Index01Photo essay and reporting2026

Rev. Jesse Jackson

Chicago said goodbye to Rev. Jesse Jackson in February and March 2026. I covered it for the Columbia Chronicle, the student paper at Columbia College Chicago. The funeral story ran under my byline and Marc Balbarin’s, with my photographs, and I added reporting to the paper’s first story about his death.

Role: Reporter and photographer
Outlet: The Columbia Chronicle
When: February and March 2026
Where: Chicago

Taken MAR 6 2026 13:34Shutter 1/125Aperture F2.8ISO ISO 1000Focal length 200MMLens RF 70-200MM F2.8Camera CANON EOS R5 MARK II

In short

The assignment: Cover Chicago’s farewell to Rev. Jesse Jackson for a student newsroom, from the days of mourning to the funeral at the House of Hope on March 6.
My part: A shared byline with Marc Balbarin on the funeral story, which ran my photographs, and additional reporting on the Chronicle’s first story after his death.
How it was shot: The funeral frames run from 8:19 in the morning to 3:49 in the afternoon. Fourteen of the sixteen were made at 200mm, 1/125 of a second, f/2.8.
What ran: Two stories, published February 26 and March 7, 2026.
On this page: The funeral runs in the order it was shot, each frame with its time and settings.

Before the funeral

These four files carry no camera data, so they run in file order.

4 frames

A man in a dark suit points across a crowd outside

Three men in suits walk past a brick building

March 6, 2026

The funeral, in the order it was shot.

16 frames

Pallbearers in white gloves carry the casket past a staircase — Taken MAR 6 2026 08:19Shutter 1/80Aperture F5ISO ISO 1000Focal length 24MM

Mourners reach across rows of seats to shake hands — Taken MAR 6 2026 10:59Shutter 1/60Aperture F2.8ISO ISO 500Focal length 200MM

The full arena during the service, a screen above the stage reading Celebration of Life — Taken MAR 6 2026 11:24Shutter 1/125Aperture F2.8ISO ISO 1000Focal length 70MM

A speaker at the lectern behind a spray of flowers, the choir in black behind him — Taken MAR 6 2026 12:31Shutter 1/125Aperture F2.8ISO ISO 1000Focal length 200MM

Barack Obama reaches across the stage to clasp hands with a speaker while the choir applauds behind them — Taken MAR 6 2026 13:34Shutter 1/125Aperture F2.8ISO ISO 1000Focal length 200MM

A speaker gestures from the lectern toward the crowd — Taken MAR 6 2026 13:48Shutter 1/125Aperture F2.8ISO ISO 1000Focal length 200MM

The stage seen from the floor, with Rev. Jackson on the screen above the choir — Taken MAR 6 2026 14:05Shutter 1/125Aperture F2.8ISO ISO 400Focal length 200MM

Joe Biden speaks at the lectern in front of the choir — Taken MAR 6 2026 14:09Shutter 1/125Aperture F2.8ISO ISO 400Focal length 200MM

A speaker at the lectern, seen from below the flowers — Taken MAR 6 2026 14:09Shutter 1/125Aperture F2.8ISO ISO 400Focal length 200MM

A photographer works alone among rows of empty red seats — Taken MAR 6 2026 14:36Shutter 1/125Aperture F2.8ISO ISO 1250Focal length 200MM

A speaker at the lectern beside a large portrait of Rev. Jackson — Taken MAR 6 2026 14:53Shutter 1/125Aperture F2.8ISO ISO 800Focal length 200MM

A speaker at the lectern, the portrait of Rev. Jackson behind him — Taken MAR 6 2026 14:54Shutter 1/125Aperture F2.8ISO ISO 800Focal length 200MM

A speaker raises a hand at the lectern — Taken MAR 6 2026 15:13Shutter 1/125Aperture F2.8ISO ISO 800Focal length 200MM

Two men on stage beside the flowers and the portrait — Taken MAR 6 2026 15:21Shutter 1/125Aperture F2.8ISO ISO 500Focal length 200MM

Mourners seated in the upper rows of the arena — Taken MAR 6 2026 15:42Shutter 1/125Aperture F3.2ISO ISO 1000Focal length 200MM

Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks in front of the words Keep Hope Alive — Taken MAR 6 2026 15:49Shutter 1/125Aperture F2.8ISO ISO 640Focal length 200MM

In short

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