The Orlando Gay Chorus and J.D. Casto presented My Portraits of Pulse in front of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL)) on June 8, 2021.
The lawn in front of the Center which was once covered in flowers and memorial items left behind after the massacre of 49 people at Pulse Nightclub on June 12, 2016. The lawn is now covered with metal staging areas meant to promote social distancing for outdoor concerts and screenings. Food and drinks can be ordered by scanning a bar code and the orders are delivered to each table which avoids crowded lines at the concessions stand.
Three large screens were set up to project photos taken by J.D.Casto a local photographer. J.D. stood on stage talking about his perspective of what happened in Orlando following the shooting. That day he checked to be sure his camera batteries were charged and immediately went to The Center which became mission central for community outreach and a donations. In the Center a crowd was gathered watching TV and they all heard the official number of people who had died for the first time. Shock swept through the room. Photos taken that first day were largely of grief and sorrow.
National and international media flooded into Orlando and J.D. suddenly found himself shooting photos along side some of the best photographers in the world. His view of his self worth wasn’t that elevated, but he couldn’t stop taking photos and sharing them. The images captured slowly changed because along side all of the pain and grief, he saw a community filled with love. Many of his photos were used for a photo wall that is now part of the temporary memorial at Pulse. After each segment of his story, the chorus would stand and sing to a photo montage projected on the screens. The idea of telling the story of what happened after Pulse through the lens of one individual seems rather limiting, but the stories of thousands are also impossible to tell all at once.
