https://chrisjdayphotography.com/portfolio daily 0.75 2025-12-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1766098194056-M17F57ERUUEMTL01RK7T/Day_NewsPhotos_10.JPG Singles Jesse Furman is handed one of her belongings by Brayden McLemore by a trailer that neighbors her destroyed trailer in Selmer, Tenn., after a suspected tornado tore through the town early Thursday morning on April 3, 2025. Furman and her partner Jose Cabrera were going to bed in their trailer when the tornado passed over and threw them both from their bed and into the yard. “I had a hold of the bed frame and a hold of his ankle and within minutes it came a part and I woke up on the ground covered with a wet blanket,” Furman said. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1766098194056-M17F57ERUUEMTL01RK7T/Day_NewsPhotos_10.JPG Singles Jesse Furman is handed one of her belongings by Brayden McLemore by a trailer that neighbors her destroyed trailer in Selmer, Tenn., after a suspected tornado tore through the town early Thursday morning on April 3, 2025. Furman and her partner Jose Cabrera were going to bed in their trailer when the tornado passed over and threw them both from their bed and into the yard. “I had a hold of the bed frame and a hold of his ankle and within minutes it came a part and I woke up on the ground covered with a wet blanket,” Furman said. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1629744152238-ME8UD1UWCSQOZDEFAQT1/fl-mini-concert-cuba-demonstration_01.JPG Singles - Cuban Miami Demonstration An audience member is comforted by Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo during a mini-concert from local Cuban-American artists on Wednesday, July 14, 2021. The event was put on by the City of Miami to show support to the people in Cuba who are protesting for freedom. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1699048778225-2NVLE8KFJH0N5ZEMRCJQ/230605_TyreNicholsBirthday_17.JPG Singles Dancers from L.Y.E. Academy perform during the celebration for what would have been Tyre Nichols’ 30th birthday at Fourth Bluff Park in Downtown Memphis on Monday, June 5, 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1681696972920-9NVAO3PX33JR13DJYRGT/230412_PearsonReappointed_11.JPG Singles Justin Pearson celebrates with supporters after being reinstated to the the Tennessee House of Representatives by the Shelby County Board of Commissioners in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday, April 12, 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1766517500982-3X7ZSNBT1K6OCTCPXRFX/Day_NewsPhotos_13.JPG Singles - Day_NewsPhotos_13.JPG Anasa Troutman, CEO & Founder of The Big We, is comforted by Memphis Fire Department Chief Gina Sweat as MFD firefighters continue to respond to a devastating fire at the historic Clayborn Temple in Downtown Memphis, on Monday, April 28, 2025. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1638987957965-14PFL7AF92IDLXB689M4/fl-mini-concert-cuba-demonstration_01_newedit.jpg Singles An audience member is comforted by Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo during a mini-concert from local Cuban-American artists on Wednesday, July 14, 2021. The event was put on by the City of Miami to show support to the people in Cuba who are protesting for freedom. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1681697093999-MJ70HK37672NSLH7YY25/GENW_9047188286_TyreRidgeway.JPG Singles Linda Jones has tears roll down her face as she speaks about Tyre Nichols outside the Memphis Police Department Ridgeway Station during a justice for Tyre Nichols rally in Memphis, Tenn., on Sunday, January 29, 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1699048203148-CFQZJOBENI5EM3E63EVX/230329_MidnightStormDamage_02.JPG Singles Joe Pruden looks down as he leans against the counter in what used to be the kitchen in his home on Seven Mile Road outside Midnight, Miss., on March 29, 2023. Recovery efforts continue after an EF-4 tornado came through the area last Friday night. His wife Carmen Pruden said they rode out the tornado in their bathroom with their grandson after their son called them and told them to take cover. “Get your tail in your bathroom and do it now,” said Carmen about what her son told her on the phone. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755557951413-3VK1VQOW3Q9OKJTNDWFX/240408_HotSpringsTotalEclipse_17.JPG Singles Kendra Barat, a park ranger with the National Park Service, looks up at the solar eclipse on the Arlington Lawn at Hot Springs National Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas on Monday, April 8, 2024. Barat said she is most looking forward to the sense of collective awe that will be shared by all the people watching the total solar eclipse together. