Before getting started, I would be remiss if I failed to acknowledge those who got me to this point. This is kind of like a dedication page in a book. That being said, I would like to give a huge shoutout to my mother and photography inspiration, Amy Boyle, to my first journalism boss, Tony Jones, my incredible journalism school, and the staff at, Medill, and everyone who I have worked with along the way. A big shoutout to the photogs I met on assignment – thank you for letting me get the shots with my humorous camera set up compared to your ENG cameras. And of course, thank you so much to those at the Chicago Sun-Times for putting their faith in a spunky 20-year-old Chicagoan with a camera.
Now for the good stuff...
The first official week of my internship (June 18 - 22) was a learning experience. I spent a lot of time sitting with my editor, critiquing my work and learning how to properly caption images with correct information. I was sent out into the city to gather many, many photos of the wildly hot and rainy weather we were having. That was fun and an adventure in itself! I quickly grew to understand the nitty-gritty of the role of a photojournalist.
Only a week after my FIRST assignment with the Sun-Times did I witness and document a big moment in Chicago history. On Friday, June 22, 2018, I went to 26/California to photograph Jackie Wilson, who was incarcerated for 36 years for killing two police officers, take his first steps as a free man after a confession was tossed in his case.
Jackie Wilson walks with his attorneys after being released from the Cook County Jail. Wilson was in jail for 36 years. | Colin Boyle/Sun-Times
Jackie Wilson speaks to the press with his attorneys after being released from the Cook County Jail. Wilson was in jail for 36 years on June 22, 2018. | Colin Boyle/Sun-Times
An unidentified woman shouts "Free at last!" before being driven away when she saw Jackie Wilson walk out of Cook County Jail. | Colin Boyle/Sun-Times
It seems like there was almost a trend for fun Friday assignments at the start (don't worry – ALL of my assignments were intriguing in their own regard). I spent the third Friday walking around the Uptown Theatre with Mayor Emanuel and other officials and media as a huge plan for the space was announced.
The following week (July 9 - 13) was quite new - while covering assignments each day, I was preparing to fill in as "photo editor" while my editor was away for roughly ten days. By the end of the week, I was sitting in on edit board meetings and calling up photographers to assign them to various stories. I had filled in for Rich in the past, only a day at a time, however. I would like to think that I quickly adjusted thanks to my experience at The Daily Northwestern for the last two years. It was a huge responsibility, nevertheless.
The following Saturday (July 14), it felt as if the city of Chicago had erupted. News broke that Harith Augustus, a barber in the South Shore neighborhood, had been fatal shot by Chicago Police after being confronted by officers. That evening, protesters clashed with CPD and the news spread like wildfire. By the next morning (July 15), I was asked to assist on the coverage of a protest at the same site in South Shore. My coworkers Nader Issa and Marcus DiPaola had been at the scene the night before, capturing the troubling scenes of conflicts between police and protesters, striking fear into my inexperienced self as I traveled to the scene the next afternoon.
With photo editor Rich Hein out of town the week of July 16 - 20, there was never a dull moment as I worked to the best of my ability to be an "intern/interim editor" (as the interns and I jokingly called this experience) while covering more and more protests, strikes and momentous occasions.
