Kyara Mejia, Staff Writer

Peter Cavanaugh’s camera captures the photograph of a young woman on a beautiful, sunny weekend near downtown Savannah. She’s sitting down on a chair and shows off her Big Bang Theory Show shirt with the word “Bazinga” on it. She poses with a smile that goes from cheek to cheek.

He says, “Give me one piece of advice on life.”

She responds, “I would say do what makes you happy because if you’re happy then that energy will translate over and make other people happy too.”

For about two and a half months, Cavanaugh has been taking pictures of people around downtown Savannah and asking them questions such as advice on life, why they currently live in Savannah, or what their favorite memory is.

He enjoys going out on weekends to capture photos for his project “Savannah Photo Stories.” He has been taking photographs for twelve years and decided to create a blog with pictures and stories that go along with them.

“It’s obvious that Humans of New York is an inspiration to me but my love for photography also inspired me to go out and take pictures. I also wanted to post (photographs) to have my work judged and critiqued. I wanted to get a feel for the city and have it translated it into a photograph.”

Because Cavanaugh is mostly around the downtown area in Savannah either because of his job at Brighter Day Natural Foods Market or just because, this is where he currently takes his photographs. In the near future he plans to take photographs of people in other places of the “hostess city of the south” such as Tybee Island.

If you scroll down his colorful Tumblr blog or Facebook page “Savannah Photo Stories,” you can see the smiles, outfits, and hobbies of many Savannah citizens. Cavanaugh disclosed that he did not have a favorite story from anyone he has photographed. To him every person in Savannah has a unique story attached to them.

“I don’t look for anything specific when I take photographs of people. I usually look for people that don’t look busy or are wearing something interesting. I almost always try to ask for a story but sometimes people are too busy.”

Even though he mostly photographs people around Forsyth Park, Savannah’s squares and River Street, anyone can be photographed and interviewed for free. You can contact him through his Tumblr, Facebook page or email at petermcphotography@gmail. com.