Wéyo blog

My first introduction to picture stories and documentary photography came when I went to volunteer at the Truth With a Camera Workshop. I saw two presentations there by two photographers that would influence my decision to go to graduate school to learn how to tell better stories.

The first was by Melanie Burford, who photographed a beautiful story about a mother and daughter in Ohio. The second was by Chris Tyree, who also documented so intimately, a story about a low income family looking to move out of a residence that was in danger of being torn down. About a year later I'd have to opportunity to start freelancing at The Virginian-Pilot, Chris' employer at the time.

Learning from Chris was probably the most formative experience I had as a photojournalist. Chris was the kind of photojournalist I strived to be. He was constantly in the community looking for stories, and I don't think I ever talked to him when he wasn't working on at least one story he had proposed himself. He had proven himself to the paper to the point that they trusted him to go off, find, and work on stories, to which he often dedicated his own time even with a family at home. He always told me to shoot from the heart and that is how he worked.

On my last day freelancing before I headed off to Ohio University, we traded prints. I gave him a print from a story he helped me with and he gave me a print of a photo I spotted one day when he was looking through his early work. The story behind the picture and the kind of impact the image had on the community really inspired me to want to make images that could create change. Please excuse the borders - still haven't framed tons of photos I've exchanged with people:



Caption: "A Kiss Good-bye" 1994. Littleton "Sonny" Fassett gives his son a kiss good-bye before he is hauled away for selling crack cocaine.

I've always been drawn much more to the work of photographers I know personally. It really means a lot to me to know why a photographer does what he or she does. I think that's what makes conferences and shows so great - the opportunity to hear a photographer speak about their work. Chris has always been my inspiration and role model, so it was no surprise to me that he would start up an organization dedicated to doing documentary photography work for humanitarian organizations.

Please check out Wéyo's website.

But I must admit that there was another purpose to this post. The thing that was the most disappointing to me when I talked to people about Chris' work was I could never show them anything because there was nothing online. Until now.

Thanks to their blog, you can now see Chris' beautiful imagery - check it out here.