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755558947243-P2I9J2MB1P8WN8V7O5YC/FTSG_9047188286_FiretruckSpray.JPG Singles Katelyn Goff holds up Nova Bean, 5, and laughs as they are sprayed by water from a Memphis Fire Department fire truck after the 75th Annual High Point Terrace Neighborhood Independence Day Celebration in Memphis, Tenn., on Thursday, July 4, 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1643423021561-EKXA7ATIMU5EO4DDCOZB/1027897507%2BFL%2BGUA%2B1017%2BDAYSPRING_2.jpg Singles Mikayla Flanders and other members of the DaySpring Missionary Baptist Church Atmosphere Shifters perform during the 105th anniversary celebration at DaySpring Missionary Baptist Church on October 13, 2019 in Gainesville, FL. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1643423256737-O856AYAW47PLLOFZPKF8/PSES_9047188286_fatherandson_01.JPG Singles Michael Soroka touches his father Dr. Mike Soroka's leg as they listen to a commencement address by the dean of Ohio University's Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine on October 28, 2021. Mike Soroka was terminally ill with cancer. When it seemed that he wouldn't be able to see his son graduate in spring, or likely make it to fall graduation in December, the college arranged for an at-home ceremony. Dr. Kenneth Johnson, the executive dean of Heritage College, and Dr. John Schriner, associate dean, came in full regalia to give Michael a commencement address. His father then presented him with his doctoral hood and led him in the osteopathic oath. Mike Soroka passed away from colon cancer on November 24, 2021. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1643422969092-WX8TBSRBI18M0N5550FB/FLGAI-111419-GUA-VeteransDay0101.jpg Singles A member of the Caring and Sharing After-School program sits on stage as others wave flags as part of a performance during the Colonel Charles D. Young Veterans Day Breakfast Celebration on November 11, 2019 in Gainesville, FL. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755558538212-R9UKU0ZVD8N7GTW1RYQG/GENW_9047188286_BittersweetGrad.JPG Singles Jeaneen Tankersly-Jones, the mother of Xavier Tankersly, who was shot and killed in March 2023, walks across the stage and receives her son’s diploma during the graduation ceremony for Melrose High School at Renasant Convention Center in Memphis, Tenn., on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1699049154213-VUUZSRXBKLADQESF6TSS/230815_ElvisCandelightVigil_02.JPG Singles Jerry Engelby, from Jefferson City, Missouri, holds a rose and a candle as she sings along to “Can’t Help Falling in Love” in front of Graceland during the “Candlelight Vigil” as part of Elvis Week 2023 in Memphis, Tenn., on Tuesday, August 15, 2023. “It comes to me every year,” Engelby said about the song. “Can’t help falling in love with him over and over and over at the age I am with grandkids.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1668017082568-0XPXLCZU7RV8OAAAMEKL/AAJC+071522+FERNBANK+STANDALONE+02.JPG Singles A camper from Camp Whitefield looks up at a cast replica of an Argentinosaurus skeleton in the atrium of Fernbank Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Atlanta. The Argentinosaurus roamed Earth around 90 million years ago, was up to 130 feet long, weighed up to 100 tons and was a plant eater. (Chris Day/Christopher.Day@ajc.com) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1766517503045-2WL5AKGV03KRDX7XFO7L/Day_NewsPhotos_03.JPG Singles - Day_NewsPhotos_03.JPG Asher Hurley, 6, hugs a snowman as Josh Hurley, Elliot Hurley, 2, and Bree Hurley continue to build it at Overton Park after a snow storm brought multiple inches of snow to Memphis on Friday, January 10, 2025. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755557917636-298K70LL8N1EYMYA81HZ/240426_SantaConvention_04.JPG Singles Santas wait for the next workshop to begin during the 2024 International Santa Celebration in Downtown Memphis on Friday, April 26, 2024. The event brings professionals working as Santa or Mrs. Claus together to learn, network and socialize. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1634736835374-LN621A66N14WAXAWJKIN/Day_missouri_testcard_33.JPG Singles Ryan Gartley competes in a pawpaw eating contest as attendees watch and cheer during the 23rd Annual Ohio Pawpaw Festival in Albany, Ohio, on Saturday, September 18, 2021. Gartley, who ultimately won the competition, said this is his second pawpaw contest he's taken part in. His main strategy is to get the seeds off to the sides as much as possible while he's eating the remainder of the fruit. