Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/04/28

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Subject: RE: [Leica] calling on the LUG to do a good deed: leica scholarship
From: "B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>
Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 15:20:07 -0400

There's also the "fire in the belly" issue, raised by Slobodan.

Summer between my sophomore and junior year in high school I worked for free
as a photographer for a local weekly paper in Connecticut - hung around
until they finally realized they weren't going to get rid of my and started
giving me assignments. Last assignment of the summer was to travel with the
local group taking the train to the March on Washington - Aug, 1963

Summer between first and second junior year in HS - :-( - was in summer
school in Newport, RI - got a press pass for for the Newport Folk Festival
from Seventeen Mag, and two bricks of Tri-X from Life Magazine....also wrote
and sold my first newspaper story to the Newport Daily News

Summer between second Jr. year and Sr. year was THE photographer/reporter
for a tiny weekly in Blue Hill, Me - got the job after writing to EVERY
daily and weekly within 25 miles of the coast between NYC and the Canadian
border...got three replies, two interviews, one job offer.

Summer between Sr. year and fresh in college, worked as a staff photographer
for The Bridgeport (Conn.) Telegram.

and so on...I WANTED to work on newspapers, and I made it happen.

I am not saying that I was special - what I am saying is that I worry about
people who say they want to be photographers, writers, etc., who do not find
a way to make it happen for themselves.

- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Joseph
Codispoti
Sent: Sunday, April 28, 2002 3:03 PM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Leica] calling on the LUG to do a good deed: leica
scholarship


>Scott Squire is a LUGger and a photojournalism student at Berkeley
>who, at classes end finds himself looking out over 100 days of summer
>lying before him like a raft of empty time which makes me weep for my
youth.


"My youth..........."
At age 14 there was no "empty time" for me. While my friends were at the
river swimming, I was working summers in a furniture factory 60 hours per
week (at slave wages) to help support my family.  I may have dreamed of
summer camp, boy scouts or travel. Instead I gave all my earnings to my
mother to buy bread.

Upon graduating from Brooks Institute I was dreaming of visiting Native
American tribes to document their meager existence. Instead I chose to take
the first job offered to me in order to repay my student loans.

I agree with Ted and others that Scott does not need to visit exotic foreing
lands to hone his photojurnalistic skills.
He should get a job with a local newspaper, improve his skills by learning
from the pros, and make assignments to challenge himself - all in Berkley.
There are plenty of homeless there.


Joseph Codispoti
San Luis Obispo, CA




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