Partly cloudy. Low 73F. Winds light and variable..
Partly cloudy. Low 73F. Winds light and variable.
Zach Imel, of Bowling Green, takes a photo with his dad’s camera during a peace march more than 25 years ago.
Joe Imel is General Manager of the Daily News
Joe Imel is General Manager of the Daily News
Zach Imel, of Bowling Green, takes a photo with his dad’s camera during a peace march more than 25 years ago.
I am often asked what my favorite photo is that I have ever taken. I really never gave it much thought. Until one assignment in the 1990s, that answer usually was whatever big news event I covered recently in the region.
As I talked about in my last column, I am a newshound and thrive on getting a photo that informs readers of what happened when they hear sirens off in the distance.
I’ve covered fires, wrecks, tornadoes, floods and all manner of news that frames our community. I’ve also covered all manner of events in the last 35 years, including midwives helping a mother give birth, to the death of a man at the tragic Howard Johnson Motel fire that killed three in January 1996.
My role as a photojournalist for the Daily News was and still is to report visually on the news of the day, bringing the story to the reader through compelling images that in one glance tell them what happened.
My favorite photo happened quite unexpectedly while covering news, and I’m glad my camera was at the ready.
Unfortunately, the region saw activity from the Ku Klux Klan in the 1990s with the burning of Barren River Baptist Church in 1991. I covered the trial and conviction of Ernest Pierce Sr., who solicited someone to burn the church whose pastor had been an outspoken critic of the Klan. Brian Tackett, a former KKK grand dragon, was convicted of setting the fire.
I spent some years following local members of the Klan to document their hate. I would edit negatives and photos at home on the kitchen table. My son, Zach, would often sit and watch as I worked. Soon, I realized I needed to show him the other side of hate. So, I took him to an assignment to cover a peace march.
I was shooting photos of the march with my hat turned backwards and a camera to my face. I set one camera down while I composed a shot and saw Zach out the corner of my eye turn his hat around and pick up the camera and put it to his face. I whirled around, squeezed off just a few frames and the moment was gone.
The instant I took that picture, it became my favorite. I have pressed the shutter button hundreds of thousands of times and I don’t know that I will ever make another photo that means as much to me as that image. I use it today on my Twitter and Instagram feeds or anyplace I can use an avatar.
Through my lens is the way I see my life and our community and I get the privilege to share my vision with others, first in print and now online. My Nikon was always on my shoulder or in my hands until I bought the first iPhone 15 years ago. I rely on it for daily life, but I still pick up cameras when I want to do really meaningful work.
We are an incredibly visual society with the proliferation of digital cameras and especially smartphones. Digital cameras have democratized photography.
The average U.S. citizen takes 20.2 photos per day. According to Photutorial data, 1.2 trillion were taken worldwide in 2021. That number will increase to 1.72 trillion in 2022. That breaks down to 54,400 a second, 3.3 million a minute and 4.7 billion a day. The average user has around 2,100 photos on their smartphone in 2022. More than 92% of photos are taken with smartphones and only 7% with cameras.
Remember, the best camera is always the one you have with you.
– Daily News General Manager Joe Imel can be reached at 270-783-3273 or via email at jimel@bgdailynews.com.
(Joe Imel/photo@bgdailynews.com)
Joe Imel is General Manager of the Daily News
My earliest recollection of my grandfather Jack Shea was of him sitting on a stool by the ki…
“Don’t be a Tweet.”
Not many people can say they have their dream job, especially in today’s market. Well, I am …
Joe Imel is the General Manager of the Daily News. Imel is an award winning photojournalist that has been with the paper for more than 31 years.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Would you like to receive a digest of each day's headlines & events from The Daily News by email? Signup today!
Would you like to receive a weekly digest of headlines & events from The Amplifier by email? Signup today!
The Daily News is a proud host of community enrichment events. Join our Daily News Events mailing list to learn about the next event we are planning. Sign up now.
Would you like to receive a digest of each day's headlines & events from The Daily News by email? Signup today!
Would you like to receive a weekly digest of headlines & events from The Amplifier by email? Signup today!
The Daily News is a proud host of community enrichment events. Join our Daily News Events mailing list to learn about the next event we are planning. Sign up now.
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.