Elgin photographer using gift to better chronicle city

Pick any event of note in Elgin - from outdoor festivals to police ceremonies to nonprofit fundraisers - and you're likely to see James Harvey snapping photos of all the action.

Harvey is a professional photographer whose business includes portraits, weddings and anniversaries. But when he's out and about town, more often than not he's working pro bono, his only goal to be of service while recording history, he says.

"When you see James Harvey around Elgin and you're saying, 'What's he trying to do?'" he said. "I'm trying to document. I'm trying to capture the emotion. I'm trying to tell the story."

That selfless dedication to the community inspired the Elgin 360 Photography Club to raise $2,500 to buy the 62-year-old Harvey a new camera after his old one died, said club founding member Douglas Yorke.

The money, after fees to the website gofundme.com, was enough to buy a new Nikon D750 digital camera, plus batteries, a camera grip and several memory cards, Yorke said. The club presented Harvey with the gift Thursday night.

"James is just very gracious with his time, not only with us but with everybody in Elgin and lots of different community groups," Yorke said. "It took us about three weeks to raise the money. It just kind of shows you how appreciative everyone is of James."

Harvey, who had been using a friend's old camera while saving up for a new one, said he's grateful for the efforts on his behalf.

"It's just a reflection of how wonderful the people in the Elgin area are," he said, noting that with the new camera, "I'm going to highlight Elgin even more."

A native of Chicago's South side, Harvey served in the U.S. Army from 1975 to 1979, including two years in Germany, followed by a decade as an Army reservist.

He's worked as a draftsman and salesman while nurturing his passion for photography, first in Germany - where his kickoff official assignment was an Army buddy's wedding - and later back home in Chicago, he said.

"You start photography just by walking the streets and picking up a camera," he said. "You learn by doing. You learn by making mistakes. You learn by failures."

Harvey is fond of quoting President John F. Kennedy's famed line, "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country," and one from Martin Luther King Jr.: "Everybody can be great because everybody can serve."

And if you take a look at his schedule, you get the sense he really means it.

This week alone, Harvey photographed the Elgin police memorial on Tuesday and events at Elgin Community College and Second Baptist Church of Elgin on Wednesday, and will attend a police promotion ceremony today - all for no pay. His one paid gig for the week is a 50th wedding anniversary on Saturday, followed by a pro bono shoot of a motorcycle fundraiser for the Elgin residential center Little Angels on Sunday.

"Spending time (with people), interacting, that's what life is all about. Money and riches, I don't think about it like that. It's a challenge to pay my bills, yeah, but life is what you give back to life. It's not how much you made," says Harvey, who lives at Elgin Artspace Lofts affordable housing space for working artists.

Among the organizations that have benefited from Harvey's generosity is PADS of Elgin, said Brittany Mitchell, special projects coordinator for the shelter.

"He's really helped us out a lot. We're a small nonprofit, and a lot of times, especially with large events, the more volunteers at hand, the better," she said. "He's got a unique skill that he volunteers to help our events be the best they can be."

Harvey has devoted himself to full-time professional photography - whose only rule is "the customer is always right," he says - since about 2003. He has photographed hundreds of weddings and events and works "seven days a week, from ding to dong," he said.

"You must follow your passion. A lot of people are doing things they are not happy with," he said. "You have to go within yourself and find out what makes you happy."

Photography also is about leaving a legacy, he said. "You see images from the 1800s and the 1900s," he said. "I want to leave images. I want to tell a story."