August 30, 2026 9:28am

A few things happened with the project this weekend.

Michael Ladd Photography is now openly LGBTQ+ aligned.

That simply means everyone is welcome here. I don't care who you love, how you identify, where you come from, or what kind of camera you carry. This project is about photography, mental health awareness, and giving people an opportunity to experience what photography can bring into their lives.

This project is for people. All people.

There is also a little movement toward the goal of putting working cameras into people's hands.

I reached out to KEH with an idea, and at this point they are entertaining it. I want to be completely transparent about what that means. KEH has not agreed to provide cameras, funding, a partnership, or anything else. They are simply willing to consider the idea and have a conversation.

KEH is under absolutely no obligation to continue. If they decide at any point that this isn't something they can be involved with, that's completely fine. I appreciate that they were willing to listen in the first place.

Rather than summarize what I asked them, here is the actual letter I sent:

I'm reaching out with what I hope is a pretty simple idea.

I started Michael Ladd Photography in July 2026 after photography helped me through an extremely difficult time in my family's life. Getting behind a camera gave me a reason to get out of the house, meet people, and start engaging with the world around me again.

Now I'm trying to turn that experience into something that might help someone else.

My goal is to secure grant funding specifically to put working cameras into the hands of people who may benefit from photography but might not otherwise have access to one.

I'm not asking KEH to donate cameras.

What I'm hoping to do is establish a relationship with a camera supplier so that if I secure the grant funding, that money can be used to purchase older, inexpensive, working digital cameras from KEH. I would then distribute those cameras through the project. They would not be purchased for resale.

I'm not looking for the newest equipment. Quite the opposite. I'm interested in the affordable working cameras that can still give somebody their first real opportunity to pick up a camera and go create something.

I recently approached another used-camera company with this idea, but they weren't able to pursue it. So I'm reaching out to KEH to see if there might be a way to make this work together.

You can see what I'm building, why I'm doing it, and the progress so far at:

michaelladdphotography.com

If this is something KEH would be willing to discuss, I'd be grateful for the opportunity to talk.

Nothing is guaranteed. The grant isn't guaranteed, the cameras aren't guaranteed, and KEH's involvement isn't guaranteed.

But the idea is being heard, and I'll keep working on it.

The goal hasn't changed: get working cameras into the hands of people who might benefit from photography.