Eric Lee

I met Eric while putting on a production of "Avenue Q" through a theater company I am part of. We were looking to hire a puppet band that would play along with the real band for the musical. Eric was super nice to deal with and more excited to be part of it then most people who would be hidden while performing. After that I was only connected to Eric just through Instagram and facebook and he has always been supportive as well as always stood for doing good things and being a real person. Again this is just my take from a far. I saw Eric at Pride for a few minutes and he let me take this portrait even though he was late meeting someone. The next day I wound up at the vigil for Orlando at city hall. I was torn being there as a photographer and as a participant. I did not feel great about taking photographs but in the same way I though it needed to be documented and shared. It was more about trying to document it with respect and give people space. At one point at the vigil people started to march. I happened to get the photograph below while Eric was passing by. The photograph represented to me this person who was obviously crushed by what happened, choosing to put out a message of love instead of hate. I don't know Eric super well but it tells me so much about his character and of the character of LGBTQI activists throughout history.