Allison Lee Isley Photojournalist

Allison Lee Isley Photojournalist I am a freelance photojournalist in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, an RCC photo alumna with years of Message me for details.

I'm a photojournalist at the Winston-Salem Journal, but I am also available for freelance work and portrait sessions, including weddings and engagements.

It was such a delight to finally photograph Victory Day! This is something I’ve wanted to document for years. One parent...
04/23/2023

It was such a delight to finally photograph Victory Day! This is something I’ve wanted to document for years. One parent said Victory Day is her child’s favorite day of the year, even more than Christmas.

Lewis Barber, 10, stands for the national anthem during Wake Forest Football Victory Day on Friday, April 21, 2023, at Truist Field in Winston-Salem, N.C. Victory Day is an event in which Wake Forest’s football program partners with the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Winston-Salem to deliver lifetime memories for developmentally disabled people and Deacons alike.

I haven’t had much of a reason or desire to post anything this past year. But, I poured my heart into working on this st...
02/13/2023

I haven’t had much of a reason or desire to post anything this past year. But, I poured my heart into working on this story about the growth of girls wrestling locally and in the state of North Carolina. All the wrestlers and coaches welcomed me with open arms and allowed me to document just about everything. I am so very thankful for being given the opportunity to document an important piece of history and for the meeting such wonderful people along the way.

The N.C. High School Athletics Association will officially sanction women’s wrestling for the 2023-24 season, a milestone in the sport’s evolution that should lead to a boom in the number of young women who come out for wrestling.

Lisa O’Donnell tells it the best, at JournalNow.com, with more photos.

Gabrielle Kirven, 40, kisses her 4-day-old son, Gabriel Kirven-Carter, on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, in their new hotel roo...
04/12/2022

Gabrielle Kirven, 40, kisses her 4-day-old son, Gabriel Kirven-Carter, on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, in their new hotel room in Winston-Salem, N.C. Kirven was at Forsyth Medical Center after she had given birth when her children were kicked out of the hotel in the midst of a fire alarm, leaving the family scrambling to find another place to live on Feb. 19. With the help of Housing Justice Now, they were able to secure another hotel room to live.

2nd photo: Kirven’s 10-year-old son, Sy’Miar Kirven, changes the diaper on his 18-month-old brother, Jay’Len Kirven.

3rd: Kirven’s 14-year-old son, Jaden Nettles, sits on the bed with his brother Jay’Len. Kirven said Nettles is really upset about being unable to go to school right now. They don’t have transportation across town to Flat Rock Middle School and his bus is scheduled to pick him up at the Ramada Inn. His school laptop and other belongings are still in that hotel room, as well.

4th: Kirven’s godson, Tijuan Hynson, 23, lifts Jay’Len in the air.

I have to admit, I was a little giddy when Michael Hastings told me he was going to write a story about Sean and Ebony W...
04/03/2022

I have to admit, I was a little giddy when Michael Hastings told me he was going to write a story about Sean and Ebony Warfield being a culinary power couple in Winston. I’ve worked with both of them before and they are wonderful people and chefs. Sean is currently at 600 Degrees and Ebony is the executive chef at 6th and Vine.

———

There are several power couples in Winston-Salem’s restaurant scene. It’s not that unusual to find husband and wife working in the business together.

But there aren’t any culinary couples in town in which both spouses are chefs – except for Sean and Ebony Warfield.

The two don’t own a restaurant — at least not yet — but ever since moving to Winston-Salem three years ago, they have been cooking up a storm at some of the city’s top restaurants.

The two met as cooks, working in the same U.S. Army platoon at Fort Lee, Va., in 2011.

Sean was on active duty; Ebony was in the reserves. “I remember seeing her and thinking she was cute,” Sean said. “We exchanged numbers in the kitchen.”

Read the rest of Michael’s story, which includes a run down of the pop-up dinner they held in celebration of Black History Month, online at JournalNow.com.

Rick Easter (from left) Philip Whitney and Terry Phelps reminisce about their times playing ball together on Thursday, F...
03/20/2022

Rick Easter (from left) Philip Whitney and Terry Phelps reminisce about their times playing ball together on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, at Miller Park in Winston-Salem, N.C. All three were on the Winston-Salem National Little League All Stars team in 1964.

I unintentionally disappeared from Instagram (for the umpteenth time) after the fire. I guess I needed the break, even t...
03/16/2022

I unintentionally disappeared from Instagram (for the umpteenth time) after the fire. I guess I needed the break, even though I’ve been posting to the work account () almost daily. This past month or so has been a lot. So… here’s an attempt at returning to posting recent work regularly again.

I’d like to say I put more thought into this portrait than I did… but sometimes the last thing you see is what ends up working the best. I made a few nice, traditional portraits of Phoebe. She was kind enough to let me explore the light in her home with her. I photographed her leaning against this doorframe from a different angle, took a few steps back and saw this photo. I asked her to turn her face slightly towards me (as it was when I saw this photo) and made one or two frames. It ended up being my favorite. I wonder what it would’ve looked like if I had taken a bit more time to explore and tweak this composition. Then again, I think that’s also the beauty of it. More effort doesn’t always make something better.

Anyway.

Meet Phoebe, former Winston-Salem Journal reporter and editor.

Phoebe Zerwick, author of “Beyond Innocence: The Life Sentence of Darryl Hunt,” stands for a portrait on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, in her home in Winston-Salem, N.C. In her new book, Zerwick, director of the journalism program at Wake Forest University, explores Hunt’s life, his journey to exoneration and the trauma he continued to deal with after he was released from prison.

“There was enough ammonium nitrate on hand for this to be one of the worst explosions in U.S. history,” Winston-Salem Fi...
02/08/2022

“There was enough ammonium nitrate on hand for this to be one of the worst explosions in U.S. history,” Winston-Salem Fire Chief Trey Mayo said.

