A Manatee County man has made it his mission to tell people's stories of hardship — without using a single word.

The photographer says if he's not photographing models, he's out on the street, documenting history.

For Allen Mestel, every picture isn’t just something pretty to look at.

“You can’t put a spin on a photograph,” he said. “It is what it is.”

When he’s not in his studio, he’s spending thousands of hours covering moments in history.

“I was in Minnesota for the Chauvin trial, I was there after the Duante Wright shooting.”

It all started when he was 11 years old, when he picked up his mother’s box brownie camera.

After decades working in the ad industry, his passion is to give back.

"I felt the responsibility to do my part,” he said.

Allen Mestel talks to us about his experience taking phots of the Russia-Ukraine war.

The Canadian has spent weeks at the U.S.-Mexico border covering migrant issues. He even spent time in a migrant camp.

“I feel an absolute responsibility to document history. That’s why I’ve been at the border, that’s why I went to the Polish-Ukrainian border.”

He showed us pictures he took shortly after the invasion started in Ukraine.

“I said to my wife, ‘I can’t not go, I have to witness this, I have to document this as best as I can,'” he said. “Each person’s story was a tragedy in enormous proportion.”

Families displaced, with no belongings and nowhere to go.

But even in so many moments of uncertainty, little moments of hope shined through.

“You can see on this kid’s face, he’s smiling," he said of one photo. "Kids are amazingly resilient, as long as they are loved."

Allen hopes his photos can make people feel empathy.

“If you can empathize with the individuals, then you can recognize that this is one story magnified by millions, and that’s the scope of the tragedy,” he said.

Mestel will hold a gallery for the photos on April 22 in Sarasota.

Proceeds will go toward helping displaced Ukraine families. To learn more, click here.