Melody Finnemore//June 20, 2012//

June is an especially busy time of year for Sekou Caldwell, a real estate and land-use attorney with Horenstein Law Group in Vancouver, Wash. His practice keeps him hopping, but the bigger push is that it鈥檚 wedding season.
Caldwell is a photography buff who takes wedding pictures and family portraits for low-income families through his nonprofit, Priceless Photography. He established the nonprofit after searching for pro bono opportunities. When none really inspired him, Caldwell decided to give back to the community through his passion for taking photos.
鈥淚 think what drew me to wedding photography was realizing the exorbitant costs and seeing very well-to-do people not be able to afford photography services, let alone low-income families,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t seemed like a great way to give back given my skill set.聽I would be lying if I didn鈥檛 also admit that I enjoy the pressure of only getting one chance to capture an image, and the amazing feeling you get when you do it correctly.鈥
Caldwell also takes photos of landscapes and wildlife during his extensive journeys. Instilled with a love of travel by his parents at an early age, Caldwell already has visited 60 countries on six continents and all 50 U.S. states.
鈥淎s clich茅鈥 as it sounds, traveling is a life-changing experience,鈥 he said. 鈥淰acationing for the sake of relaxation is always fun, but traveling to a new location to learn about new
cultures, different languages and unique ways of life will always bring a larger perspective and often make you appreciate how lucky you are to live in the United States.鈥

Caldwell says he became interested in photography as a kid, when he used to read his parents鈥 National Geographic magazines and dream about seeing some of the world鈥檚 amazing people, places and animals up close.
鈥淲hat I love most about photography is the challenge of capturing a moment in time that sums up an entire trip or a whole wedding,鈥 he said. 鈥淟ately, I love being able to show my dad the places I am fortunate enough to see since he is less able to travel due to illness.鈥
Along with the good memories, Caldwell鈥檚 hobby has generated a few heart-stopping moments as well.聽A tour of the Great Wall in China nearly took a disastrous turn.
鈥淥n my way up, a piece of camera equipment fell from my bag and rolled halfway down a hill of loose rock.聽My guide rushed down to get my gear and unfortunately got stuck trying to get back up the hill.聽I then rushed down to get my guide and also got stuck on the loose rocks,鈥 Caldwell said. 鈥淏y the end, there were four of us stuck on the hill before we were able to link arms and grab a rope thrown from one of our much smarter rescuers who decided not to go down the hill.鈥