Sara Stathas captured history this month. The Washington Post assigned the Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based photographer to get imagery of voters standing in line on Tuesday, April 7. These voters, as you may have heard, were forced to go to the polls instead of being allowed to mail in their ballots. Sara’s A1 work led to WaPo’s coverage the next day, a development that understandably filled the freelancer with a mix of emotions.
I felt pure joy — this is my first ever front page of a newspaper. But having this particular image on the cover was also bittersweet, considering the symbolism.
Sara was recently hired by the paper for a story on Wisconsin farmers and was brought aboard for this assignment when it became clear that the Badger State was actually going to go ahead with the plan to restrict voting to those in person. Even though she was apprehensive about being out in public during a pandemic, Sara went to the polls and got the shots and quotes WaPo needed.
I didn’t think the election would still go on but had recently accepted the WaPo assignment. The day before the election, however, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers issued an executive order postponing the election until the beginning of June. Then, a few hours after the announcement, the Wisconsin State Supreme Court overruled it. There was going to be an election during a pandemic, and I would need to be out in it all day, taking to people and shooting portraits. I was shocked by the reality of the situation and got nervous about how I’d shoot this assignment well while staying safe.
It’s nearly impossible to adhere to social distancing guidelines and be an effective journalist, a big part of what made Sara nervous. Though she didn’t have to go inside the buildings, she did have to interview voters as they stood in line. In order to get close enough to them to record their responses, Sara had to get break the “six-foot” rule.
The assignment was to photograph portraits of at least a dozen different subjects — voters, poll workers, and volunteers — looking for people of diverse backgrounds. Thus, I’d be shooting outdoors with natural light and didn’t have to go inside polling places. I had hand sanitizer in my pocket, which I never used, because I didn’t touch anything other than my cameras and phone. I tried to maintain a six-foot distance from my subjects — no problem while photographing, but more challenging while gathering caption information.
I used my phone to record the information and was far too close to everyone I spoke to because peoples’ instinct is to move closer to a microphone. Time will tell how things go.
Sara visited two different polling places in Milwaukee, constantly communicating with her photo editor throughout the day to send along images and get feedback for her work. The more Sara shot that day, the more at ease she felt about being around so many people. What also lifted her spirits were the people themselves, brave individuals who gave her immense pride in her community.
I was nervous to shoot this assignment because I had been sticking to the “safer-at-home” rule and had not been around this many people for weeks. The more I talked with people, the more impressed I was by how determined people were to vote.
I felt everyone’s positive spirits filling the air, despite their risk of getting sick to vote and having to stand in a seemingly never-ending line to do it. Milwaukeeans turned out in droves during a pandemic and time of quarantine to make sure their votes were cast. I consider everyone I saw that day — the voters, volunteers, and poll workers — heroes. A lot of feelings didn’t hit me until after my photos were shot and the job delivered. I am so proud of this community.
See more of Sara’s work at sarastathas.com
Credits:
Photo Editor: Natalia Jimenez
Further Reading:
Read more about Sara Stathas on our Published blog
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