Capturing Kenosha: How a group of photographers is giving back

KENOSHA, Wis. (CBS 58) — A Kenosha photography group is raising money for a historical landmark.

“The lighthouse, in my opinion, is easily the most iconic landmark that we have here in the city," Mike Middleton said. "It’s the first thing as a photographer you’re going to want to come take a picture of."

Born and raised in Kenosha, Mike Middleton would spend hours as a child fishing in these waters. Years later, it has become one of the many places where he points his camera.

“Now coming down here as someone who has gotten into photography and grown an appreciation for the lakefront and the lighthouse it’s kind of reawakened my interest in the natural beauty, we have in the community I grew up in," he said.

Middleton is one of the thousands of amateur photographers a part of a local Facebook group called Capturing Kenosha.

“This group gives us a reason to go out and find all that beauty and share it with people in the community so they can have more of an appreciation for that," he explained.

The group was started by Thomas Carrao who started it after he retired from the County Sheriff's Office.

“We have like 6000 members," Carrao said. "A lot of people are tuning in to see what we’re taking pictures of, and a lot of people are contributing now. So, we’re trying to grow the photographer community here in Kenosha.”

Carrao picked up his camera as a hobby after retiring. It is a way for him to focus on his mental health and have fun.

"So, every morning, I started going out to the lake, obviously we have this huge lake here, it’s so nice out here, and in the morning you just every array of colors out here. It’s never the same, it’s always different colors, different conditions and I focus mainly in Kenosha and people started to follow my feed," he explained.

The group was looking for a photography project when they realized that it was already in their viewfinder. They decided to create a calendar with photos of the lighthouse.

“Every month is a picture of the lighthouse in a different position so it's not all from the same angles," Carrao said. “Weather conditions are totally different. You think about January and then think about the middle of summer and how different it is going to be. They are all beautiful pictures.”

The calendar will showcase the lighthouse's beauty while helping to restore it. Carrao said the woman who leases the building was diagnosed with cancer, so they decided to help her cover the maintenance costs.

“The proceeds from what is made from the calendar sales go toward the philanthropic efforts," he explained. “But it needs more of a facelift than just a coat of paint. Because there is like 50 or 60 layers of paint on that thing."

This time around it is the lighthouse that needs help. However, the group hopes to continue creating calendars to help other causes in the future.

"I don't see why not," Middleton said. "You know, if this catches on like it seems like it is and we can raise money and awareness of the city that we all love, we'd like to do this on an annual basis."

To order your copy of the Capturing Kenosha calendar, visit their website.