Augustin Tronou is a high school basketball player from Chicago with aspirations of getting a college scholarship so that he can get a college education. “Basketball is my passion but you’ve got to go to school. If you don’t go to school, you can’t be successful,” he said. “Some people try to define me through basketball. It’s not who I am. It’s what I do. I’m just a young man trying to make something out of nothing.
Augustin holds a basketball during orientation for his job at Greencorps Chicago, a job training program through the city for young people with barriers to employment. The orientation took place in the outdoor playground attached to Alternatives, a youth development center in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood.
Augustin waits for a walk sign across the street from Uplift High School, where he and his teammates are headed to a workout.
Augustin speaks with his mother Dede Agnimou in their Rogers Park apartment. They usually speak in French, the language Augustin learned as a child in Togo. The family immigrated when in 2002 when Augustin was 5.
In a Morton Grove, IL apartment complex, Augustin gets a tattoo that reads "Family First."
Augustin and his high school teammates ride the bus to a game in Mundelein, IL.
Augustin celebrates after Uplift High School beat Simeon Career Academy in an NBU Fall Exposure League game. The game served as a measuring stick for how good the team could be: Simeon was the four-time reigning state champion and is considered a contender for the upcoming season. "We beat Morgan Park. We beat Simeon. Little by little, our name is getting out there," he said. "If we keep winning, that's going to help us."
Augustin's parents never saw him play a game in high school. His two older sisters, Belavi (left) and Elise (right), would occasionally come to his games to cheer him on.
Augustin rests his head against the wall during a game against Lincoln Park High School. He injured his ankle and had to come out of the game.
Augustin hands in his phone before his teachers begin proctoring the ACT, a standardized test measuring college readiness on a scale from 1 to 36. Augustin needs to score an 18 in order to be eligible for a basketball scholarship. On this occasion, he scored what he called a "Steve Nash," or 13, which is the number NBA player Steve Nash wore with the Phoenix Suns. He plans to take it again.
Augustin enters his makeshift bedroom in the family's apartment.
Augustin goes up for a dunk during a game in Metamora, IL.
Augustin shakes hands with a friend at a Fourth of July hotel party that he co-hosted in downtown Chicago.
Augustin approaches the entrance to the Cook Country Courthouse in Chicago for a preliminary hearing on his trial stemming from a July 15 arrest for robbery.
After being arrested for robbery, Augustin recommitted himself to being a regular member of Edgewater Baptist Church.
Uplift High School coach David Taylor speaks with Augustin after a game in which he received a technical foul. Beyond his role as coach, Taylor has served as a mentor and father-figure to Augustin, who insists that his parents not being interested in helping him nurture his passion basketball doesn't bother him. "I have my brother and my coaches. They are the small pieces that help fill that in."
Augustin smiles with his classmates at the 2014 Uplift graduation ceremony.
Pre-prom 2014.
After Augustin scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a game at the Proviso West Holiday Tournament, Kennedy-King Coach Robert Holloway asked to meet with him. The coach said he wanted Augustin to learn more about the basketball program at Kennedy-King and invited him to attend a game there. Augustin later decided to attend Kennedy-King Junior College.
After 34 years together, Stanley Finch and Jeffery Beam got married in 2014. Their act of matrimony legally redefined their relationship and the two formally became family members. "We never thought this day would come in our lifetime," said Beam. “It’s hard to think it is real and not some joke.”
On the morning of their marriage, Jeffery gives Stanley a kiss before leaving their house in Hillsborough to run errands.
Jeffery looks at himself in the bathroom mirror before heading to his church wedding.
Jeffery reads over one of the marriage certificates before the wedding.
Stanley hugs Jeffery at the conclusion of the wedding ceremony, which was co-officiated by Drake Maynard, left, and Helen Johnson, second to left.
After the wedding ceremony, Jeffery and Stanley relax in their living room with their dog Bijon.
In 2014, I photographed a game at every MLB stadium.
A man dressed as Superman walks around Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ, occasionally stopping to give fans high fives and take pictures.
A young fan stands outside of Angel Stadium of Anaheim in Anaheim, CA.
Fans shag balls on Waveland Avenue during batting practice at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL. Dave Davison, second to the right, has collected more than 5000 balls in more than 20 years.
The Pittsburgh Pirates Pierogies race at the end of the 5th inning at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA.
Fans watch the game from the upper deck in right field at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO.
Washington Nationals fans walk past a banner displaying a portion of the Nationals motto, "Nothing but Natitude," in Washington, D.C.
Recruits and graduates of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot stand at attention before a game at Petco Park in San Diego, CA. At each home Sunday game, the Padres honor members of the military.
Huge windows and retractable roof create long shadows at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI.
Lydia and Tony Jimenez kiss for the "kiss cam" on the jumbotron at Marlins Park in Miami, FL. They are frequently featured as the last couple and draw boisterous cheers from fans. Last year they attended all 81 games. They met in Puerto Rico and have been married 61 years.
Art, who has lived in Detroit for more than 30 years, collects bottles before a game at Comerica Park in Detroit, MI.
Social worker Joy Aisha Bell, left, laughs with Joann Wilson, who was attending her first baseball game at Camden Yards in Baltimore, MD.
Ushers at Coors Field in Denver, CO walk the seats just after the gates open.
Jay holds his son Luca up on his shoulders at Citi Field in New York, NY.
Fans try to get a ball from outfielder Hunter Pence before the start of the game at AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA.
Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA is repainted during every off-season.
Dave Clarke holds his cigar at the Cuesta Rey Cigar Bar at Tropicana Field in Tampa, FL. Tropicana Field is the only MLB stadium with a cigar shop.
Tony Solis wears a chain with a medallion in the shape of the Astros logo that his dad purchased for his birthday. Minute Maid Park. Houston, TX.
David has been an usher at Turner Field in Atlanta, GA for 16 years. He works in Aisle 116. He collects pins, including those from the U.S. Armed Services, and displays them on his uniform. He served in the Army, his brother served in the Navy and his son is a Marine.
A young fan waits for an autograph at Fenway Park in Boston, MA.
From left, Jessica, Tom, Linda, Turtle and Ray share a laugh on the outfield concourse at Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX.
An usher sleeps on a post-game train back to downtown after a game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA.
When a loved one has Alzheimer's, "you lose them twice," said Lucy Lamm. "Once when their mind goes and once when they pass away."
Bonnie celebrated her 91st birthday in a Wilson, North Carolina memory care unit with Lucy and other children on Oct. 8, 2014. The birthday would be her last. Here, Jeff Beam, left, kisses Bonnie as he sits with his partner, Bonnie's son, Stanley.
Lucy Lamm talks with her husband Willis on the phone after visiting Bonnie, her 91-year old grandmother who has Alzheimer's.
Lucy holds Bonnie's hand at Spring Arbor, a memory care unit in Wilson, NC.
Mary Jo Bullock, Lucy's sister, brings balloons into Bonnie's room at the memory care unit in Wilson, N.C.
Lucy helps lay Bonnie's head on the pillow after coming to visit on Bonnie's 91st Birthday. She often sleeps most of the day.
Bonnie died six days after her 91st birthday. Lucy looks at her mother's ashes after a burial service in Wilson, North Carolina. In Bonnie's obituary, the family asked friends to support the NC Alzheimer's Association, a non-profit doing Alzheimer's research and supporting those affected by the disease, instead of sending flowers.
Lucy meets with friends and family at a memorial service for her mother.
Lucy sets out a photo of her mother in a reception room before a memorial service at First Presbyterian Church in Wilson, N.C.