David says The Scar Project changed his views on life immensely. “We as humans tend to procrastinate doing the things we need to do in life. We put things off, look the other way, surrender to our insecurity and fears. But Mother Nature will always have her way with us…forcing our hand…forcing us to live up to our own true potential. You can choose to live up to it…or die mired in it. This I know for sure, both from my own life and from photographing these women.”

After several years as an edgy fashion photographer, he was personally impacted when a friend in her twenties was diagnosed with breast cancer. What followed was a remarkable collaboration that led to The Scar Project. David’s eye for beauty within, led him to create photographs of more than 100 breast cancer survivors. The exhibition of large-scale portraits travels the world. A book of portraits and autobiographical sketches by each woman, describing her experience with breast cancer, has been created – The Scar Project: Breast Cancer Is Not a Pink Ribbon.

David Jay has been shooting fashion and beauty professionally for over 20 years. His images have appeared in a multitude of international magazines & advertising campaigns. He says he owes a great deal of thanks to his 4th grade teacher, who taught the class to build a “camera” with a shoebox, a pinhole, and some string… and the rest of the story is about a compassionate man who is making a difference in the world through his craft.

Note: Another breathtaking David Jay Photography collection is titled The Unknown Soldier. The Raw images of soldiers who survived war, but left body parts on foreign soil. They have become invisible to us. We just don’t want to know. David wants to change that. Go to http://www.unknownsoldier.org … and don’t look away. – Cheryl