“I’m going to send our freelancer, he is an old hippy guy with long hair in a ponytail,” I would tell people as I made assignments. It’s how Stan Carpenter always was to me, the hippy guy who had been taking photos for The Times longer than I ever did.

Ever since I came in the mid 2000’s, he was our dependable freelance photographer who helped us photograph our community, and he was very good at it.

His photos told a story, like photojournalism should. He always found interesting angles and unique perspectives that I admired. He was also dependable and loyal, he is the kind of person that when they are gone, they are missed.

And I miss him.

Stan Carpenter passed away after a battle with cancer.

His death comes not long after his life partner and local activist, Rita Nelson, lost her own battle with cancer. In the depths of mourning her loss he told me he discovered that he also had pancreatic cancer.

It was the first time he was not by my side as a photographer. The newspaper has had his byline for decades, and the lack of it in recent months has felt heavy.

I know his work well. I have been putting it into our system since I first started. I used to wait up very late at the old Times building on Lake Street for him to drop off his CD by the back door. It was filled with the night’s images, and I would build a gallery for our website.

It’s a process that takes a bit of time and gave me a chance to study his work. In recent years it got a bit easier, he just drop-boxed them to me and I could make the galleries from home. But, I found myself still studying them.

His point of view was worth studying.

Have I mentioned that I miss him?

I am not the only one. He touched many people in our community.

The Times sports reporter Jimmy Watson writes –

“Fans of arguably the best sports photographer in Louisiana won’t get the joy of seeing how Stan Carpenter captured their child in all their athletic glory on a weekly this fall.I’ll miss that bobbing ponytail of gray hair weaving its way in and out of football players on the sidelines at M.D. Ray Field or Lee Hedges Stadium this fall as ‘Stan the Man’ Carpenter worked for the best possible shot.

There may have been sports photographers just as good as Stan, but there were none better at capturing the mood of the moment. He’d get there early and stay late to get the shot that everyone will remember. Often, he did it with an unfiltered verbal comment about why a player did this or that on the field. But to know Stan, was to love him.”

Former The Times Executive Editor and long-time Sports Editor Scott Farrell wrote, “I can still picture in my mind sitting in Mike Silva’s office and Mike calling Stan about taking pictures at a sports event. ‘Stan. Stanley. Yo, Stanley.’ And a couple of minutes after leaving a message, Stan would call back, willing, and able to take on the assignment.

Having a freelance photographer who is available and talented is like gold in journalism. Stan Carpenter was like gold. Nothing was too big or too small for him.

You may not have known Stan by name, but if you attended enough games, you recognized his long ponytail and camera.

Stan’s love for the community was evident in his work. There was a youthfulness to him and a wry sense of humor that I loved. Stan will be missed, and it won’t be the same on the sidelines without him there.”

For reporter Makenzie Boucher, Stan Carpenter did more than take photos for her stories, he offered her comfort and wisdom when she needed it.

“Stan Carpenter was known as one-of-a-kind, and I can vouch for that. I worked alongside Carpenter for several years and every time I did, he was there to reassure my rookie reporter nerves. While on assignment one day Carpenter eased me out a full-blown panic attack. It was his reassuring words and past experiences that led me to calm down. That moment was one in which I will hold dear to my heart, because it was compassion during a time of panic and confusion. I will forever remember he saying, “you got this.”

Shreveport photographer and friend of Carpenter’s, M.C. Rollo, said, “Part of the beauty of Stan Carpenter was that he was forever present, in the moment. He had no hesitation in stepping right into a potentially confrontational situation in order to document it. He was an authentic person capturing reality as he witnessed it. I will forever miss him.”

His reach was so much more than just The Times. He taught photography at the Renzi for many years. He has made an impact on countless people in our community as seen by several posts on his Facebook page.

“Sad news out of Shreve Town this p.m. My friend with the smiling-eyes Stan Carpenter has clicked his last frame on this roll,” wrote Keith Abel.

Current Times editor Misty Castile remembers him as a “gentle soul.” “It seems too simple to say he was a more than a photographer. He was a good man. He will be missed terribly.”

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: The Times mourns photographer Stan Carpenter