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457108948941-TBB1X97QMGRFOO3H3Z1J/82.65.424_PS1.jpg Singles https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1708924777154-V2K4N2F0ZTN15SHQTMZ8/ChrisDay_POY_54_1.jpg Singles University of Memphis student Arabella Patterson and Paige Seward play tic-tac-toe against U.S. Navy underwater construction divers Keith Reed and Jason Fox as Fox reacts to losing his game outside of Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium prior to the football game between Memphis and Navy in Memphis, Tenn., on Thursday, September 14, 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755559388491-1UQZKXG3C1GNM2VZBR4Q/240921_LatinFest_02.JPG Singles Dancers from Ballet Folklorico Tradicion Cultural perform as audience members react behind them during Latin Fest 901 at Overton Square in Memphis, Tenn., on Saturday, September 21, 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1651693958790-KI5DC4PQT5GB3BAOR8YJ/220220_Day_ToiletBowl_808.jpg Singles Jessie West is tackled into the mud while watching the Toilet Bowl outside New Marshfield, Ohio, on February 20, 2022. For over forty years, New Marshfield residents have held a pick-up football game the Sunday after the Super Bowl. The MVP on the winning team is given the purple toilet to hold on to until the next game is held the following year. "You can always guarantee there's a Toilet Bowl," James McCune, a spectator and former player, said. "It was going before I was born and will still be going after I'm dead." https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755557949612-1T3XV4H3MVPPOT03JSPY/240404_MLKMemorial_02.JPG Singles Josephine Hasan-Kerr puts her hands in the air while listening to Deborah Manning Thomas perform during the “Remembering MLK: The Man. The Movement. The Moment.” event to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr. on the 56th anniversary of his assassination in front of the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., on Thursday, April 4, 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1619298678351-LURVR8DSEYU0YMVQXNA0/CPOY+Edit.jpg Singles https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1699048530651-C6VVWWJKBT3AW82MCCS0/230529_MemorialDayCeremony_03.JPG Singles Yvetta Goodman sits and looks down at her grandfather’s grave after the 2023 Memorial Day Ceremony at the West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday, May 29, 2023. Goodman’s grandmother is buried on the other side and she said she and her husband Melvin, who is a Navy veteran, come to visit them “all the time.” “Memorial Day especially because I recognize all the military men not just grandaddy but all the people who sacrificed,” she said. “It means a whole lot to us both.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1551201708758-YHAKJGE6Q27K13XG3K37/highwayman.jpg Singles - Willie Daniels Willie Daniels, a painter from the Florida Highwaymen group of African-American landscape artists, poses for a Civil War-era portrait in Fort Pierce, Florida. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457112491687-0S0MDUYFV1IQ6FAZTI20/portraits-82.65.2_PS2.jpg Singles https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1569860309140-L3UMCDO437QEEVVGB2KE/_I5A8719.jpg Singles - Inspection After Destruction A team sent by the Bahamian government leaves McLean's Town, Grand Bahama after inspecting the state of the clinic after Hurricane Dorian on September 16, 2019. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1563981027758-1AUH5T1V42MFNJJ3198S/300A2421.jpg Singles - Wheels in Waldo A referee waves a checkered flag to signal the end of a race at Waldo Motorsports during a competition of post-vintage Motocross bikes in Waldo, Florida. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1583293590220-U814HQIG3H5T3DOQHX4J/417A3228.jpg Singles - Florida Capitol Protest Protesters perform “A Rapist in Your Path,” a song protesting violence against women on February 5, 2020, in Tallahassee. The song was created in Chile and has been performed by women around the world. The women pointed to the Supreme Court and Capitol building while saying the words “the rapist is you.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1569860220963-0J5SMW02LLXITRAEAEMF/_I5A8719+color.jpg Singles https://chrisjdayphotography.com/projects daily 1.0 2022-05-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1571253451925-GNY2GQ4X1TZH39SD8M5W/_I5A8580.jpg Stories Peggy Higgs sits on the front porch of her home in McLean's Town, Grand Bahama on September 16, 2019. She said she lost eight family members who were together in their home when it was destroyed by Hurricane Dorian. Higgs is living in Freeport and returns each day to try and clean her home. "I lost a few of my family but for the most part we are fine," she said. