WASHINGTON — Whatever you may think of the situation in Baltimore, the riots that caused it and the investigation into the police-custody death of Freddie Gray, one thing is for sure: Some of the pictures have been deeply moving. And one aspiring photographer’s shots have brought him recognition of which he couldn’t have dreamed.
Devin Allen, 26, lives in Baltimore, a few minutes from where Gray suffered fatal injuries in police custody, and his black-and-white photos of the aftermath have been shared widely on social media, eventually coming to the attention of TIME magazine, which put one of his photos on its cover.
“I knew I was going to cover it,” Allen tells TIME, “but I never thought it would get this big. My city kind of has a bad rap, but I thought if we can come together peacefully, it [would] be epic for this city, and it was my goal to capture that.”
He says of the violence, “I know my city. With all the frustration with the city, the mayor, the economy, the pot has been boiling.”
But he was determined to show “the good, the bad and the ugly” of what was going on.
“Of course, since I’m a black man, I understand the frustration, but at the same time, I’m a photographer. I’m not going to lie to you. I’m going to tell you exactly what happened. That was the goal.”
His photos have been shared by social-media giants, including Rihanna (17.7 million Instagram followers), and of the exposure, Allen says, “I’m still in awe of it all. … For me, who’s from Baltimore city, to be on the cover of TIME magazine, I don’t even know what to say. I’m speechless.”
But it didn’t make a difference to him at the time: The photo that eventually made it to TIME went viral while he was “still shooting, still snapping till the sun went down.”
As his eye’s water i wonder the thoughts running thru his head ::: Yes police have done us wrong but all are not evil, and this picture shows that :::: The news wont show this the Sun paper turned me down multiple times :::: I CAPTURE the real The Good and Bad :::: Repost Share spread the word #Ripfreddiegray #prayforbaltimore #allblacklivesmatter ::: #DVNLLN A photo posted by KnownNobody ◼️◾️▪️ (@bydvnlln) on
