Jeff Cagle

My friend Nick and I spent Halloween in the home of a man who...

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:21:00 -0500

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.

A couple weeks back I posted a photo from a vigil for Quiane...

Sat, 11 May 2013 20:40:00 -0500

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.

Yesterday I met and photographed a man named Tre, who was...

Fri, 10 May 2013 11:09:00 -0500

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.

After Aurora made it through all of last year without a murder...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:03:00 -0500

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.

There was a flood this week. Here’s some people walking by...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 21:18:44 -0500

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.

I have told my dear readers multiple times to head over to Good...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 19:36:00 -0500

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.

Changeover. Aurora, IL. April 2013

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:14:55 -0500

Changeover. Aurora, IL. April 2013

Today I went to the Festival of Colors.

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 19:20:42 -0500

Today I went to the Festival of Colors.

Yesterday I visited Hines VA Hospital to cover the visit of a...

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 13:32:09 -0500

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.

East side at dusk. Aurora, IL. April 2013

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:27:00 -0500

East side at dusk. Aurora, IL. April 2013

Seth at The Grove. San Francisco, 2012

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 15:42:57 -0500

Seth at The Grove. San Francisco, 2012

Olav on the street. San Francisco, 2012

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 08:26:54 -0500

Olav on the street. San Francisco, 2012

I spent a good portion of my afternoon yesterday complaining...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 14:04:00 -0500

I spent a good portion of my afternoon yesterday complaining about shooting a bar crawl in Wrigleyville for a friend’s event company, half-jokingly calling it “my personal Hell.” I wasn’t complaining about having the work — I’m extraordinarily lucky and grateful to be able to make pictures for a living — but taking pictures in a crowded bar having my lights nearly knocked over multiple times while watching drunks fall flat on their faces in the middle of the afternoon isn’t my cup of tea.

Fast forward four hours and one of my editors calls and I found myself standing along the edge of an icy retention pond next to the highway as divers searched for the body of a young woman after the car she was riding in crashed and ended up in the water. One family’s actual personal Hell.

Covering death is not something any photojournalist enjoys doing, but if a photograph can make one person stop for just a moment to remember to not complain about the little things and appreciate all that you have, it’s worth it.

Sometimes that person is the one behind the camera.

Photo

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:49:00 -0600

Preparing to march. Aurora, IL

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 08:57:07 -0600

Preparing to march. Aurora, IL

Whiteout

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 19:41:00 -0600

Whiteout

Apparently the movie Old School was released 10 years ago...

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 22:34:00 -0600

Apparently the movie Old School was released 10 years ago today. Completely unrelated, but obviously relevant, I shot this tonight.

I just got back from spending the past two days down in...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:20:21 -0600

I just got back from spending the past two days down in Champaign shooting the Illinois state high school wrestling tournament for the Chicago Sun-Times and its suburban affiliates. After firing off a few thousand frames and filing more than 100 photos from nearly as many matches for close to 10 publications between two photographers, this is pretty much how Matt and I felt after transmitting the final image last night at 11:15.

Now off to shoot a video.

Ozzie T. Cougar. Aurora, IL

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 08:43:29 -0600

Ozzie T. Cougar. Aurora, IL

Shooting grief never really gets any easier.

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 16:56:40 -0600

Shooting grief never really gets any easier.