Jose Antonio Vargas for The Washington Post

I got a call from The Washington Post asking if I was available to photograph a portrait the next morning at the Lincoln Memorial. Luckily, I was able to push back my departure time for a trip I was making the next day and got to shoot the assignment for them.

I found out that I would be photographing Jose Antonio Vargas, who is a major immigration activist. In his efforts to advance the discussion of immigration, he produced the film, Documented, which is an autobiography telling his story of being an undocumented immigrant since the age of 12 fighting for citizenship in the U.S.

Since there was such short notice with the assignment, getting a permit to shoot with strobes at the Lincoln Memorial wasn’t an option and the photo editor was fine with that. A lot of my work is done with strobes, but I certainly don’t mind shooting with just available light. I arrived a little early to hunt for certain spots where the light was more creative, and the pillars and multiple stone structures made for some good options.

You can read the article here on The Washington Post website.