flip! (daniel hall, age 9. washington dc.)

i've been admiring this great photo that's on the wall behind my desk here at this temp job of mine... it's a black and white shot of a little boy doing a back flip. of course the photographer captured him at the perfect moment--with his back in a perfect arch, about 1 foot off the ground.

i love it.

unlike the rest of the (amazing) artwork here, the photo is unidentified. this particular photo was signed by daniel hall--in a youthful cursive that suggested to me that daniel hall was the subject of the photo. the flip-per.

but i couldn't find anything online to confirm who the photographer was--i googled, i getty-ed, i corbis-ed, i icp-ed, and i moma-ed. nothing.

finally, i asked one of the higher ups here if he knew who the photographer was. (i figured he would, but i stubbornly wanted to find out on my own.)

turns out daniel hall was the photographer and he was about 9 years old when he took the photo of his friend (and it took more than one take, apparently) as part of a program, called shooting back. the program, created by and currently thriving under the direction of jim hubbard, strives to empower homeless children by teaching them photography and encouraging them to document their lives. you can see the photo of the daniel hall's "flip"--and other inspiring photos-- on the shooting back and venice arts sites.

enjoy...spread the word...