Through the Lens: Our world through the eye of photojournalist Craig Murray

Join us in celebration of Through the Lens: Our world through the eye of photojournalist Craig Murray, on display January 10 - February 5 at the Dolphin Gallery, located in the Hingham Library. Opening Reception: Thursday, January 15th, 5:30-7:00 pm

Artist Statement: 

When I was just five, my parents gave me my first camera, but I found my love for photojournalism in the darkroom of Mass College of Art in the early 1970s. Then a series of events led me to a lifelong photographic career covering local, national, and international events including presidential campaigns, World Series and Super Bowls, and great entertainment performances.

Daily newspaper photography requires that the photographer covers a wide spectrum of events: local, national and international. It means you meet people at life’s highest points: winning a championship or celebrating achievements. However, more often it meant being there at incredibly sad and painful times, spending time with family members - sharing memories of their loved ones – after unthinkable events such as the 9/11 attack or asking someone to sharedetails about a close relative or friend lost to violence or drug use. Meeting them, I sit and listen, feeling some of their pain, rather than clicking the camera and running to another assignment. Taking that time with people in crisis, showing compassion, empathy and feeling what they were going through was crucial in those times. I felt honored as they shared those emotional moments with me and, later, the readers who viewed my photographs. These gifts of humanity from those willing to share their personal and often difficult stories are what I will always be thankful for.

For this collection, picking photos was difficult. With more than 10,000 negatives and digital files in my studio it is difficult to choose what to show, but here is selection from over the years.