Behind the camera: our photojournalists capture some of SWFL's best moments

When 6-year-old Ever Young rang the ceremonial bell to symbolize she’s done with chemotherapy at Golisano Children’s Hospital, we were there.

When a new Malayan tiger took up residence at the Naples Zoo, we were there.

And when storms recently threatened our coast, we were there.

Or more specifically, our award-winning visuals team for The News-Press and Naples Daily News was there, capturing it all for you to see.

In pictures and in video, this team of six dedicated photojournalists is committed to bringing you the sights and sounds from around Southwest Florida.

They capture some pretty incredible moments, from the proverbial thrill of victory to the agony of defeat. From protests to celebrations. From wildlife rescues to amazing sunsets.

With their photos and videos, it’s almost as if you were there too.

The old adage may be that “a picture is worth a thousand words” but with people short on time and long on social media, visuals are relied upon more than ever tell a story.

Andrea Melendez did just that when she documented Ever’s big day this week. The Fort Myers child has battled T-cell lymphoma for two years. Children are given a bell to decorate when they start chemo, so they can look forward to ringing it on their last day of treatment.

Andrea also went along as volunteers in Cape Coral counted burrowing owls. It was part of the annual census to see how the threatened birds are faring, especially as their habitat is shrunk by encroaching development.

When local veterans took to the skies in a restored open-cockpit biplane, Caitlyn Jordan was there to share their experience. These seniors soared 1,000 feet in the air on the same aircraft used to train aviators during World War II. Their memorable day is forever in pictures thanks to Caitlyn.

Caitlyn also found herself staring down the eye of the tiger as she photographed the Naples Zoo’s newest resident. The Malayan tiger is a reminder of the tragic events of Dec. 29, when a cleaning service worker stuck his arm through the fenced enclosure of Eko the tiger and a Collier sheriff’s deputy was forced to kill him to save the worker.

Landon Bost is a regular at various high school athletic events here but one of my favorites is when he teamed up with reporter Dustin Levy. Together they produced a video of a Barron Collier High School track and field star. The headline? Learn how to long jump from Barron Collier track and field's Shamoya Clemetson. It didn’t help me but I enjoyed watching it.

Last week, Landon got his first taste of hurricane season here in Southwest Florida, as a potential tropical storm threatened for days.

“It was my most important assignment for the community because it is the beginning of hurricane season ...,” he said. And he drove all over Collier County with his cameras amid the drenching rain.

Ricardo Rolon was also driving around in Lee County in search of “weather art” to illustrate the impact of the tropical disturbance. What he found was a little different.

“I ran across some folks on Sanibel Island who did not let the weather get in their way,” he said. “Although things could have been much worse, I appreciated that this opportunity served as a gentler reminder for residents to prepare for the potential impact of hurricane season.”

Me too.

Everyone loves a parade, right? Well, maybe not the photo staff on the night of the Edison Festival of Light Grand Parade, which can be utter chaos with the thousands and thousands of people who attend. On a smaller but no less important scale, Ric attended the Dunbar Easter Parade this year and he provided an upbeat video of the scenes and sounds from the 78th annual event.

The assignments aren’t always so upbeat. Some can be downright depressing and filled with emotion. Amanda Inscore had one such assignment recently as she listened and captured the story of Tiffany Nemec, who recounted the day she survived being shot in the face by her abuser. She now helps others in abusive relationships and thanks to our subscribers, she raised enough money for her oral reconstructive surgery.

Amanda also shared another account, this one a much happier event when Island Coast High School beat Bonita Springs High School for the baseball district championship. Island Coast went on to win states, the first public high school in Lee County to do it.

Many of you may know Andrew West, or at least his work, and his love of photographing wildlife in Southwest Florida. It’s pretty spectacular. So you can imagine how excited he was to learn of a flamingo that was visiting the Ten Thousand Islands earlier this year.

“Seeing a flamingo in the wild, especially hanging out with a flock of pelicans is an extremely rare sighting,” he said. “Being able to document it and share it was awesome.”

Then there’s the ever difficult and emotional interviews with family of homicide victims. For the record, we don’t particularly enjoy that intrusive feeling but their stories can be so compelling and we do it only if and when they want to tell them.

Like Lorrieann Thurman, whose son was killed on Mother’s Day 2021. It turns out he was a suspected target in the Club Blu mass shooting that occurred in Fort Myers. She just wants answers. The case remains unsolved.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that we were there when thousands of high school seniors crossed the stage to get their diplomas in Lee and Collier counties. It’s one of the busiest times of the year, an all-hands-on-deck moment for the entire photo team and they came through once again with flying colors.

So first, I want to thank all of them for what they do every day.

And next I want to thank you for subscribing, and for being able to witness their great work every day.

As always, you can contact me at wfullert@gannett.com.

Best wishes,

Wendy Fullerton Powell

Southwest Florida Region editor/ The News-Press/Naples Daily News

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Behind the camera: our photojournalists capture some of SWFL's best moments