As a general assignment staff photographer and the first full-time staff woman photographer ever hired by The Associated Press in 1973, after several years of freelancing for them, I most enjoyed doing portraits, architectural and human interest features, world athletic events such as Olympic Games, Super Bowls ,the US Open, and aerial photography whenever the opportunity arose to photograph from high places from a plane, another building or the top of the Statue of Liberty in order to illustrate the story more effectively as in the case of a nuclear protest next to the World Trade twin towers, or aerialist Philippe Petit tightrope walking across upper Manhattan to St. John the Divine. Very often making the familiar or ordinary look extraordinary in your own home town is the best creative adventure because it moves you to look with fresh eyes versus just to see in order to find a different perspective or mood which you may have passed by and never noticed before. Imagining with fresh eyes equals creativity to me.
FAVORITE PHOTO – This is a tough choice considering the great historic moments in time, famous world personalities, and breathtaking vistas I’ve been blessed to experience and record first hand. But in this particular selection of 25 images from over 1,000 photos currently in the AP Photo Archive that I’ve created, I select the multiple exposure of the young phenomenal gymnast Nadia Comenici. Capturing history of a perfect 10 score, and working on the techniques months ahead of time in New York with various gymnastic competitions, the AP used my multiple exposure for one of the first times in history. This image made front pages in newspapers, magazines, and TV broadcasts around the world. Witnessing history and capturing an extraordinary young girl athlete in peak performance at the most prestigious athletic world Olympic event is a quintessential high.