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1633195983412-67KHZSL4ON4L0Z586TOB/Day_Missouri_01.JPG Stories Danita McLaughlin leaves her home in New Marshfield, Ohio, before dawn to head to her daughter, Melanie Shaulis's, house before her daughter leaves for work and her grandchildren wake up on Monday, September 22. Danita normally watches the children from six in the morning until five in the afternoon when either Melanie or her husband Josh Shaulis return home. After 30 years of teaching, the last thing Danita McLaughlin thought was that she would spend the next few years surrounded by even more children. However, after her two daughters, Miranda and Melanie, began to have families of their own, she immediately stepped into her new role of the always-available grandmother. “I wasn’t planning on babysitting,” Danita McLaughlin said. “That wasn’t ever in my mind after retiring.” Now based on the day of the week, she and her husband are part of a musical chairs game of grandchildren as they go to various homes and are dropped off and picked up by a rotation of parents. During the pandemic, Danita said she was relieved that she could watch the grandchildren and keep them within the family pod. Her main difficulty was entertaining the younger kids with drawing and games while trying to to run a “grandma school” for the older kids who were missing in-person learning. “I just felt fortunate because so many of my friends couldn’t be together with their kids,” she said. Although some days she comes home dead tired, Danita wouldn’t trade all the extra time she gets to have with her grandchildren as they grow up. She knows they won’t always need her to change their clothes, cook them breakfast, or be able to fall asleep on her lap while she reads to them, so she cherishes every moment she has now. This story was photographed and edited in three days as part of the 73rd Missouri Photo Workshop https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1622162451661-Q0RI99U61Z99GGHJ54U9/2020-10-14_charliephotostorydaytwo_CD_122_1.jpg Stories Preacher leans in to bump Charlie Musselman's face while Musselman refills the horse's water bucket at Smoke Rise Ranch on Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. Musselman said riding and working with horses again he's in a much better place mentally. "You can't quit something that's in your heart," he said. Musselman works at Smoke Rise Ranch outside of Murray City, Ohio and has worked there since July. Prior to working at the ranch, Musselman was in a bad place mentally after going through a divorce and stopping work with horses. "After the divorce, I was just about out of shits to give," he said. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1620830087939-ADL4A3HWQSZNK1L69C6I/Day_Essay_Final_001.JPG Stories A church at the center of New Marshfield can be seen through a gap in the trees where train tracks used to pass through town on Saturday, April 3, 2021. New Marshfield, Ohio, is a small town of around 300 residents nestled among the foothills of the Appalachians. In decades past, New Marshfield was a bustling town as trains brought coal from the mines in the surrounding area to Cincinatti and beyond. However, first the trains stopped, then the coal mines shut down and finally the tracks were pulled up. Now, like the tracks, a hotel, gas stations, stores and restaurants are all gone. In a town where the primary asset is quiet, a variety of small communities find ways to spend their time when not commuting to Columbus or other nearby cities for work. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1651696190362-LPKP5S16REUUML5XF61L/Day_TonedSelects_01.JPG Stories Located in southeast Ohio in the Appalachian foothills, the churches of Athens County are nestled within small towns, plains, and hollows. Here, Christianity is the predominant religion with around 53% of the county identifying as Christian, according to the 2020 Census of American Religion. This is slightly below the national average with 65% of the country identifying as Christian, according to Pew Research Center. Christian beliefs and Christian inconography are intertwined within the fabric of America. A drive down an American road often comes with sightings of crosses and allusions to Jesus Christ or God. I was interested in seeing how this national context manifested itself within the rolling hills of southern Ohio. Throughout 2021 and the spring of 2022, I attended services in a least one church in each of the 14 county townships to photograph the people who make up the congregations of these rural churches. There are 95 Christian congregations throughout the county, according to the 2010 report by the Association of Religion Data Archives. I ultimately photographed 31 services at 29 churches in the county. I came to this project without any current religious affiliation and no agenda on evaluating organized Christianity. I was interested in meeting the individuals who devote their Sundays and Wednesday evenings to occupying these country churches. I photographed the people who I’ve seen at times drive through icy roads or trudge through the snow to flip on the lights and transform these buildings into houses of worship and centers of community two days out of the week. At each service, I heard repeated from those attending the idea that the church was the linchpin that brought people