July 2, 2013 – May 25, 2014
Greensboro has an award-winning, nationally known photographer in its midst. His name is Jerry Wolford, and he’s been using his camera to tell stories for almost three decades, most of that time for the Greensboro News & Record.
Of course, there is a good story behind his career. “As a teenager,” Wolford recalls, “I picked up an old Zeiss rangefinder camera my stepfather brought back from the Vietnam War.” He soon put the classic camera to a classic teenage use. “It became my ticket to crash a neighborhood slumber party with ten girls,” he chuckles.
Since then, his work has transitioned from film cameras and negatives to digital cameras and pixels, and earned him dozens of regional and national awards.
Working in collaboration with museum staff, Jerry Wolford has selected photographs for this exhibit with never-ending layers of stories. He remarks, “I am always amazed at how people will share the intimate parts of their lives with me and others through my camera.”
Wolford’s images are in turn, enchanting, inspiring, beautiful and even haunting, evoking messages to be discovered and remembered differently not only by each viewer, but history.
About Jerry Wolford
Jerry Wolford’s camera and personality make a magical connection with the people and places he encounters. Though he has stood an arm’s length from history hundreds of times, he feels his strengths lie with everyday people. Rob Brown, the Director of Photography at the Greensboro News & Record, says, “Often the people in his photographs seem as if they are his best friends, which would explain how Jerry’s able to capture such personable and intimate images. His love for people really shines through his work.”
Wolford has been named an outstanding alumnus of Randolph Community College, where he earned his Associate Degree in Photojournalism in 1986. He landed his first job at The Courier-Tribune in Asheboro, and the next year joined the staff of the News & Record. Wolford has received numerous professional awards from the North Carolina Press Photographers Association, North Carolina Press Association and National Press Photographers Association. His photographs have been published by magazines, newspapers and websites around the world, including The New York Times, People, Essence, InTouch, Us Weekly, The View, Der Spiegel, Grazia, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Businessweek.com and MSNBC.com.
