2025 Y-Bridge Arts Festival options Zanesville artist Paula Lively

ZANESVILLE – Where would you subsequent discover a grasp photographer who’s been fairly a little bit of in every single place?

“My camera has taken me to places I’ve never dreamed of going,” mentioned Paula Lively, of Paula R. Lively Photography.

The native artist has photographed well-known musicians and celebrities, in addition to life’s on a regular basis moments.

Visitors to the 2025 Y-Bridge Arts Festival can see a few of her work Aug. 1-2 on the Zane State College campus.

She’ll be there, alongside 50 different native and regional artists, promoting round 20 totally different canvassed images from her live performance portfolio.

“Mostly, I do special events. That’s what I love to do, and concert photography is my favorite,” she mentioned.

Paula, born and raised in Zanesville, is a contract photographer. She began her enterprise 15 years in the past, and along with her trusty Nikon and 70-to-200-millimeter Sigma lens.

There’s an opportunity you will see her on the Secrest Auditorium’s summer season live performance collection, the place she volunteers twice a month. She’s photographed native and nationwide musical artists like The GODZ, Appalachian Outlaws, Sammy Kershaw, Aaron Tippin, The Cadillac Three, Travis Tritt, and Chris Janson.

Paula has additionally volunteered and shot for quite a few nonprofit organizations like American Red Cross, American Cancer Society, Downed Bikers Association, Muskingum County Animal Shelter Society, Girl Scouts Heart of Ohio, and the Perry Township and New Concord fireplace departments.

Documenting moments

If you come across her Flickr account, you will see how multi-faceted her images is. It’s crammed with albums of presidency officers, Dillon Lake herons, Native pow wows, a practice derailment, firefighters, Comic-Con, the Arnold Classic, rodeos, bikes, and Freemason ceremonies.

“I’m a multi-layered person. I have a very multi-layered life of events,” Paula mentioned.

She loves with the ability to cease time and doc totally different moments.

“It’s the reason why God put me on this Earth. I’m here to document. It is my calling,” Paula famous.

Those moments showcase her expertise with structure, cityscapes, wildlife, politics and present occasions, photojournalism, weddings, newborns and portraits.

They’re all a part of a journey that cascaded from when she merely began capturing landscapes as a hobbyist, and which led her to the Zanesville Times Recorder the place she was requested to shift into sports activities.

“They wanted me to shoot football, so I had to change to different types of equipment,” she defined.

Then, she realized that she was going to want extra schooling, so she attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, whereas working 60- or 70-hour weeks, and graduated in 2017.

Over the previous 15 years, Paula has labored with or crossed paths with quite a few celebrities, corresponding to Ronnie Cole, Gene Simmons, Danny Trejo, Bob Camp, Troy Polamalu, Chuck Norris, Senator John Glenn, Hillary Clinton, Stan Lee, Nichelle Nichols, and Henry Winkler.

Her images has taken her to a number of states, like Arizona, New Mexico, Maine, Nevada, and Florida, amongst many others. In the long run, she nonetheless hopes to mark off some bucket-list areas, such asTexas, California, Alaska, and Yellowstone National Park.

“I’ve been quite a bit of everywhere,” Paula mentioned. “My camera has taken me to places I’ve never dreamed of going.”

Something to be happy with

Paula’s been highlighted by CNN Travel for a photograph she took of her daughter, Alexis, and an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas.

She’s been acknowledged by National Geographic for a photograph, titled “One Man’s Story 2,” that she took of a Hualapai native named Don Havatone in his regalia, standing in entrance of Grand Canyon West.

She’s been printed on Wikimedia website for her protection of Wizard World Comic-Con 2015 and a photograph of Mike Tyson.

But when you ask Paula what she’s most happy with, the reply could shock you. It was when she was named the grand photographer for the Ohio Freemasons Royal Select in 2010, as her father, Patrick, swore her in.

“If you know anything about the Freemasons, women are not allowed,” she defined. “Then 2016 another gentleman swore me in as the grand photojournalist for the state of Ohio for the Royal Arch Masons. And then 2022 back for the Royal Select. That is what I’m most proud of.”

What’s subsequent

Paula might be documenting the Muskingum County Fair in August, a Hells Angels bike run at Geneva-on-the-Lake in August, and an area Downed Bikers occasion on Aug. 9 at VFW 1058, together with the remaining summer season concert events at Secrest.

You can observe Paula on Facebook and Instagram, and he or she can also be the secretary of the Art COZ, the organizer of the Y Bridge Arts Festival.

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Shawn Digity is a reporter for the Zanesville Times Recorder. He could be emailed at sdigity@gannett.com or discovered on X at @ShawnDigityZTR.