from around the county together to celebrate being in the company of one another and of God. In many churches, generations of members smile from photos on the walls as they no longer sit in the pews with those who occupy them now. “When I started coming here there was probably 18 or 20 people,” said Carolyn Flood, a congregant of Union Methodist Church, in Union, Ohio. “The older generation just leaves… they go to heaven.” Yet, the churches who do have children attend work to involve them in the service and aim to pass on their traditions. Unless younger generations return to the churches, they could sit empty. “Father we are going to do what we can to get more people in this church,” said Robert Van Bibber, the pastor of Connett Methodist Church, during his sermon. “We pray to fill it till the seams are bursting.” Purchase: https://www.blurb.com/b/11161933-in-the-hills-and-house-of-the-lord https://chrisjdayphotography.com/new-gallery-1 daily 0.75 2025-08-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755559337059-OVD8B0N7ZUQJ78VEWNUD/240920_StantonResident_01.JPG Portraiture Betty Watkins, a member of BlueOval Good Neighbors, poses for a portrait on the farm that has been in her family for over 100 years in Stanton, Tenn., on Friday, September 20, 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755559337059-OVD8B0N7ZUQJ78VEWNUD/240920_StantonResident_01.JPG Portraiture Betty Watkins, a member of BlueOval Good Neighbors, poses for a portrait on the farm that has been in her family for over 100 years in Stanton, Tenn., on Friday, September 20, 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1708924644034-5I5HL7L42TF7JLL5A5CY/231207_PediatricGunViolence_01.JPG Portraiture Dr. Derek Kelly, an orthopedic surgeon at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and Campbell Clinic, poses for a portrait in an operating room at the hospital in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday, November 29, 2023. So far this year, Le Bonheur has treated a record 165 gunshot victims – and these numbers don’t include the youth who are treated elsewhere or pronounced dead on the scene. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755557066359-JYZ63M7OLN1Q9G87PPNX/240117_ChristinaWilliamsonPortraits_01.JPG Portraiture Christina Williamson poses for a portrait holding stuffed animals that contain the voice of her nine-year-old daughter Maaliyah Williamson, who was shot and killed on Mother’s Day when her brother found a gun in the glove compartment of a family friend’s car and accidentally shot her, at her home in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, January 12, 2024. Williamson said she and her children went to Build-A-Bear Workshop after Maaliyah was killed to put recordings of her voice in the animals. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1672943935749-LW38CZ3ZLKLHBOCUYOW8/221121_MorganEnglishPortrait_01.JPG Portraiture Morgan English, an 18-year-old senior soccer player at University School of Jackson, poses for a portrait on the USJ soccer fields on Monday, November 21, 2022, in Jackson, Tenn. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755558694825-SVXLFQ5J1QD2W82VKCHE/PORT_9047188286_BowieStatue.JPG Portraiture Artist Mike McCarthy poses for a portrait with the group of fellow artists and collaborators Yvonne Bobo, Terance Brown, Jana Wilson, Frank Smith and Alison Heverly that all helped created the 10-foot-tall David Bowie statue seen beside them at Off the Walls Arts in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, June 21, 2024. McCarthy wants to erect the statue in Overton Park and will be holding a fundraiser on June 30. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1601848802954-ULSC76BR08LL9MC4YI5R/2020-09-22+potraitassignment_CD_397.jpg Portraiture - Music Store Portrait Frank McDermott, the owner of Blue Eagle Music, sits at the counter of his musical instrument store on Court Street in Athens, Ohio, on Tuesday, September 23, 2020. McDermott said he moved to Athens in 1985 and has owned the store for 14 years. "I've been doing music my whole life. I moved here to live in the woods and this came up as an opportunity and hey everyone needs something to do," he said. "Since I'm a guitar nut, it makes kinda sense." https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755558466007-U4TCOHL4P27H0RHF3390/PORT_904718826_PotholeLady.JPG Portraiture Sybil Presley, known as “The Pothole Lady,” poses for a portrait next to multiple potholes on Jefferson Avenue in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, April 26, 2024. Presley appeared as this character at a recent Memphis City Council meeting and sang an original song, “The Pothole Blues.