Photography brings hope and comfort during shared journey

Ever since he was a teen, Steve Caputo has been using a camera to create connections. His subjects range from landscapes and seascapes to flowers, urban scenes and even vintage vehicles, and in them all, he says, is a strong throughline of hope and affirmation. 

“My self-view is not so much as an artist, but more a journalist of our surroundings,” Caputo writes on his website – the greatest reward, he says, comes in the connection that an image makes with a viewer: “There is so much beauty and joy in the world around us, if only we take time to see. I feel blessed with the gifts of sight and sensibility to bear witness to that, and obliged to capture it for those who could not see it first-hand.”

In July, Caputo learned that he would be bearing witness to a whole other journey, one that he’s been cataloging all month for the American Cancer Society (ACS) Photo-a-Day Challenge. The day he received an unexpected cancer diagnosis was shocking, but also enlightening. “I am far from alone, even by the measure of how many other people received that same news on that same day,” he shared on his blog – almost two million new cancer cases are diagnosed in the United States each year, averaging nearly 5,000 per day.

Early on in September, a sponsored ad for the ACS fundraiser appeared on Caputo’s Facebook page; though not accustomed to signing up for photo challenges, Caputo registered and set up a fundraising page.

“Still I did not know if there was a prescribed form to this social media campaign, or a purpose beyond fundraising for a worthy cause,” Caputo shared. At the start of October, things became more clear. “I realize that I have a story to tell,” he said.

“As time passes, I am trying hard not to let this new reality punctuate my life, or even my day. That is a hurdle that is not always easy to clear. I remind myself to look up and give thanks for this beautiful day, to live it to the fullest,” Caputo said. “More than any other, this is the day we can make a difference.”

Caputo’s photographs, shared on his Facebook page and also as a part of his “Light ‘n Up” blog, documents the many emotions he’s felt since being diagnosed and beginning treatment: love, support, fatigue, compassion, fear, gratitude, awe. Each entry includes from Caputo a written reflection on the photo, and his own cancer journey. 

“My intention is to offer hope and comfort to those on this journey, and perhaps some visibility to those who may be unfamiliar with the path, as was I,” he told the Journal. 

“I cannot speak more highly of Steve,” said Kathryn Laible, managing partner at The Firefly Artists in Northport Village, where Caputo displays some of his photographs. “He is marvelous. A true gem.”

“If there's anything I've learned in my seven years at The Firefly, it's that art heals,” Laible wrote in a Facebook post. “Over these years, I've learned more. Artists heal. Many of the ones we've been blessed to know, anyway. As we've gone through various and sundry adventures, [Steve] has proven to be a rock, and a golden one at that. Now, Steve’s using his own challenges as an opportunity to lend his sweet, well-grounded soul to serve the American Cancer Society and all sorts of folks reckoning with this disease.”

Those who wish to donate to Steve’s efforts can do so here, on the Facebook page Caputo published for the photo-a-day challenge.