The art of photojournalism

By Allen Steinberg

Luke Hendry is a photojournalist at Belleville’s daily newspaper, The Intelligencer. His passion for photography combined with his many years of experience in journalism have made him into an expert storyteller, capturing moments with not only his stunning photographs but his way with words as well.

Hendry’s interest in photography was born while attending Loyalist College’s print and broadcast journalism program, which included two photo courses. After landing a job with The Bancroft Times, he gathered enough skill and experience with a camera to lure him back to Loyalist, this time to take photojournalism. From his time there, he shares one enduring quote passed down to him from his mentor Frank O’Connor:

"Make your own luck"

“I came to realize if you do your homework, plan things out, know your gear, and be prepared, you'll be ready when the moment arrives,” says Hendry. “It's a great feeling when that works.”

His photojournalistic journey has presented him with many once-in-a-lifetime opportunities -- and he has the pictures to go with them. Some of his most memorable moments have been shooting the inside of a burning building during firefighter training, following local veterans through their Italian battlegrounds when he was on the military beat, photographing surgery, flying over flood zones and canoeing past moose, he says.

But despite all of these highlights, Hendry finds the most moving images to be ones found in the most mundane parts of life. He connects most with his pictures of ordinary people and his family because they’re what matters the most. Hendry is a storyteller and he uses his camera to capture the stories of others around him: “I love working with light, capturing people’s personalities, reactions, and interactions, exploring nature and recording history. There is always more to see and learn.“