High Point native at front line of Baltimore crisis

Paul B. Johnson, The High Point Enterprise, N.C.
·2 min read
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Mar. 28—HIGH POINT — Photographer and High Point native J.J. McQueen is chronicling the city of Baltimore's response to the major bridge collapse that cost lives and disrupted transoceanic commerce this week.

As chief photographer to Mayor Brandon Scott, McQueen has taken seemingly countless pictures since Tuesday morning as Baltimore's leadership contends with the crisis brought on by the collapse of part of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The bridge was struck by a mammoth cargo ship that investigators say lost power and drifted into one of the bridge supports.

McQueen, who has served as Scott's chief photographer for the past two years, said that his goal is to help people comprehend the scope of the tragedy and the unprecedented response of Baltimore leaders and residents.

"Tuesday morning we get the phone call, and everybody is full throttle," said McQueen, who was a star football player at T. Wingate Andrews High School and later East Carolina University, where he earned his degree in communications.

McQueen has taken pictures of the mayor with federal, state and local officials as he creates a photographic record of the rapid response to the bridge collapse. McQueen has also taken photographs of the rescue and recovery efforts in the area around the collapsed section of the span.

A picture that stands out for McQueen is one he took of one of the divers who went into the frigid waters looking for possible survivors.

"He had come out of the water and he was sitting on a bench, taking his wetsuit off," McQueen told The High Point Enterprise. "His lips were still blue from the bitterly cold water. You sit there and watch those guys and how much they put into it, how much they risk their lives. Those images always resonate with me."

McQueen's photographic record of the crisis has received national attention through the mayor's Instagram page, @mayorbmscott. The vast majority of images on the site posted since Tuesday are McQueen's photographs.

McQueen said that people in the city have rallied in the immediate aftermath of the crisis.

"Baltimore is a resilient place, the mayor says it all the time," McQueen said. "Everybody is doing what's necessary."

pjohnson@hpenews.com — 336-888-3528 — @HPEpaul