“I hope that each of my photos helps the viewer understand another person's world; this understanding is key to creating change and building empathy in any community.”

David Rodriguez Muñoz

“As a photographer, I believe that we are acting as changemakers by being a spotlight for things that people may not see in their normal lives.”

Larry Valenzuela

“I intend to challenge the mainstream narrative about my country and people and offer an alternative insight into Saudi society, one that invites the viewer to draw similarities rather than emphasize differences. In the most basic ways, our lives, routines and habits are connected across borders and boundaries.”

Tasneem Alsultan

“As a photographer, I see myself as an agent of change by presenting new information through the images I make. I hope that photography can create and/or revitalize trust in the media during a time of extreme and often valid, mistrust in the media.” 

Aryana Noroozi

“I believe in small changes, in people using photographs as a tool, as a call to action, as inspiration, and as a tool to connect with others.”

Ximena Natera

“I like to think utopically of a world where structural inequalities end. I imagine a world where family albums become public, where we resonate with who we are and where they echo our most intimate stories. ”

Koral Carballo

“As a photographer, I hope to change the meaning of photography in a local community from a tool once used to exploit and humiliate, to become a function for how communities envision their self-defined futures”

Amir Aziz

“My aim with with my work on migration, is to build empathy towards people who find themselves in the needing to migrate, to dismantle stereotypes and prejudices about migration and to work along the lines of normalizing migratory processes.”

César Dezfuli

“Looking at photos opened a world that seemed so far away from my reality, and taking photographs has allowed me to push the limits of that reality, through lived experience and knowledge. I hope to pay forward that gift and expand how we can share images with people.”

Ximena Natera

“I believe in the power of images, whether as a way to raise debates to a broad public or to enhance narratives for new political ideas.” 

Rafael Vilela

“Looking at photos opened a world that seemed so far away from my reality, and taking photographs has allowed me to push the limits of that reality, through lived experience and knowledge.”

Ximena Natera

“We use our skills in photography and journalism to amplify the voices of those who may not be heard. I hope to help people be seen and heard when they need to be with my photography.” 

Larry Valenzuela

“I look forward to a world in which we all become more aware of the importance of our connections to each other, the earth and the universe.”

Adama Delphine Fawundu

“I believe that my change comes not through me but through my audience. Photography, as a tool for storytelling, helps me connect with my community to capture emotions that cannot be otherwise translated into words.” 

Harika Maddala

“These images allow for the experiences, realities, and truths of others to be highlighted and to educate people who were not fully aware of an issue or experience, most often including myself when I begin working on a story. This understanding can help foster unity.” 

Aryana Noroozi

“Attracting the public's attention with strong images that raise awareness of the climate emergency is part of my mission.”

Pierre Terdjman

“We’re always learning about the best way to tell a story and thinking about how best can you tell the stories visually.”

Nevada Union High teacher Keri Kemble

“Central to our collaboration with CalMatters and CatchLight’s Local model is thinking through using visual journalism to better represent, reach and engage community members in local issues.” 

Jenny Stratton, Director of CatchLight Local

“I want to see us living from a place of love rather than fear.”

Annie Tritt

“As a South Asian photographer, specifically one raised in the United States, I am focused on documenting the diversity and depth of the diaspora. Stories of disability, adversity, trauma and resilience, along with an understanding of how culture changes from generation to generation and migration to migration, are themes and narratives vital to the awareness and understanding of South Asian identity.” 

Sree Sripathy

“I want to affect change by impacting the way people perceive themselves and others and how they frame their sense of identity in the world. I’m challenging people to ask themselves, ‘How do I know what I know?’”

Bayeté Ross Smith

“This work is for the ones that came before me and the ones I'll never meet. What is the lifespan of an image and how can we immortalize them? My hope is that my creative practice serves as a conduit for healing and transformation of the self and the collective.”

Josué Rivas

“In a time of such abundance, suffering is something we humans and our systems create, and for that very reason, it is also in our power to take that suffering away.”

Aida Muluneh

“With my recent work, I want people to acknowledge the important issues that are happening around us, topics that need acceptance of their existence. Photography has the power to change people's consciousness and lead them to act.” 

Daro Sulakauri

“I hope my work as a photojournalist helps people to see our world differently, to look at rights, justice and community in new ways.”

Tara Pixley

 “As a photographer, I hope to bridge understanding between people that are unfamiliar with issues and experiences outside of their own. My goal is to portray those stories authentically, with dignity and truth, so that others are able to empathize and feel what I felt when I was behind the camera.”

Sarahbeth Maney

Acknowledgments

Heartfelt thanks to the participating artists and people who lent their likeness, story, and experience to these photographer’s’ projects.

••••••

Board of Directors

Nancy Farese (Founder and Board Chair) Umbreen Bhatti, Lisa Kleiner Chanoff, Deirdre Atkin Hockett, Stacy-Marie Ishmael, Stephen Mayes, Christopher Michel, Michael Ramsay, and Robert Rosenthal. 

••••••

Thank you

CatchLight is a 501c-3 nonprofit organization.  We would not exist without the generosity of individuals like you who invest in our mission and whose gifts make our work possible.  

Thank you to the foundations and businesses whose direct support funds  our programs.  This includes The Emerson Collective and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Enlight Foundation, Hearst Foundations, The John S and James L Knight Foundation, Kresge Foundation, MPB.com, NBCUniversal Project Innovation and our education partner PhotoWings.  

Thank you to our CatchLight Local partners including Bay City News, Black Voice News, Berkeleyside, CalMatters, India Currents, Institute for Nonprofit News, Oaklandside, and Report for America. 

We’re also grateful to our community of partners who provide camera gear for our fellows, space for us to gather, and other forms of in-kind support, including Digital Silver Imaging, Fondation Carmignac, FujiFilm, Institute for Contemporary Art San Francisco, Minnesota Street Project, PhotoShelter, Reach Capital, the San Francisco Arts Commission, Stanford University’s SPICE Center for International and Cross-Cultural Education and YR Media.

About CatchLight

CatchLight leverages the power of visual communication to inform, connect and transform communities. We are building the field’s long-term sustainability at both the global and local levels. At the global level, CatchLight invests in leaders in the field of visual storytelling who are defining its future. At the local level, CatchLight is expanding a new collaborative model for visual journalism, supercharging a visual-first approach and working in partnership with local news organizations.  Through our education and public programs, we are pushing the field forward and educating its next generation of visual leaders.