Photography is one of the greatest gifts created; a unique visual language with the ability to speak to the larger world. As a photographer, having selected themes provides me with a sense of direction as I seek to make images. Some of the main themes that I focus on are friendship, love, family, children, dignity, struggle, protest and any other situation I deem provocative. When I encounter a situation that I wish to freeze, there is often a collaboration between my eye and my heart; that is the moment in many cases, when I press my shutter.
Social media has truly allowed me to see just how important my work is today. Due to the countless positive responses and messages I receive daily from people around the globe, I have come to realize that my photography is truly a form of visual medicine.
— Jamel Shabazz, photographer, recorder of history, 2018 Gordon Parks Foundation Honoree
Photograph by © Cory Rice
