Once I secured the position, I learned the newspaper 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 game of lesser importance and if I was successful, and my photographs were published, I got paid. Simple but effective.

Initially I thought that the technical aspects of the job would be my biggest challenge but once I began picking up general, non sports assignments learned my real challenge was being able to establish productive relationships with my subjects that resulted in the creation of meaningful photographs that illustrated the story.

Early on I was fortunate to meet a number of remarkable people while on 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 & Second Assignments With The Newspaper

By the end of my Junior year, all assignment constraints were off and I shot throughout the summer and into the next.‍ ‍