CLEVELAND — Pictures are a frozen moment in time, a still image capturing the beauty of the city of Cleveland, but these photos taken by Gabe Leidy have a mission.
Leidy is a freelance photographer from Parma. His wife Olga is from Ukraine with family still there, and the recent invasion of the country hits home.
"I wanted to do something to honor Ukraine for that reason," Gabe said, "but was not exactly sure what."
Honoring Ukraine is exactly what Leidy is doing. An idea was sparked by the Terminal Tower being lit up in blue and yellow showing support for Ukraine, and he wanted to do more with his photos.
"It was kind of while I was walking around that evening that I hadn't really thought about the donation portion of it really," he told 3News. "It kind of hit me: It would be cool if I could actually do something worthwhile with these photos."
Leidy took six photos and named them the "Ukraine Strong collection." He posted them on his website with plans to donate all proceeds to the Cleveland Maidan Association.
From there, he and his wife went to work after the site started ‘blowing up.’
"For about seven days, the wife and I after work [were] just printing, packaging, and mailing stuff all over the place," Gabe said.
Leidy's photos so far have raised more $7,000. He says his photos are just a small token compared to the ongoing need.
"It's nothing in the grand scheme of things," he admitted, "but it helps you feel like you are doing something, to do anything at all, in a situation where you feel powerless."
Follow Gabe Leidy on Instagram @gabe_leidyphoto. To purchase a photo from the "Ukraine Strong Collection," click here.