This week’s top photo comes from photojournalist and Photo Desk Editor Ashlee Rezin. Follow her on X and Instagram.
What makes this photo important?
Thousands of residents in Northwest Indiana endured a historic power outage that lasted nearly two weeks after severe storms with 99 mph winds blew through the area on Aug. 11. As a photojournalist, it is my job to tell the story of what life was like for residents of Gary and surrounding communities. I set out to humanize the crisis and give voice to those struggling to make ends meet or feed their children in a world without power.
How I got this photo:
Melissa Dixon and her family were brave to allow my colleague, reporter Elvia Malagón, and I into their home to tell their story. As the sun continued to set, a neighbor dropped off two plastic containers of spaghetti. Dixon came inside from sitting in her mother’s vehicle out front — charging her phone in the car and searching social media for community giveaways — grabbed an LED light and started eating while standing up at her kitchen counter. I backed into a far corner of the kitchen to show that, even with the LED light, the darkness was oppressive and overwhelming.
Technical details:
- Equipment: Canon EOS R5 with an RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM lens
- Focal length: 27mm
- Aperture: f/2.8
- Exposure: 1/160
- ISO: 3200
Plus, 18 more great photos from Sun-Times and WBEZ photographers from this week in news:
Hannah Mowrey, co-founder of Mobile Front Porch, shows kids how to play a game during “Field Day,” an event organized by Protect Rogers Park and Mobile Front Porch for West Ridge and Rogers Park residents before the first day of classes begins at Hayt Elementary School in Edgewater on Aug. 22.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Father Michael Pfleger hugs a Chicago police officer Wednesday during a news conference outside St. Sabina Church after the Archdiocese of Chicago announced that Pfleger will be reinstated as senior pastor at the Auburn Gresham church. In July, Pfleger was accused of sexually abusing a girl who was a student at St. Sabina between 1993 and 1995. It was the fifth similar accusation against Pfleger within five years. He staunchly denied the most recent accusation as the archdiocese’s Independent Review Board investigated.
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Miles Lewis, volunteering to clear trees, stands in front of downed trees on 20th Street and Van Buren Street in Gary, Ind., Wednesday, Aug. 26. Lewis said he was one of the thousands of residents who lost power after the Aug. 11 storm ripped through Northwest Indiana. “It’s crazy that this happened everywhere,” he said.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Mayor Brandon Johnson signs an anti-corruption executive order Wednesday alongside supporters at Arise Chicago. The order is meant to prevent corporations that carry out corrupt or abusive practices, including inhumanely assisting in aggressive federal deportation campaigns, from doing business with the city.
Jeremy Battle/Sun-Times