I was in junior college and I worked part time at Ritz Cameras in Boscovs, in the Cumberland Mall. Digital cameras were the newest thing and putting a dent in the one hour photo lab business. I didn’t take photography serious at all, although I had dibbled and dabbed on developing labs since 1995. Film was becoming a thing of the past and everyone with a camera considered themselves to be a overnight photographer.
My boss and mentor named Joe, who had actually photographed Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. (before he became Muhammad Ali) and John F. Kennedy weeks before he was assassinated. He was a short Italian guy who favored Mario from the video game Mario Brothers to the “T.” He even had the signature curly mustache.
The toughest lesson he taught me was to appreciate what I have and make the very best of it. He was retiring and walking away from photography without a choice. Joe was going blind. A photographer’s eyesight is one of the most vital assets to his or her craft.
I thank God everyday for my gifts and like Joe I have grown to recognize that anything given to me can also be taken.
