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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Changeover. Aurora, IL. April 2013
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Today I went to the Festival of Colors.
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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.
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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.
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Preparing to march. Aurora, IL
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