Black History in the Making

Amanda J. Cain on becoming the first Black female NHL photographer.

By Peak Design

February 28^th, 2023

In addition to being the first Black woman to become an NHL photographer, Amanda J. Cain is a downright rad person all around. She's living proof that history is being made every day, and we couldn't imagine a better person to write this field note. From here, please enjoy her story in her own words:

IT was May 9th 2009, when I graduated college with what I thought my life plan was going to be. I had gone to school for Graphic Design - but in all honesty - I didn’t realize the impact that photography could have on my life. I had loved taking photos, but for a young black girl fresh out of college rarely doing weddings and smaller shoots - it didn’t seem marketable. I spent June 2009 to February 2010 looking for jobs, or dare I say it looking for an “it” job. I wanted to be a part of companies like Nike & Adidas. I also aspired to be a part of a sports organization. It was a dream, it was a career aspiration. I had spent so much time looking at cool art, that I was thirsty for that life.

That career life you ask - starts in New Bedford, Mass. It was a sunny 60-degree day when I went walking down Purchase St. and saw a skateboarder riding down the street. I had recently told myself that photography was not going to be a focus, that the job I had moved to NB for was the focus. This job was the gateway to me being an adult. Lol, an adult. . . I was 23. I knew nothing of what being an adult was. As soon as I saw that skateboarder, I was hooked on action photography. Back then I bought every magazine that had some type of creative art and I was enamored by the photography and the creative direction. I spent so many days after work and weekends just finding things to photograph. It was my drug. It became a way to cope with the frustration of my full-time job and things going on in my personal life. I truly fell in love with the medium of photography while I was working in NB as a production artist.

Skateboarding was my original inspiration to become an action photographer.

Fast forward, I was unemployed and enjoying life trying to figure out how to be good at photography. I traveled, taught myself lighting, and editing. I would find friends of friends and set up scenes, the vision I imagined in my brain became art. It was fun, it was carefree and for once it didn’t feel like something I had to do, it was just there. But as the saying goes, something has to give. . . To make this a true reality I first had to get a job. So, I sought out a full-time job in photography. When I plowed back through those emails, I was desperate and wanted the feeling of success. What is success? At that time it was a full-time photo job.

What is success? Some would say what keeps you hooked. At that point it was the joys of covering sports and getting to shoot concerts. Honestly I still didn’t enjoy work. Work was a task, it was very much a reminder of the things I had to do to pay the bills. It became boring and I became disinterested. So what happens next, well I do another random move and this time it was to Southern California. Living that Cali lifestyle was what I thought I wanted, but little did I know the cost of that. 2015 was supposed to be the year that I took the risk and it paid off. I wanted to show that I hang with the high caliber photographers. Sure others had more experience, but I seemed confident that this was it. That was supposed to be enough.

It was, until it wasn’t. The cost of fame is a lot more expensive than you think. The dream that once made me smile, was in return causing self doubt and in my mind I couldn’t stay broke. It’s funny we look at reality TV and we think oh how it would be cool to live there. Trust me it was cool, but it wasn’t the right timing. As I took that flight back home, it felt like a disappointment. I had worked hours upon hours to achieve what I thought was my dream, and it was, then it was not. I moved back with my parents in Detroit and set out on a different journey. It was still photography, but it was a more structured path back into it.

The Ville (East English Village Preparatory Academy) athletes meet in their locker room - Detroit, MI.

The work that I had done leading up to 2017 was experimental and fun, but something was missing. The purpose of which we create our ART is so important. I like to say my journey has been long, but its been worth it and I’ve truly come into my own. People ask what it is like being one of the only black folks in a department. Out of all the jobs I've had up until 2017, there were always one or two others in the room. Honestly I didn't really think about it in that way. The job that completely changed the narrative was in Richmond, KY. I can't say Kentucky was ever on my list, but thank GOD it was. It was a new direction in photography, it required lots of work and it required me having student photographers working for me. I was their manager, me - it felt like I had just been in their position, who was I to manage them. It was everything that I thought I didn't want.

From left, Jazmyne, 6, Destiny, 7, and Jessica Wright, 6, of York City paint on canvas during the My Brother's Keeper cookout, taken for the York Dispatch.

However sometimes experiences change your life and Amanda J. Cain, became a better and more honest photographer. I became a better and more honest photographer! I did not get here on my own and have more people I want to thank, honestly thank than I have time or space here. There were definitely peaks and valleys, but it got me to see my capabilities and helped me grow as a person. For the first time I could see myself working in sports, working in athletics, being that one Black girl in the room, it was definitely something refreshing to be visualizing something that had always been my goal.

Sorority members celebrate homecoming weekend at Eastern Kentucky University.

"I am advocating for folks who look like me and now I have a voice and a seat at the table."

As I sit here writing this, in my current position, I am thankful and very much enjoying tears of happiness. Six years have come and gone, but now those dreams, those wantings, those late night conversations are a reality. You sometimes have to take the detour to make the journey successful, you have to take the road that is open to reach your destination even if it adds a couple days, months, or years. And even though I'm still present in this life, the stops along the way have given me more perspective than I would have back in 2009. You see, almost fourteen years later, I can sit in 2023 and say that I am the first Black female photographer in the NHL. I am advocating for folks who look like me and now I have a voice and a seat at the table. In many ways I am thankful to Peak Design for allowing me to share this. It may not be a typical field note, but it is me and I hope you enjoyed it.