The 2016 Santa Cruz County Artist of the year, Shmuel Thaler has been a staff photographer at the Santa Cruz Sentinel since 1987. His photographs have appeared in every major newspaper in the United States. He spent much of 2020 documenting the Black Lives Matter actions, the election, the CZU August Lightning Complex fires, and the pandemic for the Sentinel. His photograph of Santa Cruz Police Chief Andy Mills and Mayor Justin Cummings was seen by millions when it went viral, aired on every major TV network, and was shared by Octavia Spencer, Katie Couric, George Conway, and thousands of others on social media.