“You knew the job was dangerous when you took it!” Super Chicken‍

I have been fortunate to have learned photography twice. Once as a teenager and a second time with the introduction of digital cameras. And just to make the transition a bit more challenging, there were several decades between the two.

When I was young, my father subtly put a camera in my hands and had me shoot family gathering and parties. Though he never criticked the results, he continued to encourage me. So when he learned that the local newspaper hired student photo stringers (part-timers)to shoot high school sports, he “suggested” I look into it. The lofty qualifications for the stringer position were having a modicum of photographic talent and a reliable car, not particularly in that order.

Upon securing a position with the newspaper, I learned they did not have a formal training program (here is a camera, please don’t break it). But to their credit, their motivational model more than made up for any lack of training. I would be assigned a football game of lesser importance and if I was successful and my photographs were published, I got paid. Simple but effective.

By the time football season ended I had enough skills and experience to begin accepting general, non sports assignments. I initially I thought that the technical aspects of the job would be my biggest challenge. I soon learned the real challenge was being able to establish productive relationships with my subjects that resulted in the creation of meaningful photographs that illustrated the story.

I was fortunate early on to meet a number of remarkable people due to my assignments. Some were famous but more often they were neighbors and fellow townspeople who possessed a special talent or a remarkable story to tell. Thankfully they trusted a green high school kid to get their story right. ‍

My First Two General Assignments With The Newspaper

Only years later did I recognize the opportunities that I had been offered while at the newspaper.

The Pumpkin Queen
Beecher Berry