Memorial /  by Justin Merriman

Natalie Parkinson of Butler touches a memorial wall of names of victims of drunk drivers during an event by MADD for a day of honoring law enforcement, remembering all victims of DUI and kicking off the holiday season safely.  Parkinson's daughter, Renee was killed on July 4, 2007 by a drunk driver.

Day of Listening /  by Justin Merriman

Paul Farkas, a Korean War veteran who served in the Navy, gets interviewed at the Heinz History Center as part of the National Day of Listening on Friday, November 23, 2012.

Pittsburgh Crèche /  by Justin Merriman

Bishop David Zubik leads a prayer as part of the Christian Leaders Fellowship, an ecumenical group of local bishops and denominational executives, that held a prayer service at the annual dedication of the Pittsburgh Crèche, on Friday, November 16th in the plaza at the US Steel Towers on Grant Street, Downtown.

McKayla Maroney /  by Justin Merriman

Olympic gold medal winning gymnast McKayla Maroney makes her "not impressed face" as she takes a photo of herself at the Panera Bread on Tuesday afternoon, November 13, 2012.

A Hard Goodbye /  by Justin Merriman

Jason Derkosh holds his wife, Elizabeth, at the funeral of their 2-year-old son, Maddox, at Saint Bernard Church in Mount Lebanon on Friday, November 9, 2012. Derkosh was killed Sunday after he fell from a wooden railing overlooking the painted dogs exhibit at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium and bled to death after being mauled by the dogs.

Note by photographer: As a photojournalist, I have to cover difficult events.  In my career, spanning over a decade, I’ve covered more than my share.  The world isn’t a perfect place and unfortunately there is great sadness, pain, and suffering.  Today was no exception. I found myself at the funeral of 2-year-old Maddox Derkosh who was killed Sunday at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium when he fell from his mother’s arms into the African Painted Dogs exhibit and was mauled to death. No one wants to cover these sad events.  It’s never easy to make photographs under such tragic circumstances, and often my camera feels so heavy I can barely pull it up to my eye.  However, knowing the importance of my presence and the camera in these situations helps me to make photographs that will bear witness, help people to understand, and to hopefully provoke a dialog that will prevent such events in the future. 
When I am assigned to cover funerals, I am always respectful.  I remain at a distance that doesn’t intrude on the family and still allows me to work in a discrete and considerate manner.  We can’t simply ignore difficult things, particularly events that happen in such a public manner.  While the photograph of Maddox’s mother and father embracing at such a tremendously difficult time in their lives is hard to look at, it helps everyone who is mourning with them to know how loved and cared for he was.  They do not mourn the loss of Maddox alone.  Pittsburgh, the country and the world mourns with them.  There are no borders for stories such as this one, it spans the globe and stretched across humanity.  We all feel their pain, including the members of the media who were assigned to cover the funeral. If we were to ignore these events, we would be doing a disservice to all who care. 

Final Wave /  by Justin Merriman

 Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney waves to supporters as he lands at Atlantic Aviation Services in Coraopolis, PA on his final stop on his Presidential campaign on election day, Tuesday, November 6, 2012.

Pittsburgh Glass Center /  by Justin Merriman

Eunsuh Choi, a resident artist at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, works on a new piece on Friday afternoon, November 2, 2012. Choi will be in residence at PGC until January creating new work for her exhibition at PGC that opens February 1, 2013.

SciTech Days /  by Justin Merriman

Dominic Furnari, 12, a student at Franklin Regional Middle School, sits in a Mattress Factory display at the Carnegie Science Center's SciTech Days, during which regional students explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Nearly 3,400 students will be onsite during this four-day program. 

Job Search /  by Justin Merriman

Russel J. Christiana, 56 of Wexford, an Afghanistan veteran, who is trying to find a job outside of the Army, poses for a portrait in front of his home on Wednesday, October 31, 2012.