Today would have been Eric Spencer Richenstein’s 44th birthday.
He was taken from us too soon in a tragic accident (July 6, 1982 – March 5, 2020).
We are honoring him with a photo that feels full of meaning: young Eric in the kitchen, smiling, years before he became a chef and someone who loved to cook and feed others. Looking at it now, the image feels like foreshadowing. The joy is already there. The warmth is already there. The instinct to make something and share it with others is already there.
Eric’s Circle of Light was created in his memory.
At Photo Start, it has become both a tribute and a promise. A tribute to Eric’s generosity, kindness, and love of life. A promise that his light can continue to reach young people through education, creativity, and opportunity.
When the world changed, that promise became even more important.
Photo Start had to adapt quickly. Students still needed access to learning, mentorship, and creative tools, even when classrooms and in-person programs were disrupted. Through Eric’s Circle of Light, our focus on hybrid and digital classes helped us persist. It helped us keep showing up for students. It helped us continue to teach photography, storytelling, and life skills across distance.
That shift did more than help us survive a difficult moment. It helped us grow.
Hybrid and digital learning allowed Photo Start to reach students who might otherwise have been left out. Young people continued developing their creative voices, learning how to see their communities, and building confidence through the camera. Across our programs, countless students have been impacted by this work.
They learned that photography is not only about taking pictures. It is about noticing. It is about asking better questions. It is about seeing beauty, complexity, and possibility in the places they know best.
Now we are entering another major shift.
The next generation of students is growing up in a world shaped by artificial intelligence, digital tools, and new forms of creative technology. For young people in under-resourced communities, access to these tools cannot be an afterthought. It has to be part of the opportunity we provide.
Photo Start is advancing into this AI generation with the same purpose that guided our hybrid and digital work: to help students participate, create, and lead.
Photography will remain at the center of our mission. A camera teaches students to observe the world, frame a story, and trust their own point of view. But the creative landscape is expanding. AI-supported tools, digital storytelling, and new learning platforms can help students build skills that matter now and will matter even more in the future.
Eric’s Circle of Light is a natural home for this work.
It began as a way to carry Eric’s memory forward through access, education, and light. It helped Photo Start persist when the world became uncertain. Now it can help us prepare students for what comes next.
Eric loved to cook. Cooking is an act of care. It takes patience, attention, creativity, and the desire to share something with others. That spirit lives in this program. We gather students in. We give them tools. We help them make something of their own.
And then we help that light travel farther.
On Eric’s birthday, we remember the life he lived and the warmth he shared. We also look ahead to the students whose futures can be shaped by the work done in his name.
A young person with a camera can begin to see the world differently.
A young person with access to creative technology can begin to imagine new possibilities.
A young person who feels seen, supported, and equipped can begin to tell a story that changes everything.
That is the light we are carrying forward.
