Paul Gillespie, a Maryland native, has been documenting Anne Arundel County and beyond for more than three decades as a journalist and photojournalist. Taking a personal approach to his work, Gillespie aims to capture the world as he sees it, from everyday encounters to the stars above. His work will be featured in a new solo exhibition, Every Picture Tells a Story, Don’t It? People, Places and Passing Moments, opening Sept. 10 at the Patricia Barland Gallery at Chesapeake Arts Center. An opening reception will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. that evening.
Running through Nov. 8, the exhibition brings together street portraits from the past several years alongside photographs of musicians, places and memorable moments that caught Gillespie’s attention. The display will also feature images of the moon, a subject that is near and dear to his heart, as well as a selection of photographs from his Journalists Matter: Faces of the Capital Gazette project.
“Photography doesn’t end when my workday does,” Gillespie said. “I’ve been doing this for so long that it’s really more a way of life than a job. I see someone or something that makes me stop. If it’s a person, I want to meet them, learn about them and, hopefully, capture something of their story in my photographs so I can share it with others. My hope is that by sharing those stories, we might become a little more understanding and empathetic toward one another.”
Gillespie strives to create photographs that feel organic and authentic, capturing moments as they unfold and preserving them long after they have passed. When photographing people, he looks beyond the face to reveal something about the person behind it, recognizing that a single image can carry years of memories and meaning.
The exhibition’s title reflects Gillespie’s belief that photographs can tell stories that extend far beyond the instant in which they were taken. Sometimes, the story comes from the circumstances surrounding an image. Other times, it can be seen in the person looking back at the camera. And sometimes, the moment itself tells the story.
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