herself could empathize with their situation. “This hits home to me because a few years ago, me and my son were homeless,” Duran told KOAT News. ”I was living in my car and I was washing him in bathrooms. And we didn’t have food.” Now that they had overcome their hardship and were in a stable place, Duran wanted nothing more than to reach out and help others in need.

When the young boy’s mother learned of Duran’s generosity, she called her up and offered to pay her back for everything, but Duran couldn’t accept it. “I don’t think I did anything special,” Duran said in a live Facebook video. ”I just think I did what a human being is supposed to do.”

The kindness and compassion doesn’t stop there. The efforts made by Duran, who is also the coach of the local school’s girls volleyball team, didn’t go unnoticed by her players. Her team raised $400 to give to Coach Duran to cover the cost of all the extra lunches she had made out of her own pocket. But Duran refused to keep the cash, and instead, donated it to the cafeteria at her son’s school. The money was enough to pay back the past due accounts of all students who buy school lunch. “Now everyone can eat,” Duran said, proud that it all started with her 11-year-old son’s close observation of someone other than himself—someone he knew could use a helping hand and a PB&J made with lots of love.

Josette Duran: Facebook
via [Bright Side]

Keen photographers have the ability to elevate the ordinary into stunning imagery and photographer Loes Heerink has done just that with her series about the street vendors of Hanoi. Waking up at 4 am, the vendors—often female migrant workers—pack their bicycles to the brim with fresh flowers and fruit, walking miles throughout the course of the day to peddle their wares. Heerink lived in Vietnam for many years and became fascinated with these street vendors, so much so that she sought to capture their beauty in a unique way.

Stationing herself on different bridges around Hanoi, Heerink patiently waited for vendors to pass, capturing these colorfully symmetrical photographs as they unknowingly moved below the bridge. The work takes patience. “I once spent five hours in a location with no shots,” Heerink explains on her new Kickstarter campaign. “This project started my fascination for the women carrying their goods. They have no clue how beautiful their bicycles are, no idea they create little pieces of art every day.”

Heerink’s dream is to expand the project to 100 images and publish a book to celebrate the beauty of these hardworking street vendors. Through Kickstarter, Heerink hopes to raise funds for a return trip to Vietnam, where she will interview workers and finish shooting the images necessary to then complete the publication. Heerink isn’t aiming to make money from the project, but to simply publish the series in order to fulfill a dream and spread the beauty that these vendors unknowingly embody. 

Loes Heerink: Website | Kickstarter
via [Bored Panda]

All images via Loes Heerink.

Call it magic, call it science…whatever you call the comfort that a dog can bring to a human, it’s real. The ability dogs have to bring peace, security, and love to humans is what makes them able to be professional service animals. One child in particular made an unlikely and incredible bond with a dog last week that brought tears to his mother’s eyes. 

Shanna Niehaus is the mother of Kai, a 5-year-old boy who severely suffers from autism. For several years, she has worked tirelessly to help him find children his age to connect with. Her biggest desire is to see her boy find a friend who loves him as truly and kindly as she does. Niehaus had heard of an organization in Ohio called 4 Paws For Ability, which specializes in “enrich[ing] the lives of children with disabilities by the training and placement of quality, task trained service dogs to provide increased independence for the children and assistance to their families.” Last Tuesday, Kai met his autism assistance dog, Tornado—his first friend—for the first time.

In a teary, heartfelt Facebook post, Niehaus shared the many emotions that rushed through her as she saw her son cuddle with another being in a way she had never seen before. “This picture captures the face of a mother who saw her child, who she can’t hug, wash, dress, snuggle and touch freely lay on his new Service dog of his own free will, with a purposeful unspoken attachment. This is the face of a mom who has seen her son experience countless failed social interactions on the playground in an attempt to have a friend. Any friend. Any kind of connection. She has sat with her son while he has cried at night for months because he has no consistent connections outside of the family no matter how hard he tries and no matter what he works hard on in his Autism therapies. It doesn’t transfer to the natural occurring world for him. And now she is sitting behind her son silently watching this moment, with the air sucked from her lungs, and no words to say.”

The Niehaus family lives in Japan and had to travel across the globe to meet Tornado. But for Shanna, it was all worthwhile to see her child happy and at peace with himself for once in his life. “It’s worth every fight for services for my son, every diagnosis, every new provider, every dollar spent, every paper filled out, every school meeting, every shed tear, every step forward, every step back, and every wonder of the unknown future,” she wrote. “Somehow because of this – because of Tornado – I know everything will be okay.” 

The happy union of Kai and Tornado and their first moments together were captured on video:

4 Paws For Ability: Website | Facebook | Twitter
via [The Dodo]

All images via 4 Paws For Ability.

Growing up with an old copy of Grimm’s Fairytales next to her bed, German photographer Laura Zalenga has always had creative stories inside of her—they were just waiting to find the right medium for expression. When Laura stumbled upon photography, she instantly fell in love and began teaching herself how to use her camera. The device was a way to release the emotions she was feeling and create compelling visual stories.

