2022 in photos: Letting the memories unfold

Asking longtime Telegraph and Gazette photographer Alex Paschal for his favorite images from the year – then seeing what he selects – is always a treat.

You can’t dispute his choices. They are all vivid and memorable photographs from 2022, newsworthy and engaging.

But there’s also a theme that runs through them.

There is, this year, the strong sense of a quiet observer: that the man with the camera does not wish to intrude on the moment before him, that he is taking a step back and letting the moment unfold naturally.

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Dawn and Matt Moore lead the group of BJ and wife Pam Fenwick and Joe Fenwick as they head toward Lowell Park during their annual New Years ride on Jan. 01, 2022. (Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@shawmedia.com/credit)

Nowhere is that more strongly felt than what was his first assignment of 2022, the New Year’s Day bicycle ride along the Rock River.

Dawn and Matt Moore lead their group of fellow cyclists through the gently falling snow. It was a windy, bitterly cold day.

Yet, this photograph captures the joy of the moment, the childlike fun of pedaling through snowflakes despite the icy shill on exposed skin.

The lens positioned close enough to capture the smile, far enough back to see all the flakes fall.

A month later, Paschal was back in the snow – another serene setting – to capture artist Heather Baker in her element, gathering inspiration at the Nachusa Grasslands.

The remainder of the 2022 package reflects a similar approach.

A fairy tale character frolicking in the pines. An amateur historian casting for clues to a tragic event in Dixon’s past. Fireworks viewed from afar on a summer evening. The pose of a fellow photographer.

Not every moment conveys silence, of course.

There’s energy and light – and music – in a fan’s raised-arm reaction to the Double Vision rock concert at Dixon Theatre. Can you hear the holler of appreciation?

Documenting live musical performances is a big part of being a photographer in the Sauk Valley, so there were plenty of images from which to pick. Many of Paschal’s shots of musicians and crowds from the Petunia Festival were particularly memorable (and truth be told, I fully expected one of them to make the cut).

But I remembered the theme: close enough to see the expression, far enough back to tell a larger story. In a sea of celebration, this audience member’s jubilation is on par with the scene unfolding around him – yet also distinct.

In all, Paschal provided 15 images for the 2022 online gallery. Many of them are reprinted to accompany this essay. I invite you to view the complete set online – and remember the year that was.