Community members take a look at the Neighborhood Lens gallery. (Photo by Adam Carr)

At the recent Ciclovia MKE event, passersby paused at the corner of Cesar Chavez Drive and Scott Street to check out an impromptu photo gallery.

On a boarded-up storefront, the images depicted scenes from the surrounding area, recognizable to Chavez Drive regulars. They included a church service at La Luz del Mundo, a haircut at Tony the Columbian’s barbershop, produce at Pete’s Fruit Market and brightly colored soccer balls from a shop down the block.

The photos in the gallery were taken by people who live or work on Chavez Drive, the first participants in Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service’s Neighborhood Lens feature. NNS collaborated with the organizers of Ciclovia MKE to recruit participants.

Recently, NNS was able to purchase five cameras and cases with the help of a successful crowd-funding campaign conducted by Marquette University students.

The cameras will be distributed to community members interested in documenting their lives and neighborhoods. A selection of their photographs will then be published as part of the Neighborhood Lens feature on the NNS website.

Moving forward, the cameras will rotate from neighborhood to neighborhood, offering a unique perspective on Milwaukee neighborhoods through the eyes of residents. Watch for the photo galleries on our website and social media platforms.

If you are interested in documenting your area with fellow community members, please email us at info@milwaukeenns.org.