This year’s Pride Month celebrations still won’t be as big as pre-pandemic times. But we’re sure that many photographers out there will still have ideas in mind for projects dedicated to the cause. It’s also the perfect time to look back at some of the most poignant documentations of the gay rights movement. Among these are from Chicago photographer and life-long Chicago Cubs fan Jerry Pritikin.

In the video above, Chicago Magazine cites Pritikin as the unsung photographer of the gay rights movement. While he’s primarily known as the number one Cubs fan, not many know about his time documenting scenes from the front lines of the gay rights movement in San Francisco during the 1970s. He had his films developed at the camera store of LGBT rights activist Harvey Milk, who also became one of the first openly gay politicians in the US.

The video also looked back at some of the photos Pritikin took at the time, which he said he didn’t expect would become recordings of history unfolding. These snaps don’t only show us how far the gay rights movement has come. They also remind us of the role of photography in documenting such important social movements and causes.

Do you also have a body of work dedicated to the LGBT movement or documenting Pride Month events? Don’t forget to share them with us in the Photofocus Community group discussions as well!