Candle light vigil

Last night I covered a candle light vigil for family and friends of victims of violent crime. It was all part of National crime victims rights week and it was attended by many local politicians, and law makers.

For me it was a very somber and uncomfortable scene to be at, I recognized many of the faces from crimes scenes I have been on and really didn't fell like it was fair for me to, yet again be invading these poor peoples lives at an already difficult moment.

Photographing for newspapers always has its ups and downs, you get to go to a lot of really cool places and meet some of the most amazing people in on earth. However there is a flip side to that, you have to make photographs of people during hard times, and for the most part readers don't really think about the fact that the photo on the front page of the local section had to be made by someone, someone had to be there and take from the person in the image.

At the heart of Photojournalism is that defining moment, the second that someone reacts to there surroundings, whether it be war, a natural disaster, or the loss of a loved one. That moment is the purpose for why I and every other Photojournalist pick up a camera everyday and try and share our worlds with the rest of the planet.