I am Richard Sitler and I'm an award winning photojournalist and documentary photographer. I studied photography at Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Maine and at Ohio University School of Visual Communications. Much of my work throughout my career has focused on community journalism. I have been recognized for visual storytelling that focuses on the stories of everyday people.

I am in the process of starting an organization called Photographers IN Residence. The idea is to place emerging documentary photographers in communities to visually tell the story of daily life in those communities. In the past photographers employed by local newspapers made a visual document of the stories of communities. Newspapers have downsized and many have been shuttered, especially in smaller communities. While social media has in some way supplanted the role of the newspapers, it is not the same. What is missing is having someone who has cultivated skills in visual storytelling to capture meaningful moments that define the time and the community.

My proposal is to start a statewide organization that would look for communities that are interested in inviting a photographer to document life in their community for a year. The community would help with housing and would help fund the person for that year with a stipend for living expenses. In turn the photographer would photograph events in the community and complete photo stories and essays about subjects in the community that would visually tell the story of the community. The images would be displayed online and also be made available to community organizations. There also could be gallery exhibits.

The organization that I'm proposing to be called Photographers IN Residence would recruit, train, and place the photographers. Photographers IN Residence would help mentor and supervise the photographers, giving them guidance and support as they complete their residency.

There are many reasons having a photographer in residence would benefit a community. Small communities fight for resources to help keep their community vibrant and be a place with a good quality of life for the residents. Often the communities are trying to differentiate from other communities and trying to figure out what makes the community unique so that it can attract people and businesses. Many communities are trying to attract new residents or new businesses to move to the community, or trying to attract visitors to come spend money in the community. To do these things there needs to be a way to communicate what it is that makes the community. Having an individual trained visual journalist document the community and its people is a powerful tool to help define the community and promote it. Creating an ongoing visual documentary of the community can help people see what makes where they live a community. The work of a photographer in residence would create images that can serve several purposes both for the present and for the future. Having a trained photojournalist covering events and visually capturing the moments that makes up the stories of a community gives gravity and importance to the present moments and helps create a sense of pride as people look at the images and see themselves in this story. The images also become part of the historic record. It's been said that you have to know your history to know where you are coming from and where you are going. Having a visual history of the community helps people maintain a pride in their community and a desire to preserve the things that makes their community vibrant.

To get this idea to become reality it has to start somewhere, and I am starting it in my hometown. I am currently making Knightstown to be the pilot community for Photographers IN Residence, and I am working as the photographer covering the everyday life to visually tell the story of Knightstown as it evolves and continues to be a vibrant community. Knightstown is seeing efforts and ventures to improve the town. I feel that Knightstown is seeking to define itself while looking to improve the quality of life for its citizens. For all the reasons I'm proposing to start Photographers IN Residence, I think that Knightstown is a great place to be the pilot for this program.

To get this project off the ground and for me to do this work as Photographer IN Residence for Knightstown, I need your support. This is a worthy project because visual storytelling goes a long way to shine a light on positive things that make a community. It also recognizes people's efforts and brings people together while preserving memories for the future. Without having a local newspaper with dedicated professional visual story tellers we lose a defined visual record of the community.

This project is much larger than one community as there are many wonderful communities across the great state of Indiana where there are visual stories to be made. And there are up and coming talented young photographers being trained in very good visual communications programs at schools such as Ball State University and Indiana University. I wish to create Photographers IN Residence to provide opportunities for emerging photographers from colleges and universities in Indiana to place them in communities across Indiana to be a mutual beneficial opportunity.

I was fortunate to gain experience in my career interning as a photojournalist at newspapers in Hamilton and Piqua, Ohio, and in Richmond, Indiana. With the decline of newspapers, there are not as many internship programs where young photographers can get their start. I want to create Photographers IN Residence to provide opportunities for talented, skilled up-and-coming visual storytellers.

I also see this organization as a catalyst for community development. I believe that creating a sense of place is very important to community development. My experience in development as a Peace Corps volunteer informs me that it is important to bring people together for them to buy in to a sense of community for any community development goals to succeed. A photographer dedicated to shining a light on the community through visually documenting the stories of the people that make the community does a lot of things that are positive for the community and also helps create a visual record for people to be able to see and compare past to present, and that is important in preserving the memory of a community.

Please donate to help me in the current work as Photographer IN Residence - Knightstown, and to help me grow this program to develop communities to place emerging photographers in other communities across Indiana. I believe in this project and in this work. It is the cumulation of my experience and work throughout the years, and with your help I will not only be able to continue my work, but expand on it by creating opportunities for emerging photographers and for other communities.

I have started the work on the pilot project in Knightstown. I have been photographing in Knightstown, and I have created a Facebook page to post my work. The Facebook page link is Photographer IN Residence - Knightstown. In less than two weeks the page has already received 14,000 hits, showing a proven interest in visual communication in a community.