The past few weeks have brought about an overwhelming shift in the way people all over the country are living life. Nearly every aspect of my daily life has changed, with the exception of one thing, my job telling stories visually.
There’s no way to phone something in as a photojournalist. The only way to tell the story with a photograph is to show up, be the boots on the ground and find a way to tell the story with what you see. When something happens, I want to be there. I want to see things for myself and try and understand a story. In the last month, I’ve covered health care providers making adjustments to keep their patients safe, people praying hard for comfort on the National Day of Prayer, child care providers being forced to decide whether they can stay open and businesses being forced to close. In covering these stories, and talking with people (from 6 feet away, of course), I’ve started to realize that though every person’s circumstances are unique, most everyone in Chattanooga I’ve come in contact with wants the same things during this time of extreme uncertainty – to be able to get themselves and their families through this safely.
I believe my small role in what the paper is doing to inform our readers about coronavirus is the best way I can help at this point in time.
– Troy Stolt, staff photographer, tstolt@timesfreepress.com