Many years ago, about the time I started to care for the dying poor, I decided to carry a small digital camera in my pocket. Occasionally, I would ask a patient if they would be willing to let me take a picture of them. Almost always, they would say yes. At first, I was a little surprised.
Originally, the idea was to have a visual record for me of my patients – so I could remember what they looked like, so I could put a name to a face. I took many single patient portraits over the years. I was amazed that, even when patients are really sick and not looking too good, they would allow me to take their photograph. Often, the family would be in the room, and I would ask them to get into the picture. This is when it became something more.
I would share these photographs with the family, after the patient died. My photographs were usually the last photographs they ever had of their loved one. Families found it very meaningful to have that photograph. By taking these photos, by giving copies to the families, and by looking at them myself, what began as a visual record evolved into something much larger—something with more meaning.
Here is an example. I took this photo of a homeless man in the hospital room during my consultation. He later died of advanced cancer. The second photo is another poor man who allowed me to take his photo while he was sitting on his hospital bed. 
Who knows when either of these men had their photographs taken before I took these pictures but I suspect that both of these photographs are these patients’ last portraits.
I plan to tell you more about the “Portrait” project in the days ahead as we remember our patients and remind ourselves that it is about living, not dying.
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