WHAT HAS CHANGED

Have you seen the Time Magazine cover featuring the unrest in Baltimore? It's amazing.

The May 11, 2015 cover of TIME Magazine. Photo by Devin Allen.

Amazing. And shot by an "amateur". A guy from West Baltimore who hasn't missed a march. Who protests while he shoots. Whose photography is a remarkable protest, all of it's own.

His name is Devin Allen & I'm blown away by his story.

For starters, his work was discovered on Instagram (after Rihanna posted one of his images) by Time's Director of Photography Paul Moakley. 

In digging through his Instagram feed, Paul said he saw "a singular vision throughout the work and we laid it all out. It runs through six pages in the magazine and it’s our cover now.”

Yes, you read that correctly. The head of photography for one of the biggest publications in the United States sourced work for the magazine on Instagram, a social media platform. You probably just thought it was for lunch & baby photos.

I would recommend checking out Devin's Instagram feed to fully comprehend why Moakley made the decision he made.

Their neighborhood is where everything took place ::: they are out cleaning their streets :::: The News should be asking these guys how they feel right now ::: #Welovebaltimore ::: #ripfreddygray :::: #DVNLLN

A photo posted by KnownNobody ◼️◾️▪️ (@bydvnlln) on Apr 28, 2015 at 6:10pm PDT

Anyone else having their mind blown?

This is the Revolution I wrote about last week. I'm telling you, the establishment walls are coming down. In Devin's words: 

“Somebody tell the [Baltimore] Mayor that Time put a thugs artwork on the cover of with a full spread.”

With our art we protest broken systems and inspire a better world. From Instagram to TIME, talk about a further definition of a medium. 

For those of us who desire to tell great stories, to use our work to make change in the world, we should read this story and take heart. Our time is coming, if it hasn't arrived. 

If you learn anything from Devin, learn this:

Be thoughtful, be thorough, hone your voice & be patient. You'll get your shot.

I know Baltimore is an explosive topic. This is a story about a story being told, yes. But it's also more than a story to many, it's life (and death). Should you feel led to leave a comment below, I simply ask that you keep it civil & respectful.