'1232 Club -- Good Italian Dinners' - Limited Edition of 15 Photograph

In 1969 as I was working in San Francisco's Montgomery Street for a stock brokerage firm it was to finance living expenses; I had stopped photography fee lancing but had applies for staff photographer positions with Associated Press and United Press Int. both situated on different floors of the Fox Plaza on San Francisco's Market Street. I sold to both as a free lance and knew the photo staff of each and some of the writing staff of AP and also was 'known' as a fairly frequent visitor (and well behaved, which I am sure was important as many 'free lancers' then were campus radicals/leftists who made a statement with their dress and appearance which -- like today-- caused consternation with older folks and businesses. So, I knew staff and darkroom staffs of both worldwide news organizations; AP was by far the preferred organization. UPI had asked me if I was interested in moving to Portland, OR to become staff photographer there and they would move me. I deferred. Years later, I met by chance the man who took that job several months later and kept it his entire working life -- for him it was the 'dream job' and suited him greatly. It was not a match for me, UPI was 'second best' and privately owned, AP was owned by a consortium of US newspapers and had extremely high ethics and standards. I shot photos now called 'street' around San Francisco and the Bay Area after returning in 1968 from Vietnam where I had worked my way over on an ammunition ship, and left that ship in Dan Nang ,Viet Nam with my camera(s) to take photos there during the war. A few months later I was medically evacuated to the US with a gunshot wound. I had taken photos of the war and war zone, but the negatives have been lost through time; others I have guarded zealously - the top 70 or so only. AP called me at the brokerage firm I worked at -- they spent considerable time over months to track me down. They offered me a photographer job, and I 'accepted' and was to report to work after giving notice. When I was ready for my first AP assignment, the same day, I recall, staff member Jimmy White -- who unknown to me was famous as a WWII China correspondent and China authority. He requested I meet 'Henry', a friend, whom he called 'an old China hand'. Henry was 'Henry Cartier-Bresson' possibly the most famous documentary/photojournalist,/art photographer of recent time. I did not know that. I went to Van Ness Ave., to meet Henry where he was 'showing some pictures of his 'at the famous De Young Museum (prior to a move). On the steps outside I met 'Henry' -- a medium height French man who spoke very good English. I had never seen his work, but wanted to see his photos after our meeting. I did not know then he had seen my work, or that famously he got cantankerous and sometimes livid in criticism of young, hopeful photographers he felt had no talent. However, to me, a young hopeful awaiting starting the evening shift at AP San Francisco that very day, he was most gracious and helpful. He explained that as a photographer of enough merit to have a giant museum show his lifetime work, because TV now fed images throughout day and night,, he often could not get assignments, and thus was showing and selling images. I had not seen his work and had no idea of who this 'Henry guy' was other than that he must be VERY good to rate an exhibition in San Francisco's most celebrated museum. He explained that photographer was a 'dead end' job and often involved when shooting news, including fires, crime, and lots of sports -- especially in the San Francisco area with year round pro sports. I really disliked professional sports and shooting sports and that the AP job would have no future, was very discouraging. He spoke sense. I did not know he had seen my work but he encouraged me to continue -- in fact he with White had reviewed my work from all of less than two years shooting and decided to divert me to just taking photographs without career expectations. "Shoot for Yourself, John,' he told me after explaining the facts of life about photojournalism. In short, he encouraged me to continue my work, but I suspected those were mere polite words since I did not know he had seen my work and that my work had met his super high standards, and he wished to see if I could continue developing. I went to see his work inside later then saw his superlative 'photojournalism' and 'art' work from a lifetime of shooting and decided with his advice meant I should turn down the AP photo job later that day. I went to work at A{P San Francisco there late that afternoon for evening shift start and announced I was quitting. "Not so fast' said the bureau chief, second by the photo bureau chief, and the chief editor. 'How'd you like to try your hand at writing - -you did real well on the photo caption writing test.' I told them with embarrassment I knew journalism only from being a consumer and a little photo work but had NO journalism training and had NEVER written or even tried to write a story. They sat me down despite those protests, the editor handed me a clipboard with bare facts about a 'little boy lost for much of a week in Yosemite's Nat'l Park's freezing temperatures in the Sierra. I was to call rangers there for a checkup while the watching nation assumed was a 'death watch' But about an hour before, they had found the boy hungry with some scratches, but well and in good spirits. Although TV news vans were parked surrounding the ranger station - and a huge, anxious scrum of TV news people and others were clamoring for news. While they clamored, the rangers put the little boy on the phone to me for his first interview. I understood that a boy of about first grade level needed questions he could understand, and placed myself at his age level to ask questions . His answers were delightful; he drank water from streams, used cover to keep warm at nights, and had an encounter 'with a big bad bear'. 