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1569860377803-6JRHUG2PHU2WNU2J0U03/_I5A8584.jpg Portraiture Ricardo Higgs stands in the garage of his home in McLean's Town, Grand Bahama on September 16, 2019. Most houses in the community were severely damaged by Hurricane Dorian and many locals are displaced to Freeport and other parts of the island. Higgs said his wife lost eight family members who were together in one home. "I had a good loss," he said. "You can't mourn right now... If you sit down and think about it you'll go crazy," he said https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1701378461666-8GVTQ08BQVP2NKFSGF32/231026_HighSchoolGolfers_01.JPG Portraiture Sophie Christopher, a student and golfer at Houston High School, poses for a portrait at Memphis National Golf Club in Collierville, Tenn., on Wednesday, October 25, 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755557877655-VLE8JRX2SUL5EAZUGF8P/240426_SantaConvention_02.JPG Portraiture Spangle the Clown shows off his “naughty” and “nice” tattoos during the 2024 International Santa Celebration in Downtown Memphis on Friday, April 26, 2024. The event brings professionals working as Santa or Mrs. Claus together to learn, network and socialize. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1699049063767-69JS23BTDJ5CIWPZ94UK/230809_KumaroDandyDozen_01.JPG Portraiture Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering’s Kumaro Brown poses for a portrait on their practice field in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday, August 9, 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1634737016646-HXVO7NQ1H4D25L4AHIAP/_I5A8580.jpg Portraiture Peggy Higgs sits on the front porch of her home in McLean's Town, Grand Bahama on September 16, 2019. She said she lost eight family members who were together in their home when it was destroyed by Hurricane Dorian. Higgs is living in Freeport and returns each day to try and clean her home. "I lost a few of my family but for the most part we are fine," she said. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1699048565383-GWUDLJIOT7HOCVOXRPJS/230516_JordanWarePortrait_01.JPG Portraiture Jordan Ware, an 18-year-old senior at Central High School, poses for a portrait in the starting position on the track at Crump Stadium in Memphis, Tenn., on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755560496456-SZF79CJ0Y3GQ8UNLG2D9/250312_BabbieLovett_01.JPG Portraiture Babbie Lovett, a 92-year-old former model, fashion buyer, show creator and Memphis fashion icon, poses for a portrait with ballet dancers Olivia Bran, Ashley Hannah Davis, Hannah Smith, and Alyssa Abbas, who will all portray her in a new production called “The ICON: Babbie Lovett, Fashion Legend,” in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. Each dancer selected a pose for the photo they felt represents the portion of Lovett’s life they represent from her childhood to present day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1699049617908-4WO9BS67QUNFPY634D0M/231017_BrianShieldsPortrait_01.JPG Portraiture First Assembly Christian School’s Brian Shields (1) poses for a portrait during practice in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday, October 18, 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755557864277-L1NLHM0S7PZ3JBGF07IN/240410_KJTenner_01.JPG Portraiture Cordova’s KJ Tenner poses for a portrait holding a necklace with a picture inside of his late grandmother Ophelia Jones in the gym at Cordova High School in Cordova, Tenn., on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755561855893-JE84YPG2Z1W0FMC7ZVYG/250715_25DandyDozen_01.JPG Portraiture - 250715_25DandyDozen_01.JPG The Commercial Appeal’s Dandy Dozen players pose for a group photo at Collierville High School on July 15, 2025. Top row left to right: Collierville’s Marshall Smith Jr., Whitehaven’s Cory House Jr., Germantown’s Andre Amis Jr. and Djidjou Bah. Middle row left to right: Whitehaven’s Christopher Talley, Germantown’s Tre’von McGory, DeSoto Central’s Eric Perry Jr., Lake Cormorant’s Raderrion Daniels and Tyler Mathews, Front Row: Lausanne’s Jawell Rodgers, Southwind’s Kelvin Perkins and Houston’s Celley Davis https://chrisjdayphotography.com/sports daily 0.75 2026-01-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755557382931-K3EUN5CL6E6PU3WJMBXZ/240313_MiddleCollegevsGordonsville_13.JPG Sports Middle College’s Patrick Mask (1) puts his hands on his head in dejection as Gordonsville's Tucker Smith (5) and James Peoples (11) hug and celebrate after Gordonville won 49-40 in overtime in the Class 1A TSSAA boys basketball state tournament quarterfinal game in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755557382931-K3EUN5CL6E6PU3WJMBXZ/240313_MiddleCollegevsGordonsville_13.JPG Sports Middle College’s Patrick Mask (1) puts his hands on his head in dejection as Gordonsville's Tucker Smith (5) and James Peoples (11) hug and celebrate after Gordonville won 49-40 in overtime in the Class 1A TSSAA boys basketball state tournament quarterfinal game