Other events have had a significant emotional impact on me, but nothing like this past week.

I used to bury the emotional stress that came with these situations until I couldn’t anymore. I’ve since learned better ways of coping so the stress doesn’t live in my body. I did those things last week, religiously.

For some reason, my coping mechanisms just didn’t cut it. I cried every day. Which is good for getting the stress out. However, I didn’t feel any relief.

After two days, I was emotionally checked out. To clarify, I was still doing my job. The adrenaline or something got me through.

The realization that something so devastating could happen to my city and community was paralyzing. Imagining the fear of those who evacuated and those who chose to stay was unbearable. Thinking about the stress and pressure on our first responders was crushing. Ruminating on how mindless it was for me to go well within the mile radius of the fire multiple times to make storytelling images and how unfair that is to my loved ones was conflicting.

When it was quiet, these thoughts were constant. It was overwhelming.

This isn’t usually me. Normally, I don’t think or worry much about the future. I live in the moment and take things as they come. But, man, I really struggled last week.

I’m ok right now. The immediate danger seems to be past us and a lot of those thoughts aren’t incessantly flooding my mind.

I’m thankful Winston-Salem made it out of this situation in one piece and for all of those who contributed to keeping us safe.

I’m grateful for my family, friends, coworkers at the Journal and colleagues from the other local news stations.

I have the utmost respect and appreciation for all of you hardworking and empathetic journalists out there. Keep doing what you do and please take care of yourselves. It’s too easy to give everything to this job and forget what you need. I wanted to share my experience because mental health is important and it’s sometimes hard for us to share our own stories when we’re too busy sharing others’.

I was on the other side of town covering a Winston-Salem State women’s basketball game, which was on its way to going in...
02/01/2022

I was on the other side of town covering a Winston-Salem State women’s basketball game, which was on its way to going into overtime, when I started getting phone calls from a reporter and editor. Couldn’t answer the phone because it was too loud in the gym and seconds were remaining in the game. After a few texts, I was able to find out the reason for the calls and started to get ready to run out of the gym as soon as the game ended. It went into overtime and I had to leave anyway. I was supposed to cover the men’s game next, which also went into overtime, and thought I’d be back in time… I thought wrong.

Evacuations were underway Monday night in neighborhoods on the north side of Winston-Salem as a massive blaze destroyed the Weaver fertilizer plant on North Cherry Street.

After fighting the fire for more than an hour and a half, firefighters got the word around 8:30 p.m. to move all their equipment a mile away from the fire, and efforts began to evacuate homes within that radius as well.

Officials said there was a large amount of ammonium nitrate, an explosive, at the plant, and that it wasn’t safe to be close to the fire.

Mayor Allen Joines, speaking to WGHP/Fox8, said the Winston-Salem fertilizer plant had as much as 10 times more ammonium nitrate than was present at a West, Texas fertilizer plant which exploded in 2013. That explosion killed 15 people and injured hundreds more.

Story by Wesley Young

Spencer Parks, 33, rubs noses with his 12-year-old, 120-pound Staffordshire terrier mix, Duchess, in their hotel room on...
01/26/2022

Spencer Parks, 33, rubs noses with his 12-year-old, 120-pound Staffordshire terrier mix, Duchess, in their hotel room on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Parks, who has lived in a tent for about three years, refuses to give up Duchess, limiting his options.

“They say don’t choose a dog, let the dog choose you,” Parks said. “She chose me. That dog is my soulmate.”

Overnight and emergency shelters don’t take pets. It’s similar with friends who’ve offered couches.

You’re welcome to stay… but you can’t bring your dog.

Earlier this month as he considered limited choices with overnight lows approaching 20 degrees, a chance encounter changed everything. A single act of kindness turned into an avalanche of support.

Within a few days, over $850 was raised for Parks and Duchess to stay at a motel. Dr. Amy Pugh with the Animal Hospital of Clemmons agreed to examine Duchess and treat any illnesses - free of charge.

“I had started to lose faith in humanity,” Parks said. “But it’s starting to come back. I appreciate everything everyone is doing, believe me.”

Read Scott Sexton’s full story online at JournalNow.com.

Wake Forest graduate student guard Alondes Williams (31) and Wake Forest senior forward Isaiah Mucius (1) celebrate as s...
01/23/2022

Wake Forest graduate student guard Alondes Williams (31) and Wake Forest senior forward Isaiah Mucius (1) celebrate as students storm the court following the Deacons’ 98-76 victory over the North Carolina Tarheels in a men’s basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Deacons climbed to fifth place in the ACC.

Francisco Hernandez-Sanchez, 5, uses a meat mallet to help his brother, Larry Hernandez-Sanchez (left), 10, and their fa...
01/17/2022

Francisco Hernandez-Sanchez, 5, uses a meat mallet to help his brother, Larry Hernandez-Sanchez (left), 10, and their father, Francisco Hernandez, break up the ice in their driveway on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Sunday’s winter storm dumped about 4 inches of snow and ice in the area.

So, I took the trip of a lifetime to California with some of the greatest friends last week (I am going to push myself t...
01/17/2022

So, I took the trip of a lifetime to California with some of the greatest friends last week (I am going to push myself to edit those photos eventually because that’s something I never do).
Two days before leaving, we had a snowstorm (last five frames). Two days after returning, we had another one (first five frames). Today’s winter storm was brutal. Between the wind and the sleet… it was not fun. I wiped out, twice. The first time I was taken out by the woman in the llama float 😂 the second time was downtown and the sidewalk had just been cleared. I slipped on a metal grate (yes, wearing snow boots). The guys operating the snow plow behind me got to see it. Fun, fun day.

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