LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville legend lost his battle with cancer this week.
Photojournalist Bud Dorsey, who used his gift to champion the city's west end for more than 50 years, died Thursday at the age of 80.
"People get a call to be a minister, and I think I got a call to be a photographer, a photojournalist, and that's what I've been doing ever since," Dorsey said in a 2017 video biography on Dorsey released the nonprofit Louisville Story Program.
"I document history," he said.
He was born Charles Ford Dorsey Jr., but everyone called him Bud.
"Nobody loved the Black community like Bud Dorsey," said Eddie Davis.
Davis knew Dorsey for more than 30 years — a friendship formed in the field as photographers.
"He was a political activist journalist," Davis said. He worked at the Courier Journal, while Dorsey worked at the Louisville Defender primarily covering the city's Black communities.
A Bud Dorsey photo. He died Thursday, July 8, 2021 after a battle with cancer at the age of 80. (Photo from the 2017 video biography "Available Light: Louisville Through the Lens of Bud Dorsey," produced by the nonprofit Louisville Story Program)
"He was a humanitarian with a camera," Davis said. "And the way he reached out to the community (was) through photojournalism. That's what he gave his life to."
Dorsey traveled the world, snapping photos in the Navy before returning home to Louisville. Many may have seen his work and never known it. He was published many times in national publications like "Jet" and "Ebony" magazines. He remained the only full-time staff photographer at the Defender in west Louisville for decades.
"Bud took it upon himself to make sure people understood that the west end had really good elements going on down there too. But at the same time, he would also cover the really tough assignments," photographer Sam Upshaw said in a 2017 interview.
The Louisville Story Program's video biography coincided with the release of Dorsey's book, "Available Light: Louisville Through the Lens of Bud Dorsey."
"I feel like he knew he was doing the work that would have never been documented," local activist Mattie Jones said in the video.
From festivals and parties to church events, Dorsey was there, continuing to work long after his official retirement.
"I was his editor, but Bud was my friend," Yvonne Coleman Bach, Louisville Defender editor and associate publisher, said.
Coleman Bach said Dorsey always wanted to be front and center in the community's most defining moments.
"Catching the civil rights movement, that was important to Bud," Coleman Bach said. "The Black community was very, very important to Bud and he captured it like no one else could and like I don't think anyone else ever will."
A Bud Dorsey photo. He died Thursday, July 8, 2021 after a battle with cancer at the age of 80. (Photo from the 2017 video biography "Available Light: Louisville Through the Lens of Bud Dorsey," produced by the nonprofit Louisville Story Program)
It was a dedication he carried through his final days covering the social justice movement following the police killing of Breonna Taylor last year.
Following Dorsey's passing, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer shared his condolences in a Tweet, saying, "Over 50 years, Bud built an incredible portfolio of artful frames showing important moments that may have otherwise been missed. So thankful for his kindness and commitment to telling these stories and more, and for the indelible mark he leaves."
Bud Dorsey had a passion for pictures, and his life's work now leaves a visual history for generations to come.
"It's just something I love to do," he said back in 2017.
The Defender says its next issue, out on Thursday, will include a special tribute to Dorsey.
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