Underneath an oak tree, 13-year-old Marc Monaghan pulls out his Brownie Starmatic camera and angles it carefully above him at the leaves. The camera clicks with each photo, shuttering to capture each moment.
Later, he would develop these photos and paste them into a collage on his bedroom wall.
“I was goofing around and doing all sorts of things like that,” Mr. Monaghan said, reflecting on his youth.
Although Mr. Monaghan had an interest in photography from a young age, he didn’t pursue it as a career until his 50s, after a career in academia. Now, at age 75, Mr. Monaghan works as a freelance photojournalist and journalist for the Hyde Park Herald, along with projects for other publications. Mr. Monaghan has learned many lessons throughout his journalistic career and has watched many aspects of the industry change.
While Mr. Monaghan was working as dean of students at Lab’s middle school, he began taking classes at Columbia College Chicago for basic photography, photojournalism and journalism. After receiving his first major assignment, he left Lab in 2007 to work as a photojournalist full time.
“I kind of got the bug,” he said. “I said to them, ‘I’m really enjoying doing this work.’”
Although Mr. Monaghan predominantly pursued photojournalism, he was inspired to further explore print journalism after hearing about an incident in which all the photojournalists on a newspaper staff were fired and replaced by print journalists tasked with taking photographs, he said.
“If they can hand a writer a point-shoot camera, then they could hand me a pencil,” Mr. Monaghan said.
Through his work as a photojournalist and print journalist, Mr. Monaghan has learned many lessons about the importance of respect in the industry.
“You have to be honestly respectful and admiring the communities you’re involved with,” Mr. Monaghan said. “It can’t be something you just wear.”
He also has learned about the importance of recognizing unintentional journalistic biases and the struggles of managing those in such a fast-paced industry.
“I think listening and being very aware of your internal narrative about what you’re looking at is extraordinarily important and it’s really hard to be because, guess what? You’ve got a deadline,” Mr. Monaghan said.
Along with watching the South Side change during his 15 years covering it for various news outlets, Mr. Monaghan has also observed the growth of the journalism industry.
“There’s a lot more people of color in the staff of newspapers and journals, and that’s expanded the conversations and perspectives of newsrooms and editorial staff,” he said.
Mr. Monaghan has also created a number of photo essays focusing on a variety of topics relating to Chicago’s South Side, including “Chicago Says Farewell To Obama” and “Protest and Resistance in Chicago.” An essay allows the reader to see a progression of moments and explore elements of a story that a single photo would not be able to, Mr. Monaghan said.
Mr. Monaghan choses the topics for his photo essays based on an issue he’s interested in within the community, he said.
At 75 years old, Mr. Monaghan is still capturing the world through a camera lens. Although it’s no longer the leaves of an oak tree in California, Mr. Monaghan still holds the same passion for his work as he did years ago.