Inspired by the very book she kept by her bed, Laura set out to show a unique perspective on stories so recognizable that even a small detail reveals the inspiration. In her series, Grimm Compact, she uses minimalism in each photo, embracing those little recognizable details as a way to bring her audience in and let them decide which story was used as influence.

We were grateful to catch up with Laura for a Behind The Lens look into her series. Scroll down to read our exclusive interview. 

Can you tell us a bit about your journey into photography?

It’s actually hard to track down where my interest in photography came from. A few people around me took photos but I think the main reason I started creating was the stories and emotions inside me that I wanted express. Nothing ever felt right till I tried photography. Ever since I fell madly in love, it changed the way I see literally everything around me and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

What are some of your interests?

Besides photography I am very passionate about supporting animal rights. Last year I raised $1,000 by shaving my head and donating the proceeds to Animals Equality. I also try to attend their street actions. In general I try to raise awareness for how cruel the meat and dairy industry are and how easily all of us can change our eating habits.

Where do you call home?

Wherever I travel or live—even the most paradisaical places—never change a thing about me calling that small town in the south of Germany home. It’s where I grew up. My roots, my childhood-memories, and who I am today is based on this beautiful place.

You created a series inspired by the Brother Grimm’s fairy tales, can you tell us a bit about this project?

Growing up with that massive old Brother Grimms fairy tale book next to my bed, I fell in love with the characters in these little stories. I knew I wanted to make a photo series based on them but realized there were already so many photos out there in the world inspired by the same stories. So after I took some time to consider abandoning the idea, I thought about giving it a new twist and really reducing it to the very minimum that people would need to see to recognize which photo coincided with which fairy tale. It’s not my typical visual aesthetic, but I loved how people would spend time standing in front of these photos in exhibitions and talk to each other about the inspiration. I dream of these photos bringing them back to their childhood.

Your photos are often self-portraits, how do you get the perfect shot?

It’s a (sometimes frustrating) process of doing it again and again. Of course with practice it gets a lot quicker over the years. By now I only need two or three shots to get it right. To focus, I still use the old trick of putting something in the exact place I will be standing, preferably where my face will be in the end. I guess it’s always a compromise. When you use yourself as a model to tell your stories, you are very independent and you know immediately what you want. But some angles suffer and getting the final shot isn’t as easy as it is when you are taking photos of others.

From conceptualizing to post processes, how much planning goes into a shoot?

Most of the time I enjoy having only a vague idea. I love the element of spontaneity being part of the final work. Sometimes it’s only a place that I have in mind, sometimes it’s a mood, or a certain light. Then I create something around it while shooting—sometimes even while editing. With the Grimm series of course I knew what I wanted in the frame. This series lives from clear planning on the details.

How do you light the photos? Do you use artificial or natural light?

I love natural light. Early morning, foggy light is simply the best. It’s soft and not artificial at all. I admire people who shoot in bright sunlight but for me most often I shoot when the light is soft and even.

Do you have a favorite shooting location?

I probably overused it already but there is a wall in the hallway in front of my room in my parent’s house. It’s grey and has an awesome texture and the glass-roof above creates a wonderful light on it. Other than that I will probably never be able to resist foggy landscape.

How would you define the style of this series?

Reduction to the minimum. Focusing on key elements.

What challenges have you faced while creating?

Wondering which scenes people would recognize! Plus a lot of things I never thought about before: Where to get a golden ball? Where to get fake-blood? How to bite off an apple “beautifully?” Where to find a wall that looks like an old tower and my model can still lay above it and hang her head down. People passing by definitely thought we were crazy—just as much as when I was taking photos in the forest with pieces of bread laying behind my feet.

What’s a must have in your gear bag?

Tripod and remote control. And a lot of old fabrics—does that could as gear?

How much post processing goes into a completed photo?

Some years ago it was a lot. Nowadays it gets less and less. Most of the time I only add some contrast and do some color corrections. Though from time to time, I still love to create something in Photoshop that simply wouldn’t be possible in real life. It gives me the chance to bring things to life that otherwise would only live in my imagination.

What are your plans for the future? Do you have any upcoming projects?

My main future plan hasn’t changed in a while: finding a way to live on what I love doing while not losing that passion and staying true to myself—which is probably the one thing most artists struggle with, right? My favorite upcoming project is about the beauty of old people. I feel like our society makes us think that beauty is limited to very young people and that wrinkles are the one thing to avoid. But if you look at the faces of old people it’s one of the most magical things.

Do you have any advice for aspiring photographers?

Stop doubting so much. Experiment. Be honest and kind—also to those who can not help you with your career. Stay true to yourself. Allow yourself to be vulnerable and real instead of trying to look perfect.

Thank you so much Laura! If you would like to see more of this creative photographer’s work, check out her website!

Are you a photographer? Would you like to be interviewed for the Behind The Len series? Leave your links in the comments below!

As his wedding day quickly approached, excited groom-to-be Matt Brocone wanted to surprise his fiancée with an extra special—and even magical—gift. Inspired by their joint love of Harry Potter, he decided to conjure up a homemade present straight out of Hogwarts: his wife’s very own Pensieve, an enchanted bowl that displays bottled-up memories at the wave of a magic wand. Rather than Snape’s subconscious or images of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, however, Brocone wanted to fill his wife’s Pensieve with written reminders of their relationship’s most special moments.

