Dr. Kathleen Whitbread is an associate professor at the University of St. Joseph, and her area of expertise is Special Education.  For many years she has developed teaching practices for children with disabilities.

She reached out to me in late 2011 regarding a vision for a project.  She was interested in creating a blog advocating literacy for children with Down's Syndrome. She envisioned gathering graduate students, parents and children in a fun/friendly setting of interaction, playing and reading. She would also take the time to meet the children and sit down with them, one on one, for literacy screenings.  I was happy to help her with the photography and the Open Books Open Doors Project began.

For the techy/photography end of things, I was excited to photograph the day with a newly acquired Nikon D700.  Previously I had used a D300s.  Also I had started using the AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 which is an outstanding lens.

 As for the following images, another group of fantastic children and parents gathered at the Cos Cob Library to work with Dr. Whitbread.  It was great to capture more images for inclusion in the blog/project: 

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