Jay Ford

“This lens changes perspectives.”

Making first-hand history.

You could call Jay Ford a director, or a photographer, or a videographer, and you wouldn’t be wrong. But at the heart of it, Jay Ford considers himself an observer.

Camera in hand, he captures moments other lenses shy away from. He does this because he loves it, sure, but he’s also out there on the streets out of a sense of duty—to tell stories and elevate voices that otherwise might go unheard.

I didn’t go out there to make money. I didn’t go to the protest to chase clout. I went there because I felt it was my true calling to document history in the making.

“I feel it’s my duty to show [protest] in a positive light because the news and certain media only show the negative. People are dealing with this emotionally. They’re upset, and I wanted to show that in a beautiful way. That meant a lot to me. And I want to do more.”

“In order to grow, you’re going to need help. Whether you’re a landscape photographer, a commercial photographer, a family photographer, or anything else, you’re going to need help getting your photos out to the world.”

“You don’t always have to have the perfect shot to get the best shot. The photo could be a little blurry. It could be a little overexposed or underexposed. But as long as you have a camera and you’re ready, you can have a shot."

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Photos by Anton Lorimer, Jay Ford, Yifei Chen, Gemma Evans, Clay Banks, Christina Gottard, and Anders Jilden