Last Updated: March 2, 2023 by ritnppa

Category: Picture Stories

First Place: Vincent Alban

Absence – What remains after the high emotion of a shooting are deteriorating corner memorials, life-size cutouts of victims, and the long, and hard struggling days for the family and friends left behind after the loss of their loved one. The United States has recorded its highest increase in homicides in modern history, rising 30% between 2019 and 2020, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rochester, New York, hit a record-high number of homicides in 2021, totaling to 81. This leaves the city with a higher rate per capita of homicides than Chicago, Ill. Rochester is one among 16 cities across the country in 2021 to hit records for homicides.

The corner of Joseph Avenue and Wilkins Street is seen on Nov. 30, 2021, where the makeshift shrine for Manuelito Rivera stands. Rochester is divided into five quadrants and Joseph and Wilkins is in the Clinton quadrant, also known as section seven. Section seven is known to be a violent section of the city. In 2021, 18 homicides occurred in the section, 14 of which involved a gun as a weapon. Joseph and Wilkins was a special place to Rivera. Two of his brothers own a convenience store and a liquor store located on opposite sides of the corner. Rivera also lived in an apartment in the building above his brother, Benito Padilla’s convenience store from 2001 to 2006.

A civilian technician officer searches for evidence after an incident where a 21-year-old man shot a woman in the chest at the intersection of Conkey Avenue and Avenue A on Sept. 25, 2021. The woman sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

A list of 2021 homicide cases is seen in the Central Investigations Division Office at the Public Safety Building on Oct. 5, 2021. “We used to only need one board. Now we have three,” said Frank Umbrino, the captain of the division. Out of the 77 homicides as of Oct. 6, 2021, 54 of them involved a firearm as the weapon. According to Umbrino, there have been over 350 shootings that the police are aware of in 2021 alone.

Bonnie MacDonald poses for a portrait with her children, Andrew, left, and Nikki, right, in their home on Sept. 26, 2021. MacDonald lost her nephew, Nazir McFadden, on his 21st birthday in 2020, and her niece, Madison Boorom, 20, in 2021, both to shootings. Neither shooting has had any suspects taken into custody. “I’m depressed all the time,” says MacDonald. “It’s too much loss. But I get up and function for the kids. That’s the only thing that keeps me [going].”

Jamma Balkum, 7, the son of Jamen Balkum, tries on one of the many pairs of shoes that once belonged to his father, at his aunt’s home on Oct. 3, 2021. The Balkum family plans to keep the shoes for Jamma to wear when he grows older. Balkum was killed in a shooting on Aug. 30, 2021, after being shot multiple times. He was hanging out with a group on Harris St. and was approached by at least one other person.

Manny Rivera, right, hugs his grandmother, Antonia Rivera, as a final goodbye before leaving from her home in Rochester, N.Y. to drive to Detroit, M.I. on Oct. 12, 2021. Antonia was the mother of Manuelito Rivera. Rivera was moving out of Rochester for a better job opportunity and for a fresh start.

Zhyon Stewart, a 20-year-old from Rochester, N.Y. poses for a portrait with his 1-year-old son, Zhyon Jr. at their home on Nov. 13, 2021. Zhyon was shot in the chest on June 23, 2021, after he was caught in the crossfire of a shooting. “It was stressful, honestly, because it’s like ‘Why did I get shot? Why me? Why do I have to deal with this pain?’…I couldn’t even hold my son for two months,” said Stewart. No suspects have been put in custody for the incident.

Payton Manor-Howard, center, a close friend of Jaquayla Young, embraces Jaquayla’s father, Roland Howard, left, and mother, Kwanza Howard. Young, who graduated high school in 2019, was a cheer team captain and a student ambassador who planned to become a teacher after college.

A group of people are reflected in the window of a house on the corner of North Clinton Ave and Rialto St in Rochester, N.Y., on Jan. 24, 2022. The group was there to pray for Luis Morales; a 24 year old man who was killed at the corner.

Friends of Trent Davis hang out at his shrine on Mohawk St. in Rochester, N.Y., on Feb. 12, 2022. Davis was shot at the site of the shrine in 2017 and succumbed to his injuries in 2020. According to new research from the Cornell ILR Buffalo Co-Lab focusing on the correlation between eviction filings and crime rates found that the two “are related in ways that cannot be explained by chance alone; but surface-level patterns in these variables are products of deeper structural variables, such as poverty and inequality.”

Shayquanna Adams, a former girlfriend of Jamen Balkum, releases a dove in his memory at his funeral at Riverside Cemetery on Sept. 11, 2021. Adams is the mother to one of Balkum’s children who was given his nickname, Jamma. Balkum’s case is still open. According to RPD, of the 54 homicides in 2021 that involved a gun as the weapon, 37 of them are still open investigations with no suspects in custody.

Second Place: Daniel Sarch

Jazz House Windsor, also known as “Jazz House”, is a house passed down year-to-year by jazz students at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. After the senior students graduate, they select a new group to inherit the house and its responsibilities. One such responsibility is to host open-invitation parties on the weekends and have student performances in the basement. Due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, there were no performances held at the house, and in the new school year with most Eastman students vaccinated, the parties have resumed.

KM’s 11, an 11-piece student big band led by Eastman Jazz student Kevin Murphy, performs at a Windsor party, in Rochester, N.Y. on October 23, 2021. Most groups at Windsor are thrown together specifically for playing at the house parties to test new arrangements or compositions in a live-audience setting.

Zach Walgren, left, moves his bass downstairs for the jazz performance at Windsor in Rochester, N.Y. on December 3, 2021.Windsor is passed down every year to Jazz students before graduating to continue holding parties, and to ensure the long tradition of “Jazz House” continues to live on.

