For six years, Dave Decker’s photos have captured the ups and downs of life in Tampa Bay, but the Tampa-based photographer has branched out over the last year capturing protests in Chicago and political events across Florida and even Washington D.C.
And now the 51-year-old—who plays in bands like Big Sad and runs his Dave Decker Photography studio out of Ybor City—has been recognized for his work in Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
Last Friday, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN)—which represents more than 100 news organizations across the continent—announced finalists in its 2025 AAN Awards. Decker is one of just four finalists in the photography category where work from Eugene Weekly, Inlander and the Tucson Sentinel is also recognized.
Included in his submission to the AAN Awards are Decker’s photos from pro-Palestinian protests, action outside the Democratic National Convention outside of Chicago, coverage of last year’s back-to-back hurricanes, plus photos covering Bay area labor movements, concerts and even a pre-Grammys visit to Blake High School from Tampa rapper Doechii.
Decker is joined in the AAN Awards by CL’s Editor-In-Chief, Ray Roa, who is a finalist in the Arts Feature-Shorter Form category for an interview with Ozarkian songwriter Willi Carlisle.
CL’s sibling publications in Chava Communications are also well-represented among AAN Awards finalists.
CL contributor and Orlando Weekly staffer McKenna Schueler is a finalist in two categories for her beat reporting on Central Florida labor issues and a solutions journalism story on how The Farmworker Association of Florida works with the U.S. Department of Labor to help victims of wage theft recover pay they are lawfully owed.
The San Antonio Current nabbed four finalist nods for food writing, long form news story, coverage of right-wing extremism, and an ad marketing campaign.
The 2025 AAN Awards finalists were chosen from 750 submissions. Winners will be announced on July 11, 2025 during the AAN Convention in Madison, Wisconsin this summer.
AAN includes a variety of publishers, but all members are intensely focused on local news, culture and the arts, and eager to report on issues and communities ignored by a region’s mainstream outlets. AAN publications often feature point-of-view and narrative journalism and place an emphasis on respect for individual freedoms and social differences.
To continue supporting the work of Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, please consider a tax-deductible donation to the publication’s fledgling Tampa Bay Journalism Project, which is powered by the Alternative Newsweekly Foundation.
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