NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A photojournalist who kept the community informed for decades took his last photo for The Tennessean on Thanksgiving.
Capturing the perfect moment sometimes means you have to hurry up and wait. However, when the moment arrives, Larry McCormack knows how to get the money shot. "Now I’ve covered every President since Jimmy Carter multiple times. Every major news event that happened in Nashville." McCormack said, "I was at the first Titans game, I was at the first Predators game."
After decades as a photojournalist for The Tennessean, his time is coming to an end. McCormack worked at the Nashville Banner for 15 years before it folded, and he moved to The Tennessean. In 1983 he would take one photo for the next day's paper. A lot has changed since then, and he learned how to adapt and be flexible.
"Every morning I’ve gotten up for 40 years and gone to work, and gone to do what I felt like I was called to do," McCormack said, "I don’t know what I’m going to do when I wake up and don’t have any place to go."
The paper's parent company, Gannett, offered voluntary contract buyouts to hundreds of employees during the pandemic. "It just became time with the situation that we’re in, to move on," McCormack said.
On Thanksgiving at the Nashville Rescue Mission he documented his final story on volunteers feeding the homeless. Through his camera lens, McCormack has seen history unfold. He might not always remember names, but he can remember most photographs.
"Always wanted to inform my community about what was going on in their lives, and I’ve had the opportunity to do that, and I hope I’ve done it well," McCormack said, "I’m really thankful I’ve been able to do this for as many years as I have."
After he turns his camera in at work in coming weeks, he plans on buying a camera of his own as he ponders his next steps. "The Lord always provides, and I’ll figure out where he wants me to go, and that’s where I’ll go," McCormack said.
