As photojournalists for an editorial publication, we work to provide the best possible photograph that either tells a story or illustrates a concept, produced in documentary fashion, that adheres to stringent ethical standards and relates our view of the world to our readers and viewers. And for every photograph seen in the printed edition (and that applies as well to the online outlet), we edit a series of photographs into one, or several, photographs for publication.

However, for every individual or group of photographs seen, there are hundreds, if not thousands over time, of images that do not make it into the paper or online editions for a variety of reasons. They vary from an editor’s personal preference to whether the photograph effectively tells the story to the vision of the individual photographer. I think that’s why photojournalists and photographers are such a diverse group of people. Each staff member here “sees” their pictures differently, and that excitement of visual diversity, of the power of individuality, is incredible. Having the opportunity to create images, see the world from my own perspective, and translate that into visual storytelling for a community is a powerful, and one could argue, obsessive trait that provides us with daily inspiration.

Here are several outtakes while working on a piece about love. Featured in these photographs is Almir and Tessa, a couple I found through a few of their friends and joined at a local movie theater while on their date. The original image ran in a photographic essay that centered around the broader topic of spring. I think these outtakes, not seen before, breathe life into these photographs that would have been lost into the archiving system.

Almir & Tessa, Ronnies 20 Cine, March, 2008