Local Lens: Spending Time As Block Club Chicago’s Photojournalism Intern

Local Lens is a series where Block Club Chicago explores the story behind the photograph. Here, former interning photographer Zoey Duchene reflects on her experience at Block Club.

CHICAGO — Coming into this internship, I knew the stories I was going to tell and the images I was going to make would be important.

But it wasn’t until after completing my time at Block Club did I realize how impactful the stories and images I told would be.

I am not a Chicago native, let alone from Illinois. I hail from a small town in Colorado. So, going on assignment each day in Chicago was a thrilling adventure.

From the smallest of assignments — like photographing buildings — to being able to help capture the opening of the Obama Presidential Center, the one thing that makes every assignment unique and worth it is connecting with the city around me. 

Being able to talk to Chicagoans about their stories and show a larger audience why every person’s story is important is one of the many reasons I love photojournalism. 

My assignments have taken me from finding individuals on the street and hearing what they have to share to going to scheduled interviews that wound up being so much more complex than I would have imagined.

One thing is for sure: Chicago is filled with people with many perspectives and who come from many walks of life, and this job left me calling my parents to tell them all about the amazing people I have met. 

The reporters here at Block Club are also incredible. Each person I had the pleasure of working with has shown me different sides of this field and supported my work the entire way, through photographing and the occasional writing. 

Although my internship has wrapped up, I will not let that stop my love of capturing what makes Chicago what it is: the people.

See Zoey’s favorite photos from her internship: