Author: Sean Sheridan

Sean Sheridan is a photojournalist and author who for the last 16 years has been shooting and writing stories that elevate people and brands. Sheridan has a bachelor of science degree in journalism from the William Allen White School of Journalism at the University of Kansas. His first major work project was to help craft the marketing plan surrounding the launch of Bill Gates’ best-selling book, The Road Ahead and produce the CD-ROM version bound into the book. He also contributed to Gates’ second book, Business @ the Speed of Thought, before joining a private production company to shoot film projects around the world. In July 2002, Sheridan started 4:Minute.Media to tell compelling stories through feature writing, photography, film, and publishing. His work has taken him to nearly 60 countries and has been found in SMITHSONIAN magazine and on the cover of The Washington Times, countless development agencies and gallery exhibitions, Testimony Africa—his book about the terrible beauty of AIDS, genocide, and hunger in Africa—and most recently Wahl STORY, his book about renowned graffiti artist Erik Wahl. Sheridan and his family live in Colorado.
Posted on

Hurricane Matthew

I had just finished speaking at a “Gentlemen’s Gathering” in beautiful Edwards, CO when I got a text from Mercy Corps. “A hurricane is about to hit Haiti–can you get down there?” Ironically, and knowing nothing of the hurricane, I had that very day told a few of the guys that I wasn’t sure if I was going to take a few weeks off (as I’d hoped) or if someone would eventually call me to go shoot somewhere (after all, I make a living by getting on planes!). One answered, jokingly, “all you need is a disaster to hit.” Well…unfortunately for the people of Haiti, that was exactly what happened. And when I got the text, I had my answer. I went home and packed.

The next morning I was off with the first responder team from Mercy Corps, one of the very first people from the outside in to Haiti to see what had actually happened. In the communities of Petit-Riviere-de-Nippes, L’Anse-a-Veau and Petit-Trou-de-Nippes, Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc on rural and coastal communities, blowing over crops, flooding fields and homes, and making life otherwise miserable for many. USA Today picked up some of the photos and ran them both in the print edition and online:

screen-shot-2016-11-01-at-9-24-21-pm

In terms of natural disasters, this one packed plenty of wallop, but thankfully the damage was fairly localized and not nearly as widespread as it could have been. Still, Matthew affected thousands of families in Haiti and beyond. In fact, I am back in Haiti four-weeks after the hurricane, typing this blog post. More photos below:

October 6, 2016 – Haiti. In the Departement d’Sud of Haiti, Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc on rural and coastal communities, blowing over crops, flooding fields and homes, and making life otherwise miserable for many. Taken by Sean Sheridan, accompanying the Mercy Corps “SRGE” team.
October 7, 2016 – Haiti. In the communities of Petit-Riviere-de-Nippes, L’Anse-a-Veau and Petit-Trou-de-Nippes, Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc on rural and coastal communities, blowing over crops, flooding fields and homes, and making life otherwise miserable for many. Mercy Corps staff Amos Montreuil Jean and Jasmine Avgerakis ride and walk to get to where the damage is present for their assesments. Taken by Sean Sheridan, accompanying the Mercy Corps “SRGE” team.
Posted on

Niger 2016

I wasn’t thinking that I’d get sent back to the remote regions of Niger after Mercy Corps sent me there in 2014. But the Mercy Corps work there is doing well, even if Niger itself is still struggling. So I went. Here are a few images from the trip:

Posted on

Convoy of Hope

One of the organizations I’ve been sort of “silently” shooting for by proxy for another client is a group called Convoy of Hope. Above, high in the hills on Mt. Kilimanjaro, a young Tanzanian girl helps prepare a meal at a Convoy orphanage that 60 grateful boys and girls call home after being released from extreme cases of abuse or malnutrition. The orphanage is working hard to implement sustainability initiatives, including animals, a garden, a biofuel system, and other projects to help move them towards complete self-sufficiency. Today, more than 70 million people have been served throughout the world by Convoy of Hope. Below are more photos from Tanzania as well as the Philippines and Kenya.

 

Posted on

Compassion Sunday – The Philippines

Almost a year ago I had the honor of tagging along with the Compassion Sunday production team to the Philippines. We visited some very cool kids and Compassion work in some of the most intriguing places I have ever been, urban dwellings that were so packed tight in a maze of wood and cardboard and the stuff of life that I am still sort of in disbelief at how some of these kind folks survive. The stories we did and the images I shot (see some of the work at the Compassion Sunday site) are now being used to help these children and families find a brighter future. For this I am grateful.

 

Posted on

India 2016

Create leaders, that’s what they do. After all, leaders aren’t born–they’re made. That’s according to Development Associates International, who has made it their mission to do away with the “big man” top-down leadership style (thank God) and train up a multitude of humble leaders. I like that approach. Here is some of their work and the people they touch in the regions of Guwahati and Shillong, India.