pediatric housecalls Robert R. Jarrett M.D. M.B.A. FAAP

Protecting Our Tomorrows: Geddes Portraits of Meningitis

In my youth Ansel Adams was the world’s most renowned photographer. The whole world knew and loved his breathtaking landscapes and his conservationist agenda. Today it seems there isn’t a person who hasn’t seen and wondered about Anne Geddes’ startlingly-endearing photographs of newborn infants in egg crates, and lettuce leaves.

Meet Mackenzie Cooper from Sydney, Australia who contracted meningitis when he was 3 years old. Anne photographed him and his family when he was 10. He’s now 11 (2015). If there is difficulty viewing the content from youTube, the original can be found here.

Like Ansel Adams, Anne Geddes also has a humanitarian bent and has completed 12 photographs memorializing “survivors” of the disease meningitis – Neisseria Meningitidis to be exact. The disease exacts a terrible toll on its victims but can largely be prevented with an immunization. Her excerpt about the entire project can be viewed here.

There is also a Tumblr portfolio of the entire project and photographs – all 12 of them can be viewed here.