Victor and I met five years ago through odd circumstances and became friends while living one thousand miles apart. It’s amazing how commonality can draw certain people together. Since that point, I’ve photographed Victor almost every year since, and almost always marking a significant point in his life. (My favorite time was actually a significant point in MY life, while on my Intimate America road trip).
Most recently, Victor quit his rewarding job to pursue risk takers & world changers for a year and a half. The first image is my favorite and sums up his departure from normalcy to an unwritten tomorrow. These are Victor’s words on The Leap Year Project:
I began sharing the idea of Leap Year Project (LYP) with people and asking them, what would you do if YOU could take a risk to make something better? Their responses were incredible. They ranged from things they would do to better their family, their vocation, a certain cause, group of people, etc. When a friend mentioned that 2012 is actually a leapyear, I began to wonder how — and if – there was a way to invite people around the globe to actually take their own risk to make something better, share what they are learning, and tell their stories.
So, I have left a job I loved to learn and take my own risk (the-prop.org) but this project is not about what I have done, am doing, or even will do. People have taken far greater risks for good, and there are people who will come up with more amazing risks than I can even imagine. I simply hope that this year creates the space for you to take your risk—small or large, short or long. I hope that LYP becomes a part of how you tell your story, motivate others, and—more than anything—change your life for the better.
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Check out LeapYearProject.org.
Check out Victor asking Sean Astin about his leap.
