This is a 2-part story of a family who recently moved to Santa Cruz, family, businesses, and soon to be surfing. See MediaStorm.

The lone protestor standing in front of a tank in Tiananmen Square.

The shell-shocked Syrian toddler, covered in dust, sitting in the back of an ambulance. The lined face of a migrant mother in the Dust Bowl, as her children bury their faces in her neck. The pack of first graders, hands on each other’s shoulders, walking in terror from Sandy Hook Elementary School. Or yet again, a little girl crying up at a border agent as her Mom is being searched at the Mexican border.

Elodie Mailliet Storm is the CEO of CatchLight.  Prior to CatchLight, she enjoyed 11 years at Getty Images where she led its strategic development.  In 2016, she was named JSK fellow in media innovation at Stanford University where she researched the monetization of photography in the age of social and search.  

“‍Iconic images tell the story of a moment,”

“But more importantly,” Elodie remarks, “they make an abstract issue immediate and concrete. When it comes to complex social issues, statistics explain a problem but images allow us to feel. They can do more than raise awareness--they spark action from individuals and policymakers because they reach us in a way we cannot forget.”

In fact, more images are being shared today than in the entire history of the world. In an age where pictures have become our everyday vocabulary, the most talented visual storytellers, like poets, bring a context and experience that enrich images with subtle layers of meaning, reaching deep into our consciousness. Undeniably visuals are ingrained in our collective memories as they humanize and contextualize larger stories, often driving the media news cycles. 

Yet, ironically, it is becoming increasingly difficult for visual storytellers to fund their work. According to this study by the World Press Photo, in 2018, the number of photojournalists working full time as photographers declined to 59% from 74% three years earlier. It is in direct response to this growing inequality that CatchLight, was founded. 

Visual storytelling has the power to connect audiences directly to issues, establishing common ground for dialogue and allowing for greater equity in representation within our communities  and our greater democracy. Images allow us to share in the emotions, stories and values that bind us. With them, current affairs and critical issues become more accessible; we are more engaged. 

CatchLight leverages the power of visual storytelling to represent, inform and connect communities. It serves as a transformational force, urgently bringing resources and organizations together to help foster a more nuanced and empathetic understanding of the world.CatchLight’s goal is to help support, fund, amplify, create and grow professional visual storytellers at all levels.

CatchLight recently completed an award-winning visual project in Salinas focused on frontline workers impacted by COVID-19.  Per The Californian, agriculture workers accounted for 2,232 positive tests (September 21, 2020). This is 23.37% of the total positive cases in Monterey County — the highest of all occupations. 

"This pandemic has exposed our greatest vulnerabilities as a state, as a country, and our lack of preparation to support all people that have been impacted by this crisis."

Assemblyman Robert Rivas (D-Salinas Valley)

The disparity is highlighted by the demographics data for COVID-19 cases in Monterey County. According to The National Council of La Raza, 96% of farmworkers in California are Latino. 

Submit to CatchLight’s Behind the Lens series

While the CatchLight team, along with its many partners and funders, is urgently working on assessing how to best help support the visual storytelling field in the long term during these challenging times, we want to remind our community of the immediate opportunity to participate in CatchLight’s Behind the Lens series. The series, featured on CatchLight’s blog and social media channels, aims to provide visual storytellers a space to share stories and personal projects, as well as provide unique perspectives and insight into the process behind the creation of images. 

In response to the current economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, on the mostly freelance field of visual storytelling, CatchLight is increasing its standard rate to $450 USD for the next several months.

Click here for more details on how to submit.

Please welcome Elodie to the Santa Cruz community! 

Learn more about CatchLight at:  https://www.catchlight.io/