Jeff Cagle

i am a freelance news and editorial photographer living in the chicago suburbs.
my portfolio is at jeffcagle.com. You can also find me at instagram.com/jeffcagle

get in touch: jeffrey [dot] cagle [at] gmail

Ask me anything

My friend Nick and I spent Halloween in the home of a man who goes all out for Halloween, making his own monsters every year to scared the living daylights out of trick-or-treaters and passing out buckets of candy to kids who make it to the front door. Our short documentary, “Leo’s House of the Dead,” will be playing at the Indie Incubator Film Festival on May 28. Join us, if you dare.
21 May 2013 / 1 note
A couple weeks back I posted a photo from a vigil for Quiane Smith, who was gunned down on Aurora’s west side. I was one of six people at that vigil, including another reporter and the four from a prayer coalition that organized it. They didn’t call Quiane’s family to let them know. Today, his family showed up in force to remember their son, grandson, nephew, father, cousin and friend.
11 May 2013 / 3 notes
Yesterday I met and photographed a man named Tre, who was paralyzed from the neck down six years ago at 17 from a gunshot wound. Whether he was the intended target or not remains unclear, as his shooter has never been found to face charges, but Tre was an innocent victim who was a good student and not involved with gangs.

What’s more, despite his situation, Tre says he feels blessed, because there’s always someone who is going to have it worse than him. He’s in the running to win a new van to help him get around, which is being given away as part of National Mobility Awareness Month, and today is the last day to vote for him. You can read more about Tre and see more photos in the Beacon, and you can vote for him here. Note: you must agree to the terms for voting, but you can deselect the option to receive further updates if you don’t want to receive them. But please do Tre a solid and vote, he deserves to be as independent as he can.
10 May 2013 / 7 notes
After Aurora made it through all of last year without a murder it has had two so far this year. I’ve shot vigils for both victims. Here’s a few more shots from today’s.
30 Apr 2013 / 3 notes
There was a flood this week. Here’s some people walking by sandbags. And here’s a gallery of more flood stuff, starring photos from Brian Powers, who just won 2nd place in the IPPA’s Photographer of the Year competition.
19 Apr 2013 / 1 note
I have told my dear readers multiple times to head over to Good Beer Hunting to check out the work of my buddy, Michael Kiser. You can head over there again if you’d like, but this post is asking you to do me — and Michael, who just quit his job to focus on GBH full-time — a solid and vote for him to win SAVEUR Magazine’s Best Food Blog award for the Beer and Wine category.

The Redeye has a nice piece about GBH and another Chicago candidate (of only six total), Guys Drinking Beer, if you’d like to read it.

Voting ends Friday.
17 Apr 2013 / 3 notes
Changeover. Aurora, IL. April 2013
12 Apr 2013
Today I went to the Festival of Colors.
6 Apr 2013 / 9 notes
Yesterday I visited Hines VA Hospital to cover the visit of a high-ranking military official as he toured the facilities. It was during lunch at the blind center where I came across Joel, who was blinded in both eyes, lost his right leg and four fingers on his left had, and suffered a traumatic brain injury and third-degree burns across 60 percent of his body in a rocket attack that killed three others in the truck he was riding in in Iraq. At the time, he was one of the most seriously wounded soldiers to ever survive such injuries.

What shocked me about Joel wasn’t his appearance, but how upbeat and genuinely happy he seemed despite his circumstances. He was by far the most seriously injured and youngest veteran in the blind center, but also the most charismatic, laughing and joking most of the time that I saw him.

It’s pretty safe to say Joel was one of the most inspiring people I’ve met in awhile.
5 Apr 2013 / 15 notes
East side at dusk. Aurora, IL. April 2013
3 Apr 2013 / 4 notes