in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755557726787-PSVAS2U0TXTZQQFJ38IK/ChrisDay_POY_45.JPG Sports Grizzlies' Ja Morant (12) goes for a dunk during the game between the Memphis Grizzlies and Portland Trail Blazers at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn., on April 4, 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1681697385037-NSPCC5DCNBS2DZI1RBN7/230308_BlackmanvsCookeville_18.JPG Sports Blackman's Kaelyn Flowers (12) reacts after making a layup from a ball she stole at half-court during the TSSAA BlueCross Girls’ Basketball Championship Class 4A quarterfinal game between Blackman and Cookeville in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Wednesday, March 8, 2023. Cookeville defeated Blackman 53-51. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1766517139145-7I81Z81L2DZJWSAEUWIV/SPAC_9047188286_ArkansasInterception.JPG Sports - SPAC_9047188286_ArkansasInterception.JPG Memphis' Marcello Bussey (6) has the ball pulled out of his hands by Arkansas' Julian Neal (23) during the game between Memphis and Arkansas at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tenn., on September 20, 2025. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755560325497-LE2ENF8IBN6NJ87I64WX/250215_PBRMemphis_33.jpg Sports Rider Dustin Herman is thrown from a bull during the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s PBR Memphis event at FedExForum on Saturday, February 15, 2025. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755559216063-VV29JU26B3VHU1TWYYAU/240831_MemphisvsNorthAlabama_15.JPG Sports North Alabama's Dennis Moody (10) flies through the air after being tackled by Memphis' Kobee Minor (7) during the game between Memphis and North Alabama at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tenn., on Saturday, August 31, 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755558238079-N7JIA1QT3X47QVCBEALN/SPAC_9047188286_SauceWrestling.JPG Sports Bryce Whitman with Sweet Brown Smokers and Chris Coles with Sow Luau wrestle in barbecue sauce during the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest as part of the Memphis in May International Festival in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755558036486-RVX0EWF4KV2MMWH0ZAGP/240402_MemphisvsOleMissBaseball_03.JPG Sports Eight young fans watch from the fence during the game between Memphis baseball and Ole Miss at FedExPark in Memphis, Tenn., on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1668021540609-AW545N1X6H6RT020USK1/220830_CrockettCountyvsLexingtonVolleyball_01.JPG Sports Crockett’s Bailey Ann Whitby (13) jumps in the air as she and her teammates celebrate winning a point during the game between Lexington High School and Crockett County High School on Tuesday, August 30, 2022, in Alamo, Tennessee. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1766517155965-T89FGVNR06E6B75TQOZY/SPAC_9047188286_MemphisCatch.JPG Sports - SPAC_9047188286_MemphisCatch.JPG Memphis' Jamari Hawkins (9) catches a pass as Tulsa's Zach Williams (18) tries to intercept it during the game between Tulsa and Memphis at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tenn., on October 4, 2025. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1681697382990-VMY2L69UASJ6DDFR8MN9/_2MK5510.JPG Sports Westview’s McCall Simms (22) reacts after Westview won against York in the TSSAA BlueCross Girls’ Basketball Championship Class 2A quarterfinal game in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Thursday, March 9. 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1766517154866-9OYY2ERNGDDCB48EZNL9/SPAC_9047188286_MemphisHurdle.JPG Sports - SPAC_9047188286_MemphisHurdle.JPG Memphis' Greg Desrosiers Jr. (13) hurdles over Tulsa's Elijah Green (7) as he runs with the ball during the game between Tulsa and Memphis at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tenn., on October 4, 2025. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1681697387504-BXKKMF54BXYGCAUDY0LB/230311_LivingstonAcademyvsSouthSide_18.JPG Sports South Side's Head Coach Brent McNeal holds up the state championship trophy as South Side players cheer and fan the trophy after placing a hat on it after they won against Livingston Academy 62-52 in the TSSAA BlueCross Girls’ Basketball Championship Class 3A championship game in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Saturday, March 11, 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1766517145482-SDJZNDKTEALPU4F2TZFO/FTSG_9047188286_BealeEvent.JPG Sports - FTSG_9047188286_BealeEvent.JPG Memphis' men’s basketball head coach Penny Hardaway and his team react after a fan made a half court shot during the “Ballin on Beale presents Memphis Madness” event on October 16, 2025. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1676480333420-YXKAOQ73WJOYBDOTQBQ5/221104_GreenbriervsLexington_01.jpg Sports Lexington’s Harley Allen (0) and other players celebrate in their locker room after their 40-6 victory over Greenbrier High School in the first-round of the playoffs on Friday, November 4, 2022, in Lexington, Tenn. