NYC based, and Syracuse, NY raised, a self taught award winning photographer, director and host Mel D. Cole is one of the world’s most accomplished and celebrated photographers with a career spanning 20 years. He originally became notable for his black and white photographs NYC downtown scene, hip hop concerts and artist including The Roots, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Jay Z and many others.
Cole later branched into photojournalism, documenting the George Floyd protests in various cities in 2020-2021 and the January 6 United States Capitol attack in Washington, D.C. in 2021. He was named the “Editorial/Press Photographer of the Year” at the 2021 International Photography Awards.
Cole’s love for soccer led him to open Charcoal Pitch F.C: the first and only Black owned soccer specific photo agency in the world dedicated to creatively exploring soccer visually and educationally through a multiracial visual lens.
Cole has published two books to date: GREAT: Photographs of Hip Hop in 2020 and American Protest. Photographs 2020-2021 in 2021.
Cole’s most recent works can be seen on his Instagram page @meldcole
I went to the NRA convention without a particular story in mind that I wanted to tell, but within minutes of being inside the Indian Convention Center I figured it out. I would mainly focus on the many children I saw. It was very interesting to witness their absorption and interactions with the enormous amount of weapons on display.
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