Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/11/30
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Monday, Monday, November 30, 1998, Nigel B Watson wrote: > the major news services (I took that to mean UPI, Reuters > et al) HA!!!! I haven't heard UnPaidInvoice (UPI) referred to as a major news service in ages, cause they haven't been major in ages!! Lets see, I helped close down the Atlanta bureau for UPI at the end of 1993. I was still spinning prints on an analog drum transmitter (45 minutes per color shot) that was at least as old as I am. We had one old leaffax 35 photo transmitter and a compander to go digital (appx 5 minutes per color shot), when it was working. The South East region photo editor baby sat this thing and the only times we used it were when he was in the bureau, which was often as there were only 3 of us for the entire south, not counting Fla, they had one guy. Josh liked Fla so much he drove through a blizzard to get to Washington & I heard he then got stranded in Bosnia when UPI went tits up the last time in late '93. Oh well, Josh always liked the action. Saw him on CSPAN about a year or so ago, heard he is now shooting for AFP, Agence France Press. I know of one photog who is still sending up photos for UPI. He works out of Chapel Hill, NC. Shoots with battered Nikon F3's and manual focus lenses. He scans on a Polaroid Sprint scan 35, the original one, run through a Mac Powerbook 180c. Not real high tech. I think they have a guy in Houston also, George Wong for you Texans, if you know him tell him I said hello, we covered the '94 Super Bowl together. If you, like me, can't believe UPI is still around check out www.upi.com Blew me away they were still there. Hell I can remember them filing chapter 11 at least 3 times in about 6 years. Must say I am glad they are still hanging on. Shoot even with only 3 of us in the SE we still kicked the s*** outa AP on a regular basis. Too bad they axed photo back in '93, we were the only division of UPI making money at that time. And it was the best news job I ever had. Had it remained profitable I would probably still be doing it. Plus the APes need the competition. Side note here. UPI never admitted to "going away". They were still there, but from late 1993 till 1995 or so anyone crazy enough to transmit to them was not getting paid. They closed down almost of their bureaus in the nation, only leaving, I think, 3 or 4 open. Also most of the people now working for them are not the same people from the old days. Most of them have gone on to much bigger things. They always had the best shooters IMHO.) Best regards, Harrison McClary http://people.delphi.com/hmphoto preview my book: http://www.volmania.com