When I am behind the lens I am pretty focused and locked in. I don’t really feel the emotion of the moment. While high school athletes are celebrating a victory or families are enjoying a community event, I am focused on capturing the moments and often don’t experience them myself.
This year was different.
I felt the uncertainty at grocery stores in March. I sensed the pain of bartenders who would be unemployed in an hour when the Governor’s new order would take effect. I saw the anxiety in the COVID drive-thru lines at the Cleveland Clinic.
I saw protestors brutalized by police (I saw one lose their eye to a rubber bullet, a sight I won’t soon forget), and I saw police officers fearful for their safety.
So much pain, so much emotion, and so much anguish.
I’m a big believer in using photography to document, not create.
Photographers don’t create the moments; we document them.
I wish we could’ve documented a better year, with better moments. However, I still feel strongly that the work of photographers – along with journalists and writers – at the local level is incredibly important, even on the bad days (or bad years).
We don’t give people voices with our work, but we can help amplify them. And by “we” I don’t mean the “professionals” – I mean the people who live and work in these communities. There is no gatekeeper for photography or writing when it comes to covering what’s happening in our own communities.
We experienced these moments together. We can share them with each other. We can document them.
I don’t expect or even encourage you to visit the gallery for 2020. Honestly, I didn’t really like putting it together myself. It’s been a rough year for me personally as well, with the recent loss of my grandmother to COVID. But the photos are there to document the year that we all experienced together in Northeast Ohio.
To celebrate 2021, I am creating a goal for myself to photograph the simple beauty of everyday life. Cliche, I know, but hopefully it will bring some joy back into my photography.
Wishing you all the happiest of new years. I can’t wait to reconnect in 2021.
View: 2020: In Photos
See also: Best of 2019
This year was different.
I felt the uncertainty at grocery stores in March. I sensed the pain of bartenders who would be unemployed in an hour when the Governor’s new order would take effect. I saw the anxiety in the COVID drive-thru lines at the Cleveland Clinic.
I saw protestors brutalized by police (I saw one lose their eye to a rubber bullet, a sight I won’t soon forget), and I saw police officers fearful for their safety.
So much pain, so much emotion, and so much anguish.
I’m a big believer in using photography to document, not create.
Photographers don’t create the moments; we document them.
I wish we could’ve documented a better year, with better moments. However, I still feel strongly that the work of photographers – along with journalists and writers – at the local level is incredibly important, even on the bad days (or bad years).
We don’t give people voices with our work, but we can help amplify them. And by “we” I don’t mean the “professionals” – I mean the people who live and work in these communities. There is no gatekeeper for photography or writing when it comes to covering what’s happening in our own communities.
We experienced these moments together. We can share them with each other. We can document them.
I don’t expect or even encourage you to visit the gallery for 2020. Honestly, I didn’t really like putting it together myself. It’s been a rough year for me personally as well, with the recent loss of my grandmother to COVID. But the photos are there to document the year that we all experienced together in Northeast Ohio.
To celebrate 2021, I am creating a goal for myself to photograph the simple beauty of everyday life. Cliche, I know, but hopefully it will bring some joy back into my photography.
Wishing you all the happiest of new years. I can’t wait to reconnect in 2021.
View: 2020: In Photos
See also: Best of 2019