Governor Bruce Rauner holds a pen while signing HB 2354 at the Thompson Center in Chicago, Illinois on July 16, 2018. The bill created the Lethal Violence Order of Protection Act. | Colin Boyle/Sun-Times
CPS CEO Dr. Janice Jackson speaks at City Club of Chicago on July 16, 2018. | Colin Boyle/Sun-Times
Luis "Khalil" Rodriguez holds a casket with an image of Rahm Emanuel's face crossed out during a protest outside Emanuel's residence on July 19, 2018 organized in response to the city's handling of Harith Augustus being fatally shot by CPD. | Colin Boyle/Sun-Times
Jeannette Hutchinson, who lost her uncle to gunfire by police, shows emotions during a protest on July 19, 2018 organized in response to the city's handling of Harith Augustus being fatally shot by CPD. | Colin Boyle
Steve Stelter, Director of Law Enforcement Torch Run Illinois, carries the torch for the 50th Anniversary of Special Olympics at Soldier Field on July 20, 2018. | Colin Boyle/Sun-Times
The Eternal Flame of Hope is lit for the first time at the 50th Anniversary of Special Olympics at Soldier Field on July 20, 2018. | Colin Boyle/Sun-Times
Tim Shriver holds up a sign for the new street name for McFetridge Drive at the 50th Anniversary of Special Olympics at Soldier Field on July 20, 2018. | Colin Boyle/Sun-Times
While working with Jane Recker at the 50th anniversary of Special Olympics, she caught this amusing video of me backpedaling like a madman to get a few photos/videos while on assignment.
In case the last two weeks weren't busy enough, I stuck my fork into the festival photojournalism experience by covering the Saturday performances at the Pitchfork Music Festival (yes, that pun was terrible. I'm sorry...).
With Rich back in the office and after working almost two weeks straight, I took a few days off of work to relax, spend a few days at a friend's lake house and focus on my triathlon training, but that did not stop me from experiencing some irreplaceable Chicago journalism moments.
The week of July 30 - August 3 was, like every other week, incredible. With Richard Roeper, I met with the director and star of "Crazy Rich Asians" on a Chicago rooftop to start the week. If life couldn't be crazier, I photographed Jason Van Dyke at court, rode in a helicopter over my hometown, spent a day experiencing South Shore and learned how to closed caption a video in Premiere Pro, while putting my spotty Spanish skills to good use through translating a speech (all of this in lieu of experiencing Lollapalooza).
I spent the weekend of Lollapalooza with my family and friends, away from the city for part of the weekend. Meanwhile, Chicago faced its most violent weekend, with 71 people shot across the city. While on my way back to the city at the end of the weekend, I had also read news of a body being found at the train station where I frequent for commuting.
The week of August 6 - 10 was the most trying of my internship and left me spending a lot of time contemplating the role that media has in relations with the community, as well as trying to find ways to take care of myself and those who I interact with while reporting the news. It was during this week that I really learned it was important to take a step back and reflect on the emotionally exhaustive nature of the business, as it had begun to take a toll on my wellbeing.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks at a press conference at 78th and Halsted following a violent weekend in Chicago, IL on August 6, 2018.
A cyclist in Wicker Park on a rainy Monday morning on August 6, 2018. | Colin Boyle/Sun-Times
Sen. Tammy Duckworth speaks at a press conference on gun licensing legislation, the Blair Holt Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2018 on August 7, 2018.
On August 8, 2018, Mirelle Easterling cries after losing her best friend, Jahnae Patterson, over the weekend in the North Lawndale neighborhood.
Thousands of rubber ducks land in the Chicago River for the Chicago Ducky Derby on August 9, 2018.
Balloons are released at the vigil for Sincere Ash at Lane Tech College Prep on August 9, 2018.
Charla Crawford, grandmother of Sincere Ash, looks up at the balloons released at the vigil for Ash.
David Flores, left, is embraced in the rain at the vigil for Sincere Ash.
Among this emotionally and professionally challenging week, I had spent many hours reporting on the loss in my one of my own communities – a student from my high school was the person who was found dead at the Clybourn Station.
August 13 - 17 This week was spectacular and busy, while also feeling endless. I continued to help with "The Grid" photo coverage, with this week's assignment being the Boystown neighborhood. I spent a day in Chicago, photographing the life of the city. Star photojournalist Ashlee Rezin and I sat with a room of eager journalists for hours to cover a monumental DEA announcement. The next morning, I took to the skies with Michael Armentrout and Maria de la Guardia as we fulfilled my childhood dream of flying in airplanes at the Chicago Air and Water Show.
The fun of the air show coverage came to a screeching halt for me as I shipped off (in a Lyft) to another intensive story that took a turn from a press conference on a tragic, confusing death of a 15-year-old boy to a full-fledged march through the North Lawndale neighborhood.
