We often don’t know what kind of impact our images have on readers. Feedback can be elusive and inconsistent. Sometimes I’ll take a photo that I really like and not hear a word while simple photos of ANY animals will garner many immediate responses.

The photo above went with a story on how an elderly couple had been burned out of their home. They had no insurance. Attorney Bobby Bailey, left, stepped forward to help the family and represent them in a future civil suit. Bailey and the homeowner, Julius Watkins, surveyed the damage while I took pictures. I really didn’t expect any reader response. And I didn’t expect us to do more with the story. But, the reporter got word that an individual had stepped forward to offer the Watkins a home while their’s was being repaired. After the benefactor, Garry Session, had taken Hazel Watkins through the loaner house he turned to me and said that it was my photo from the original story that had inspired him to take action. He described the photo from memory and talked about how it moved him to contact the Watkins.

I was overwhelmed. His words were humbling and insipring. I don’t often think about the power of the image, or its consequences.

In the second photo Hazel Watkins tours her new temporary home with owner Garry Session, right. I know it sounds corny, but this kind of story is what keeps me going in this business. We reported. We inspired. We made a difference. It doesn’t get any better than that.