Brocone’s reimagined version of the magical instrument required an abundant amount of time and effort. Foregoing a store-bought bowl for one thoughtfully crafted by hand, he enrolled in eight hours worth of pottery lessons. The final product—which he molded, painted, and glazed himself—is even lovingly inscribed with a heart bearing the couple’s initials.

With the mystical receptacle ready to go, Brocone then set to work on the memories, which he transcribed on shimmering scrolls and stuffed into adorable miniature cork bottles. The happy recollections could be retrieved with a perfect Etsy find: a personalized magic wand. Brocone customized both the wand and the bottles with tiny magnets so that his wife-to-be could summon the memories the Dumbledore way.

Once completed, Brocone wrapped the spellbinding gift in a parcel cleverly marked “Owl Post” and topped it with a little stuffed Hedwig. His wife, of course, was over the moon when she opened the precious present. And, thanks to a cigar box full of empty bottles and blank scrolls for “extra memories,” the magic will never run out.

Matt Brocone: Twitter
via [Bored Panda]

All images via Matt Brocone.

Australian street artist Rone has torn himself away from the bigger, better, higher philosophy of modern day muralism for a new, intimate project that explores the fragility of beauty in crumbling interiors. Based in Melbourne, the artist, whose popularity has skyrocketed in recent years, returned home after a series of international large-scale murals and found himself thinking introspectively about concepts of abandoned space, aesthetics, and memory. The result is a pared-back, emotionally naked series of portraits titled Empty.

Rone, whose given name is Tyrone Wright, is celebrated for his portraits of glamorous women, yet here he pushes himself to dig a level deeper. Freed from the pressure of having to satisfy an entire community with oversized public pieces, these abandoned interiors allow the artist to evoke intimate emotions—as though these women have always been a part of the space and perhaps hold its secrets. Rone is sensitive to the idea that these spaces, once full of life, are now memorialized with what’s been left behind. “Painting beautiful works in places of neglect try and highlight what may have been lost or perhaps what we’re trying to hold on to,” Rone reveals. “Every empty space poses the same question—what was there before there was nothing? The story of each space is told through what’s left behind.”

The peeling paint, falling tiles, and rusted ironwork are reflected in Rone’s introspective women, as they either cast their melancholy glances across the decaying space or gaze down, as though trying to deny the ruin surrounding them. The pieces seem as though they are charcoal drawings etched into the space over time, showcasing Rone’s masterful brushwork.

The full series of photographs, along with new works on canvas, formed part of Rone’s Empty exhibition, which was fittingly enough staged in an abandoned space—the former Star Lyric Theater in Melbourne. This art nouveau theater is scheduled for demolition shortly, creating a perfect synergy with the project. The show ran for just ten days, closing October 23, with over 1,000 visitors on the opening night alone. The artist is currently preparing a virtual reality tour of the entire project, which will allow us to immerse ourselves in these forgotten spaces.

Rone’s Empty exhibition included works on canvas in addition to photographic prints, as well as a mural painted in the Star Lyric Theater in Melbourne.

Rone’s mural in the Star Lyric Theater was painted to blend in with the original theater frescoes. As the frescoes had been covered, the artist sandblasted the wall to reveal the original artwork and then selected paint colors for his work that would match.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McnY7I_Z3po?rel=0&w=750&h=422]

Video by Chris Matthews

Rone: Website | Instagram
via [Design You Trust, Street Art News]

All images via Rone.

Canadian design studio +tongtong recently transformed a three-story Victorian house in Toronto by incorporating contemporary schemes while retaining its traditional elements. According to the firm, “This challenge was met with an emphasis on natural materials and light.” The reconstruction added a large triangular window to the top floor, dark zinc cladding along the exterior, and an interior light well that provides abundant natural illumination throughout the house.

The brilliant redesign was inspired by rural living and the original date of the home, as well as the use of industrial materials throughout both the interior and exterior. Inside, a vertical shaft brings light from large skylights down 3 stories, illuminating the ground floor while animating a zinc wall and ceiling above the kitchen.

The front yard includes a walkway and a retaining wall, along with a landscaped berm to serve as a layer of privacy between the street and the residence. Creatively constructed, the outdoor space is used for play and includes theater-style seating. The rear facade was entirely modernized with a massive awning that covers a wooden terrace and a large elm tree to help shade the house.

Throughout the interior, palettes of grey, silver, white, and black are intermixed with occasional pops of vibrant color. A large triangular window on the top floor—whose shape is amplified by clean white lines—provides expansive views of the neighborhood and the city skyline in the distance.

The open and bright modern home was awarded Interior Design’s 2015 Best of Year (BOY) Awards in the Small House category. +tongtong was started in 2012 by John Tong and the firm has designed many homes in the Toronto area, bringing their “sense of possibility and a passion for developing spaces that nurture and inspire creativity.”

+tongtong: Website | Facebook 
via [Contemporist, Dezeen]

All images via +tongtong and Lisa Petrole.