August 20 - 24 was another incredible week. Ok, scratch that – ALL of these experiences were incredible, with each week only topping the intensity and excitement of the previous. Following the full weekend of work, Rich let me take the Monday off before coming back to do another trifecta of multimedia coverage on my own, this time at a memorial service for the late Juan Bucio. The following day, I traveled to the Pullman neighborhood for the funeral of Bryan "Wop" Harris, and the rest of the week was spent intensely covering the Democratic National Committee's summer meeting with Eliza Davidson and Sun-Times Washington Bureau Chief Lynn Sweet.
The next two weeks (August 26 - September 9) were of limited involvement with the Chicago Sun-Times as I was competing in the Chicago Triathlon and traveling with my journalism school to Japan, however that did not stop me from squeezing in a few incredible opportunities to help the Sun-Times with multimedia coverage.
Ramsey Lewis, 83, plays his Steinway & Sons piano at his residence in Chicago on August 28, 2018. | Colin Boyle/Sun-Times
NBA player Jabari Parker speaks outside Crane High School at a press conference on the development of the Steve Rosenthal case on August 28, 2018. | Colin Boyle/Sun-Times
Rev. Michael Pfleger comforts Terinica and DaShaun Thomas outside Crane High School at a press conference on the development of the Steve Rosenthal case on August 28, 2018. | Colin Boyle/Sun-Times
Steve Rosenthal's younger brother, Juliun (2), plays basketball outside Crane High School after a press conference on the development of the Steve Rosenthal case on August 28, 2018. | Colin Boyle/Sun-Times
Back home in Chicago and only slightly jet lagged, I returned to the Sun-Times September 10 - 12. During this stretch, I did some documentation of the University of Illinois at Chicago campus, went out to seek some new images for the paper's Instagram, and photographed a press conference on a situation where a Bridgeport man identified himself as a police officer while pointing a gun at a 20-year-old black man, asking him what he was doing in the neighborhood. In the short week, I also went with Nader Issa to photograph two Chicago first responders who responded to the scene of 9/11 17 years ago. That same day I made a video about a rock extraordinaire who is only 12-years-old. It was a brief and wild week indeed, but definitely manageable. I was starting to miss being on assignment while I was away in Japan.
Despite it tragically being my last week (September 17 - 21) of my internship with the Sun-Times, Rahul Parikh and I were fortunate enough to be asked to come back on Sunday's during the Fall academic quarter this year while we are juniors at Northwestern University. As if this internship was not one of the most formative and best experiences of my life, I am incredibly appreciative and excited about this new opportunity that I will be balancing with four classes and roughly five other freelance jobs before I depart for my Journalism Residency in Argentina during the winter.
As for assignments during my last week, it was incredibly busy, just as I like it. Most days I had at least an assignment or two, with a manageable yet challenging turnaround time for the stories. My coverage included filming a mother of a 10-year-old who was sexually abused by his classmate, seeing the new Amazon Go store, manning a ~live~ camera for the first time ever, covering a strike, photographing an 11-year-old girl who received a heart transplant & met Drake, and helped film the "Fran Show" on my last day.
And just like that, my internship of a lifetime has wrapped up. I am currently sitting in a coffee shop working on my last video story of this internship, not wanting it to be over. Every single person at the Sun-Times that I have worked with has been so helpful and caring. Thank you to all of the stellar reporters who would make covering assignments even more enjoyable with our banter, especially Rachel Hinton, Mitch Armentrout, Nader Issa, Manny Ramos and Carlos Ballesteros.
Congrats! You made it through my extensively lengthy slideshow of my work. Thank you so much for your support and interest. If you would like to see my work in the future, feel free to follow @ColinBPhoto as I continue to work with The Chicago Sun-Times, Planet Forward, MileSplit, The Daily Northwestern, and Northwestern Athletics. - Colin Boyle
Credits:
Colin Boyle/Sun-Times