Adriano Kalin
@adriano-kalin
Social Justice Photographer 📸🫶🏾💙♿️ Chicago, IL 📍
The beautiful Southside of Chicago. I have been struggling with my mental health the past couple weeks. Thank you for always inviting me into the community to represent our beautiful culture, our neighborhoods, and showing that we are so much more than a headline or a statistic.
One of the new prints I added on my site if you want to support my work. Consider supporting small businesses and artists instead of big-box stores. adriano-kalin-photography.darkroom.com
As a disabled person and as a person of color, one of my biggest fears is getting tackled on the ground and beaten by ICE and them not understanding I have a spinal cord stimulator attached to my spine underneath my skin, and it ruptures. It keeps me up at night. America 2026.
Some of my photography from 2025-26 documenting America from the perspective of an immigrant.
"The thing about oppression, feeling that you can control where it's directed, is a ruse for a fool." May Day. Chicago, May 1, 2026.
This is appalling and just a reminder that attacking civilian infrastructure is a war crime. This is a sitting president speaking this recklessly about the lives of others should never be acceptable. Congress, if not now - when?!?
I know things are scary, but never stop using your voice. Silence will always echo the voice of the oppressor. Chicago - March 28, 2026.
I’m a 37-year-old Afro-Indigenous immigrant. I still don't know what it feels like to be truly free in this country.
When you have people willing to risk their lives to protect their neighbors, risking their safety and hypothermia, it says a lot more about the quality of the beautiful community of Minnesotans. This photograph was taken in -5 degrees (F) outside of the Whipple Federal Building in Minnesota.
I’ll be in New Orleans from the 11th to the 19th, and I’ve never been into the Bayou before. If anyone knows someone who’d be willing to take me and two other photographers out on their boat, I’d be so grateful. It’s been a life goal of mine. 🩵
Hey everyone, I need your help. I'll be heading to Memphis & New Orleans to help areas that are not being represented due to racist policies by our own government. I'll be documenting my experiences and humanizing the experience to bring attention to communities that need our help.
Chicago has been at the forefront of advocating for civil rights, ensuring that everyone is entitled to due process. It breaks my heart. All people deserve constitutional rights, regardless of their status in the country. It’s something guaranteed by the Constitution. Broadview, IL October 17, 2025
This was shot on September 19, 2025, and you can see from the silhouette of the person I photographed the chemical agent residue that is airborne, which was affecting the breathing capacity, skin, and eyes of every peaceful protester while they are in full military grade gear.
Outside the ICE detention center in Broadview, IL, ICE is harassing and targeting protesters, media, and activists who speak up for civil rights. Sept 19, 2025 Thank you for standing up against injustice, Rachel! @theangrymathprof.bsky.social Here is the article: open.substack.com/pub/adrianok...
One reason I love black-and-white photography is that I can't use color as a distraction. I simply have to respond to the chaos in front of me and use compositions to translate an emotion through shadows and highlights.
If my photos bring even a moment of tenderness to your timeline, then I’ve done my job. I try to photograph the empathy that holds us all together. Na vida, tem que jogar bonito.
Take the photograph, it may not be for everyone, and that is okay.
"I am the least racist person in the room." - Trump, 2020 Presidential Debate. These photographs will be relics of history, showing what life was like in our neighborhoods before we were sanctioned to detention centers. Albany, NY 2025.
Funny how the ones labeled “radical” are the only ones actually defending the Constitution and their fellow neighbors. The people who praise 'Don't Tread on Me' motto are the ones standing with authoritarianism. The irony is not lost on us.
I officially renamed my Substack The People's Aperture. It’s all about photography, social justice, disability, human rights, raw stories told through my BIPOC lens. Please help support artists fighting for justice. Link in bio.
When we invest in our neighborhoods, it’s not just about money—it’s about showing up, showing respect, and lifting each other up. In a time when DEI and basic empathy are on the chopping block, it’s vital to use our skills as photographers to show up for the community. This is Chicago.
Every photograph I take is political. My existence as a minority demands it. 📸✊🏾
We’re speaking up, but they’re trying to shut us down. People here and around the world need to know that voices and oppression are rising under authoritarianism. Read, share, and stay aware. Link to the Substack article: open.substack.com/pub/adrianok...
In times like this, it’s also important to step away and create so you have room to fight injustice. 💙✊🏾
Nurse Aqua is taking excellent care of me while I’m recovering from surgery, but she might have fallen asleep on the job. 🤣🥹💙
A photograph to let you breathe and slowdown during this chaotic timeline. I hope this helps. <3
Protesting is a constitutional right protected by the First Amendment—speech, assembly, and petitioning the government. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.