ZANESVILLE – Where would you next find a master photographer who’s been quite a bit of everywhere?
“My camera has taken me to places I’ve never dreamed of going,” said Paula Lively, of Paula R. Lively Photography.
The local artist has photographed well-known musicians and celebrities, as well as life’s everyday moments.
Visitors to the 2025 Y-Bridge Arts Festival can see some of her work Aug. 1-2 on the Zane State College campus.
She’ll be there, alongside 50 other local and regional artists, selling around 20 different canvassed photos from her concert portfolio.
“Mostly, I do special events. That’s what I love to do, and concert photography is my favorite,” she said.
Paula, born and raised in Zanesville, is a freelance photographer. She started her business 15 years ago, and with her trusty Nikon and 70-to-200-millimeter Sigma lens.
There’s a chance you’ll see her at the Secrest Auditorium’s summer concert series, where she volunteers twice a month. She’s photographed local and national musical artists like The GODZ, Appalachian Outlaws, Sammy Kershaw, Aaron Tippin, The Cadillac Three, Travis Tritt, and Chris Janson.
Paula has also volunteered and shot for numerous 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 fire departments.
Documenting moments
If you stumble upon her Flickr account, you’ll see how multi-faceted her photography is. It’s filled with albums of government officials, Dillon Lake herons, Native pow wows, a train derailment, firefighters, Comic-Con, the Arnold Classic, rodeos, motorcycles, and Freemason ceremonies.
“I’m a multi-layered person. I have a very multi-layered life of events,” Paula said.
She loves being able to stop time and document different moments.
“It’s the reason why God put me on this Earth. I’m here to document. It is my calling,” Paula noted.
Those moments showcase her experience with architecture, cityscapes, wildlife, politics and current events, photojournalism, weddings, newborns and portraits.
They’re all part of a journey that cascaded from when she simply started shooting landscapes as a hobbyist, and which led her to the Zanesville Times Recorder where she was asked to shift into sports.
“They wanted me to shoot football, so I had to change to different types of equipment,” she explained.
Then, she realized that she was going to need more education, so she attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, while working 60- or 70-hour weeks, and graduated in 2017.
Over the past 15 years, Paula has worked with or crossed paths with numerous celebrities, such as 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 photography has taken her to several states, like Arizona, New Mexico, Maine, Nevada, and Florida, among many others. In the future, she still hopes to mark off some bucket-list locations, such asTexas, California, Alaska, and Yellowstone National Park.
“I’ve been quite a bit of everywhere,” Paula said. “My camera has taken me to places I’ve never dreamed of going.”
Something to be proud of
Paula’s been highlighted by CNN Travel for a photo she took of her daughter, Alexis, and an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas.
She’s been recognized by National Geographic for a photo, titled “One Man’s Story 2,” that she took of a Hualapai native named Don Havatone in his regalia, standing in front of Grand Canyon West.
She’s been published on Wikimedia site for her coverage of Wizard World Comic-Con 2015 and a photo of Mike Tyson.
But if you ask Paula what she’s most proud of, the answer may surprise 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 explained. “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 next
Paula will be documenting the Muskingum County Fair in August, a Hells Angels bike run at Geneva-on-the-Lake in August, and a local Downed Bikers event on Aug. 9 at VFW 1058, along with the remaining summer concerts at Secrest.
You can follow Paula on Facebook and Instagram, and she is also the secretary of the Art COZ, the organizer of the Y Bridge Arts Festival.
Shawn Digity is a reporter for the Zanesville Times Recorder. He can be emailed at sdigity@gannett.com or found on X at @ShawnDigityZTR.
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Photography has take Zanesville artist Paula Lively ‘places I’ve never dreamed of going’
Reporting by Shawn Digity, Zanesville Times Recorder / Zanesville Times Recorder
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