Event Photography at the 2026 Easterseals Rio Grande Valley Telethon

I was invited back to photograph the 2026 Easterseals Rio Grande Valley Telethon, and just like last year, it was held at the Burt Ogden Arena in Edinburg.

This is one of those assignments that reminds me why I still enjoy event photography after all these years. There is always something happening. You have people on stage, people working the phones, sponsors coming through, families being interviewed, television crews moving around, volunteers trying to keep everything running and about a hundred little moments happening in between all of that.

My job is basically to figure out where to point the camera.

Event Photography Is About More Than Photographing the Stage

I think sometimes people hear “event photography” and assume the photographer shows up, photographs whoever is speaking and gets a couple of wide shots of the room.

There is definitely some of that.  Buuuuuuuut that’s only part of the story.

At something like the Easterseals Telethon, I’m constantly moving around looking for the photographs that explain what the event actually felt like.

That means photographing the hosts and presentations, but also looking behind me to see what’s happening at the phone bank. It means getting the big check presentation and then noticing somebody laughing with the person sitting next to them.

Sometimes the best photograph isn’t happening anywhere near the stage.

That is really what I’m looking for.

The big moments tell you what happened. The smaller moments tell you what it felt like to be there.

Catching Up With People I’ve Known for Years

One of the things I enjoyed most about this year’s telethon really didn’t have anything to do with photography.

I’ve been doing this long enough now that I ran into photographer friends I’ve known for more than 30 years.

That’s a strange sentence to write.

I still remember when all of us were the younger news guys running around with cameras, and now we’re standing inside an arena talking about assignments we’ve done, people we’ve worked with and probably whatever piece of equipment we’re monkeying around with lately.

Some things never change.

I also ran into people from organizations I’ve worked with over the years, including Atlas and Hall, H-E-B and of course Driscoll Children’s Hospital.

That is one of the nice things about working throughout the Rio Grande Valley for this long. Eventually a big event starts feeling a little like a reunion.

Then the Cameras Went Live

Because this is a live telethon, everything has to keep moving.  Once the show starts, there really isn’t much room for stopping everything and saying, “Can we do that again?”  The hosts move from one segment to the next. Sponsors and board members come in with their teams. People rotate through the phone banks. Checks get presented. Families tell their stories.  Meanwhile the tv cameras, photographers and production people are moving around everybody trying not to become part of the story ourselves.

And somehow it works.

Honestly, it flowed pretty smoothly.

Each group that came in seemed to have its own strategy for raising money. One volunteer  told me her secret was calling all of her family from her own phone before somebody on live television could embarrass her by calling a friend sitting nearby.  That might be the most Rio Grande Valley fundraising strategy possible.

Everybody knows everybody down here.

Good Event Photography Has to Show the People Doing the Work

One thing I always try to photograph at events like this is the work happening behind the obvious stuff.

The people answering phones matter.  The volunteers matter.  The broadcast crew matters.  The sponsors standing around waiting for their segment matter.  Even the empty space, cameras, lights and equipment can help tell the story because they show the scale of what it takes to produce something like this.  Maybe that’s because I spent years working behind a video camera before my career became centered on photography.  Technology has changed tremendously since I started doing this (Social Media wasn’t a thing back in the 90s).

The storytelling part really hasn’t.  You’re still looking for a beginning, middle and end. You’re still watching people’s faces. You’re still trying to anticipate what happens next instead of reacting after it’s already over.  The camera is different.  The job really isn’t.

The Families Are Still the Heart of It

There were plenty of sponsors and recognizable faces at the telethon, but obviously the reason everybody was there was much bigger than that.  One of the things I’ve enjoyed about coming back is seeing some of the kids getting older and hearing how their stories have continued.  Then there are new families coming through who have been able to participate in Easterseals programs here in the Rio Grande Valley.  Those are the photographs I think become more important with time.  There were lots of smiles throughout the day, but there were tears too. Some of the teachers and educators came out to support the kids and cheer them on, and you could see that the relationships went far beyond whatever was happening during the broadcast.  You can’t manufacture that for a photograph.  You just have to recognize it when you see it.

And Then Somebody Brought Puppies

My personal favorite moment of the day — and I think I probably had plenty of company on this one — was when Palm Valley Animal Society showed up with puppies.

Not just puppies.

Puppies in a little stroller.

At that point I think everybody forgot about whatever else they were supposed to be doing for a minute.

Apparently the saying that everyone loves puppies still holds true in 2026.  (At least I’m going with it).

Those little moments are also exactly why I like photographing events. I can spend part of the day photographing a formal presentation, turn around and photograph a television camera operator working, photograph someone raising money on the phone and five minutes later I’m on the floor trying to get a photograph of puppies riding around in a stroller.

You never really know what you’re going to get.

Photographing the Whole Story

By the end of the telethon, Easterseals Rio Grande Valley had surpassed its fundraising goal.

Then came the celebration.  Confetti went everywhere, people cheered, everybody gathered together and for a few minutes you could see the payoff from all the work that had gone into the day – From a photography standpoint, that’s the photograph everybody expects.

But it works better when you have everything that came before it.

The phone calls.

The interviews.

The checks.

The television crews.

The volunteers.

The families.

The quiet moments.

The funny moments.

And yes, the puppies.

Put all of those photographs together and now you don’t just have photographs of an event.

You have the story of the event.

What I Look for When Photographing an Event

Every assignment is different, but there are a few things I’m almost always thinking about when I’m covering an event:

• The establishing photograph. Where are we? What does this event look like?
• The important people and moments. Speakers, presentations, sponsors, awards and anything the client specifically needs documented.
• Real reactions. Laughter, concentration, excitement, emotion and interaction.
• Details. Signage, branding, equipment, decorations and the little things that give the event its identity.
• Behind the scenes. The people making everything happen are often part of the story too.
• The unexpected stuff. That’s usually where some of my favorite photographs come from.

That approach comes from spending most of my career bouncing between editorial work, commercial assignments, portraits, video and events.

As a commercial photographer, I don’t really see those as completely separate things.

A portrait teaches you to watch faces.

Editorial photography teaches you to look for a story.

Commercial photography teaches you to understand what the client needs the photographs to communicate.

Event photography makes you do all of those things at once — except everything is moving and nobody is waiting for you.

Event Photography in the Rio Grande Valley

The 2026 Easterseals Telethon was another good reminder of why I enjoy photographing events throughout the Rio Grande Valley.

Yes, the client needs photographs.

But what I’m really trying to give them is a visual record they can use months or even years later to remember what happened, show the people who made it possible and tell the story to someone who wasn’t there.

That’s what I think good event photography should do.

And if somebody rolls through the next event with another stroller full of puppies, I’m definitely photographing that too.