When David Nager is snapping a photograph, he's capturing a journey.
Nager is the "chief photography officer" at the Alliance for Positive Change. The nonprofit organization helps New Yorkers with chronic illnesses and other life challenges find healthcare, supportive services and more.
What You Need To Know
- David Nager has shot more than 40,000 pictures for The Alliance for Positive Change
- Nager has been volunteering with the nonprofit organization for more than a decade
- The photographer captures moments for The Alliance's clients over time to show the transformations they make in their lives
"Most of the people in this room, I was honored to make photographs when they entered our agency,” he said. “So I've seen the transformation, which is an incredible thing."
"We serve people who get lost in the cracks, basically,” he added. "There is good in everybody, regardless of who or what you are."
The Harlem resident first came to volunteer at the Alliance in 2008.
"I saw the effect that, that the photos could have and the transformative process that, that I saw, I saw people changing right in front of me,” he said. “And, and it was very, very cool to document that change."
Now, Nager is at The Alliance every day, as he says it, “making pictures” at different classes and events. His pictures line the organization's hallways and appear in their promotional materials.
Nager's subjects say his approach to making people comfortable and his longtime commitment to The Alliance go a long way.
"It's not just about, let me just get a picture of you and walk away,” said Stephen Williams, a senior peer liaison at The Alliance. “How do you feel about this picture? What do you think about this picture?"
"Amazing person. Genuine,” Eugene Epps said. Epps is a program manager for The Alliance’s Corrections Health Initiative. "He shows up when he, you know, he doesn't have to show up."
Nager always wraps up his discussions about The Alliance by showing off a picture he says encapsulates it all: "The Hug."
"This was taken in 2009. The people in it had just come together as a unit,” he said.
“It's a good record here,” Nager said of the subjects in his works. “It means, 'I'm here, I mattered.' I made a difference, and that's, that's, that's worthwhile."
For capturing moments of transformation, David Nager is our New Yorker of the Week.