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755560811403-ABFR95IHDNFUI0D65VXQ/250522_DCAvsSilverdale_01.JPG Sports DCA players celebrate after they won the Division II Class A State Championship 4-3 against Silverdale at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Thursday, May 22, 2025. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755560512152-OSUZUWC8W3C4WP3LMV30/250306_BGAvsStGeorges_01.JPG Sports BGA’s Greyson Williams (1) reacts after scoring and drawing a foul during a Division II-A semifinal game at Tennessee Tech University’s Hooper Ebler Center in Cookeville, Tenn., on Thursday, March 6, 2025. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1672942114432-L8RBVBOCM7HLOEZKHX2U/221203_RiversidevsTyner_14.JPG Sports Cheyenne McCormick, a 15-year-old Riverside sophomore, poses for a portrait while looking out of her panther mascot head on the sidelines during the BlueCross Bowl Class 2A Championship game at Finley Stadium, in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Saturday, December 3, 2022. This is the first year McCormick was the mascot for Riverside. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1699049027392-EUP2ZR56ON74JWL4B0D6/230813_FedExChampionshipSun_51.JPG Sports PGA Tour player Lucas Glover reacts after missing a putt that sent he and Patrick Cantlay to a playoff during the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn., on Sunday, August 13, 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755558236472-0QZ39583GI95XTRG8A7O/SPFT_9047188286_TrackWinner.JPG Sports Oak Ridge’s Mason Greenhalgh reacts after coming in first place in the boys 800 meter run during the Class AAA track and field TSSAA state championship at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Thursday, May 23, 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755559631440-T9335T0G48B9BGOF2WC8/241018_MunfordvsLausanne_17.JPG Sports Munford sophomore Sydney Trimm poses for a portrait with her face painted like a football during the game between Lausanne Collegiate School and Munford High School in Munford, Tenn., on Friday, October 18, 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755560764983-C4O3HTSQ0KPLHKUXL2YL/250424_SouthwindGirlsFlagFootball_04.JPG Sports Southwind’s AnToni Louis (3) and Cedia Keel (6) nap during the bus ride to Millington High School before their final regular season flag football game on Thursday, April 24, 2025. This is the first year girls flag football is a sanctioned high school sport in Tennessee and Southwind has been undefeated in the regular season at 8-0. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1766517150140-7U8L4FZ5E4EP4QH0KH3R/SPAC_9047188286_DoubleHeader.JPG Sports - SPAC_9047188286_DoubleHeader.JPG Memphis’ Alex Mackay (2) and Tennessee’s Keaton Mitchell (13) each jump for a header during the game between Memphis and Tennessee in Memphis, Tenn., on September 4, 2025. The match ended in a draw at 0-0. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1755559148601-JCQLKMFQAJ94MM189AKI/240829_HoustonvsDeSotoCentral_02.JPG Sports The sun sets over the DeSoto Central sideline during the game between Houston High School and DeSoto Central High School in Southaven, Miss., on Thursday, August 29, 2024. https://chrisjdayphotography.com/contact daily 0.75 2025-12-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631e6392441b50e7f5d6a3/1638234015210-N2VQVE9J74MW4DZZ6GHU/20210909chrisday004.jpg Contact - Chris Day Chris has been a staff photographer at The Commercial Appeal since February 2023. Chris has previously worked as a staffer at The Jackson Sun and a photo intern at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, South Florida Sun Sentinel, Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Gainesville Sun and as the Multimedia Editor and staff photographer for The Independent Florida Alligator. He has his master’s degree in photography from Ohio University and graduated with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and history from the University of Florida. Chris was named the 2023 NPPA Midwest Photographer of the Year, won First Place feature photo from the Associated Press Sports Editors in 2024, and won first place for Best Sports Photograph from the Tennessee Press Association in 2025. He has had bylines in The Washington Post, New York Times, LA Times, The Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, and the US World and News Report among others. Purchase In the Hills and House of the Lord here: https://www.blurb.com/b/11161933-in-the-hills-and-house-of-the-lord He can be contacted by email at cjday1900@gmail.com Cell: 904-718-8286 (Photo by Laura Bilson) https://chrisjdayphotography.com/multimedia daily 0.75 2022-05-04