MEET ZACH CADDY

Chicago became my home in 2015. I didn’t know how much I needed to be here until I arrived. I love this city down to my bones. It’s been a place to evolve. It’s been a refuge for my queer siblings. It’s been a place to develop as an artist. It’s been a place to challenge preconceptions and learn from the huge swath of humanity that shares this city.

Don’t get me wrong - I’m grateful for my rural, working-class roots. When you grow up on 33 acres, you learn to work hard and get the job done right. You learn to enjoy the simple pleasures of the sound of the wind in the trees, the peace found by the riverside, and the cattle lowing contentedly.

My grandfather was a telephone lineman whose generous legacy grew out of a Depression-era childhood of traversing the country as a sharecropper. I still look up to this 93-year-old model of hospitality.

Growing past the prejudices I was raised with is an ongoing journey. There will always more types of folks that I can learn to understand, learn to love, and learn to advocate for. Regardless of whatever demographic differences we might have, you’re safe with me. I promise.

“Everything I learned in my life, I learned because I decided to try something new.” –David Lynch

“Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself.” –Henry Miller

ZACH’S VALUES

“Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies- ‘God damn it, you've got to be kind.’” -Kurt Vonnegut

I am conscious. Self-awareness is a helluva drug. At times, it’s led me to paralysis. But I’ve pushed through. I am conscious of my privileged position as a cishet man with English heritage – I continue to learn through the arts and my community when to use that privilege or lay it down in the best interests of my queer siblings, friends, and comrades.

Historical mentors like James Baldwin, Malcolm X, and Gustavo Gutiérrez have opened my heart and mind nearly as much as the Black and brown neighbors and friends I’ve been fortunate to share life with over the years. Inclusivity is our only way forward as a global community.

I joined the Sustainable Events Collective because sustainability isn’t just a buzzword to me – it’s essential to the future of human flourishing on this outrageously gorgeous planet. I’m painfully conscious of the ways in which we must continue to remember that we are nature. When we make choices that give us a fighting chance at preserving our outrageously gorgeous planet, we’re at our best.

“I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I'm a human being, first and foremost, and as such I'm for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” -Malcolm X 

I am empathetic. Being in tune with the past experiences and present feelings of the folks I’m photographing is key to my approach. My radar for genuine human emotion is military grade. To get the shots where my subjects are lost in the moment and their feelings are written across their faces, it has to be. Getting caught up in the human experience alongside you is my goal in every shoot.

“What happens when people open their hearts? They get better.” -Haruki Murakami

I am engaged. I want to know you. Through conversation, through body language, through seeing the way you love your partner and connect with your dearest friends. Through the way your eyes gleam when you talk about your small business dreams. Witnessing the moment when the transactional act of charity transforms into two humans genuinely connecting and helping one another grow.

“The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.” -Henry Miller

I am collaborative. When I work alongside other pros, they’re my friends and colleagues for the day. When the event planner wins, I win. When the videographer wins, I win. When the florist wins, I win. When the DJ wins, I win. When the caterer wins, I win. We’re all in this together.

And I want to hear your ideas! I have a chance to grow when you share your vision with me. Whether it’s a perfectly curated vision board before a branding shoot or you showing me a backstreet that holds vital importance for you and your partner, the more you share with me, the better. You’ve got good ideas – let’s tease them out into reality together.

“And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good.” - John Steinbeck

INSPIRATION

“We are who we are: where we were born, who we were born as, how we were raised. We’re kind of stuck inside that person, and the purpose of civilization and growth is to be able to reach out and empathize a little bit with other people. And for me, the movies are like a machine that generates empathy. It lets you understand a little bit more about different hopes, aspirations, dreams, and fears. It helps us to identify with the people who are sharing this journey with us.” -Roger Ebert

I find my greatest inspiration at movie church—cinemas like the Music Box. Though I shoot stills, the best-shot movies showcase incredible photography if you pause on any frame. I love the letterbox crop—that sweet 16x9 that can transport us so effortlessly into narrative film’s sweeping power. Here are a few of my favorite shots from my favorite films.