STICKY DOORKNOBS: Blogging For Fair Havens: Midland photo blogger commits to 24 hour event, July 26-27

   Twenty years and a few cameras ago, J.P. Hearn was a photography intern with the Midland Reporter-Telegram. Although the Midland High graduate never became a working photojournalist, Hearn spent time as a portrait photographer and ultimately evolved into an "artistic street photographer" who relies on angles and lighting to enhance the photos he captures for his local BleuChocolate.com web blog. And thankfully, he has a kind and giving heart with a penchant for worthy charitable causes.
   Hearn will join me in staying up all night with hopes of raising $10,000 for Midland Fair Havens in this year's 24-hour fund-raiser, "Blogging For Fair Havens," July 26-27. Last year, generous people from across the state (and country) helped bring in $7,000 for the transitional housing facility for women and their children. The event begins at 7 a.m. Saturday, July 26, on the H-E-B parking lot and closes 24 hours later.
   Hearn's blogging must be done close to his house for photographic production and computer reasons but he promises to stop by the H-E-B parking lot frequently to take some photos and post them on his photo blog for the round-the-clock blogging effort.
   "Not only is there the charitable part of this, but the challenge to plan all the photos for 24 hours is really cool," Hearn said.
   Hearn said when the 24 hours of photo-blogging is over, he plans to publish the photos he took during the event in a book, giving it to one of the prize winners that registers and donates during the "blogathon." If he finds there is an additional market for the book, he says he will sell the books and donate the profits, after expenses, to Fair Havens.
   A graduate of the Cordon Bleu School in Austin, Hearn is a chef and is in the process of opening a mobile eatery in Midland in the coming weeks. He will soon drive to Miami to finalize plans for the franchise opportunity.
   There was another time during his working career that driving figured prominently in his responsibilities. As a portrtait photographer for a company hired by Wal-Mart, Hearn once had to drive from Kilgore to Tucson, Ariz. -- a 1,200 mile stretch of road -- in 24 hours, to be there in time to begin taking portraits when the Wal-Mart opened. When he left Tucson after that week's assignment, he had to drive 900 miles in another single day to "the middle of Colorado" for his next assignment.
   Despite all his driving, loyalty and effort, Hearn recalls that he was fired from the company for not dancing.
   "They had a big company conference in Dallas and I'd been sick and not feeling well," he explained. "They tried to get everyone to get up and dance at this particular session, to give everybody an attitude adjustment, and I didn't want to because I didn't feel well. One of the officials of the company came over to me and told me since I wasn't participating, I could just leave. And they fired me."
   Hearn has been married to wife Beverly for 14 years. When the couple said, 'I do,' Hearn inherited four sons, and jokes -- in all seriousness -- that he has been a grandfather since he was 26.
   Although many of his 24-hour photographs will be taken outdoors, Hearn says he will also shoot in miniature several tiny items he has collected over the years. It is a method of shooting he says that he was inspired to attempt after seeing the work of a Canadian photographer who captured a series of miniature bees on film.
    "I have some railroad figurines, a miniature B-24 bomber, things like that," he said. "I'd like to do some flower shots, and when the sun comes up on Saturday morning have that be my first shot. I'll be at the H-E-B parking lot some during the event, but chances are there won't be too many people to photograph at 3 in the morning."
   I'll be there, too, along with the post-party goers who line up in the Whataburger drive thru after the local nightclubs close down. Reason enough to stay up all day and all night to see what goes on there in the wee hours.

   "BLOGGING FOR FAIR HAVENS" OR "BLOGATHON?": When we did this last year, it was called Blogathon and the efforts put forth through MyWestTexas.com raised some $7,000, which represented the largest amount raised during Blogathon out of more than 325 bloggers around the world. The people in charge of Blogathon are not organizing the event this year. We asked if we could continue to use the name Blogathon for this year's event but our emails went unanswered. Never fear, though, "Blogging for Midland Fair Havens" is the same event for us here in West Texas, and we'll reveal where and how you can donate to this very worthwhile cause in the very near future.
   Blogging for Fair Havens: All Day. All Night. All Good.
   7 a.m., July 26-7 a.m., July 27. H-E-B Parking Lot.