Five of Gavin Gray’s (middle) sextet looks over music before a set at Windsor in Rochester, N.Y. on September 24, 2021.

The Gavin Gray Sextet performs at Windsor with a full house in Rochester, N.Y. on September 24, 2021.

Adriana Allen dances during a performance at Windsor on October 23, 2021 in Rochester, N.Y.

College students arrive at Windsor aka “Jazz House” in Rochester, N.Y. for a party with live jazz music from Eastman Jazz students on December 4, 2021. Windsor is a student house near Eastman School of Music that hosts parties every Friday night with live music from the school’s Jazz students.

Dylan Knowles, an Eastman student, plays during a set at Windsor in Rochester, N.Y. on October 2, 2021.

The crowd cheer during a performance at Windsor in Rochester, N.Y. on October 2, 2021. While near Eastman, Windsor has an open-invite policy which attracts students from University of Rochester main campus, and RIT as well.

Andrew Goyette, a resident of Windsor, takes a drink in-between sets for his Trio 28, on December 3, 2021 in Rochester, N.Y.

Third Place: Vincent Alban

Collar of Reverence – BDSM is “sexual activity involving such practices as the use of physical restraints, the granting and relinquishing of control, and the infliction of pain”, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. The Aphrodite Group is a secretive BDSM club in Rochester, N.Y., where those interested come together to participate in the act and socialize. Dagmar and Kamakazi, who both go by pseudonyms for privacy reasons, have been “play partners” in a Dominant/Submissive (D/s) relationship since the club’s founding in 2016. “With a D/s, there is a connection in between our souls that the only way I can really describe is that I’ve never felt it before or ever in any relationship and I’ve been in love many times before,” said Kamakazi. “And I cannot envision anything other than Dagmar being part of my life further rest of eternity.”

Dagmar and Kamakazi embrace each other in an aftercare session after a scene at TAG on Jan. 8, 2022. Aftercare is an important part of BDSM culture to ensure the emotional and physical wellbeing of partners after a scene.

Kamakazi watches as another member of TAG spanks Dagmar during her spanking birthday celebration on Aug. 28, 2022. “I see her being able to be who she is here and not have to hide anything,” said Kamakazi. “In fact, I insist upon honesty in our relationship in all things. She has said to me the reason why she likes coming here is she can literally give up control over her life, and turn over somebody else to lead and help her through life’s challenges, whether it’s in play, or if it’s just in normal everyday life things.”

Kamakazi and Dagmar spectate other scenes in the basement play space at The Aphrodite Group (TAG) on Feb. 12, 2022. TAG has built up a strong community where they collaborate and experiment together in the safe space together on weekend nights for play parties. The club is “focused on consensual BDSM and Kink in a positive, supportive environment.”

Dagmar and Kamakazi eat together during the monthly Wednesday night party at TAG, which is meant to be a social gathering rather than a play party. They use the time to be together, not through acting in BDSM. “She struggles with the absences away from me for more than a few days,” said Kamakazi. “If it gets past 10 days, she’s crawling up the walls. One of the things I have to do is try to teach her train her to get through those periods.”

Kamakazi’s erotic drawings are seen hanging in TAG during a time when the club members watch a football game before they start their scenes for the night. Kamakazi is an avid fan of the Buffalo Bills, being a native of Rochester, N.Y. In addition to his artwork, Kamakazi also writes erotic thrillers, which he publishes and sells on Amazon. According to him, he is currently selling 500 copies monthly.

Dagmar poses at her home as a part of her daily ritual that she does to be connected to Kamakazi on days that she cannot be physically with him. She holds the pose for 15 minutes, but sometimes needs to do it while sitting down because her knees are weak due to recent surgery. They keep their BDSM lifestyles separate from their normal lives, where Kamakazi has a long term partner and Dagmar has a husband and multiple children. This image was created using a remote camera app due to Dagmar wanting to keep her home life private.

Dagmar reacts to Kamakazi whipping her during a scene. “I put my husband and one level and Kamakazi on another level,” said Dagmar. “But there’s a different communication between us that I don’t have with my husband. Even in hard play, there is a feeling, though, there’s a love or a romantic feeling to a degree. It’s not about the lovey-kissy thing all the time. But it has to do the touch between us.”

Kamakazi ties up Dagmar’s feet during a scene together. “Yes,” Kamakazi said. “I can feel the dominancy flow through my body. I can feel the something in me become a part of me that I normally squash in the everyday world, like when I go to work and I can’t talk about any of this. I have to squash those feelings, keep them pushed down. At home, I can’t do much but when I come here, I can release all of that.”

Dagmar waits before the collaring ceremony at TAG. The collaring ceremony makes a commitment to a long term relationship between the Dominant and Submissive. “I love wearing your collar or training collar,” said Dagmar. “Every time I touch it, it reminds me of you and the submissive I want to be. It gives me strength and joy. As years have passed, you’ve proven to be the only Dom I will ever want. Wearing your collar is my honor.”

Dagmar and Kamakazi talk after the collaring ceremony at TAG on April 9, 2022. The ceremony is symbolic of a big step of commitment in a D/s relationship, whereas the duo agree to be play partners for life. Kamakazi replaced Dagmar’s training collar with a new collar around her neck to symbolize his ownership of her as her Dominant, and they both signed a 34-page contract they produced together to establish the terms of their partnership.

Category: 2022 What We Do Tags: Daniel Sarch, nppa, Photojournalism, pj, RIT, rit nppa, Vincent Alban