'What did you do?' I asked with wonderment (real not feigned). 'I ran into a tree and shook the branches with my arms to scare him and he went away.' the boy explained to me. The heartwarming story of his rescue and his self reliance for days and subfreezing nights wearing summer clothes only and being rescued in very good shape, having scrounged berries and such from the vegetation, was the tear jerk story of the month and went onto front pages throughout the US and even world wide. My place in print journalism had a sudden turn; I was suddenly on the 'fast track' for AP, and my career was assured. The next day I was sent to report on an African exile for a conflict I had never before heard of, but my exclusive interview was printed worldwide. A transfer to Nevada for a year followed. After a year I went to NYC headquarters as an editor and department head soon in charge of international wire photo distribution from there. I also worked with the general manager of all AP and department heads of AP at 23-24 place me on the ' fast track. After the student riots shut down Columbia in1968 I went to AP's workwide photo head, Hal Buell, and asied for a combat photographer job in Vietnam. He was polite as he ushered me out of his office, with advice to get a hob with a small newspaper, put photos o nthe wire, and 'uf we like them, we''l come get you.'' In 1969-1970, while working in Nevada, he flew to the West Coast and saw me, then asked me to join the AP staff in NYC world headquarters. He had come to me! Just as I was turning 25 while working at AP NYC for just over 2 years, and recently married, the AP General Manager took me to lunch and offered to have mentor me to take over his position as worldwide AP boss of the 5,000 member organisation when he retired. His proposal would have me studying first Italian then Japanese at Berlitz language schools, then going to Italy as assistant bureau chief and soon take over the bureau chief position, then to Tokyo also as bureau chief. I was honored and flattered, until he gave me my luncheon check and I realized I was to pay for it. My future had been handed me on a platter but I would be expected to be equally cheap - -nay, stingy. That was the AP way -- an organization owned and funded by the nation 's newspaper publishers a rich and stingy lot mostly. I did not mind so much the cheapness, but 'stingy' was on another level I found unacceptable. I paid my luncheon counter check and soon made plans to depart; abandoning Associated Press with its great reputation for ethics and strict standards but knowing if I were to become future boss, I could not be so cheap with my workers and that cheapness was 'endemic' so my only course was to depart. I moved on to an editorial job at a business magazine where I quadrupled my salary while halving my hours. Soon at this business magazine, I was receiving calls from CEO's of major retailing chains nationwide and among them regularly, twice a week, was Sam Walton seeking my experience in business to help him making decisions about his growing his Wal Mart Discount store in Texas, Arkansas, the Deep South with aims for world leadership -- which have been achieved. Walton offered me an Exec. VP job at Wal Mart but I could not fancy loving with the 'good old boys' in the Deep South, Bentonville, ,Ark. where the chain was headquartered or working with store managers Students and radicals at my Alma Mater had shut it down in 1968 leaving many of us students without degrees; I was in a special- long-term course category who did NOT get our graduation as scheduled compared to those who took only semester quarters and had their degrees pushed forth despite Columbia'a involuntary Spring closure. I had to return, and did. as I left the business magazine. I remember one day as a 25-year-old returning Columbia student taking time out from class to go to a midtown Manhattan ballroom for a luncheon and afternoon addressing thousands of CEO's CFOs, financiers and all Street types about the future of a certain retail market segment. I was introduced as a 'marketing expert, whom many of the attendees had traveled hours or even cross country to hear ,and after that was applauded for sharing my thoughts as a 'marketing expert'. Then I returned to being return student at Columbia, graduated there and moved to Silicon Valley to attend law school in Silicon Valley, then, on getting my honors degree there, passed the state bar the first time and started my own law firm where I practiced successfully for a decade and a half before I retired at about 40. I took up photography some after I retired but I never knew the worth or uniqueness of my images which I showed to no one. It was only a little at urging of a woman photographer I met in Germany who urged me to show y work and arranged my first show in a group exhibit in Wetzler, Germany (home of Leica). Fifteen years ago, I joined an Internet site to show older images and in six moths had 1 million viewers and later now have about 200 to 300 million viewers with some recognition world wide. I only recently found out that Cartier-Bresson had viewed and approved of my images. While I did not know of him or his images at the moment we spoke, his advice has changed my life, after our talk and then later when I viewed his wondrous chronicle of his life as a 'photojournalist' -- really a photo artist who took time to mentor me briefly with advice that kept me 'shooting for myself'. I only wish he had then told me he approved of my work which my future colleague Jimmy White had told him 'reminded him of his friend Henry' (HCB). For me photography is now a life style. I live to take and show images. This image here I took in San Francisco just before I met HCB and it was in the few photos that AP wanted to 'copy' so we can take a look at them and send them to headquarters with your (job) application. john crosley © 1968 - 2019, John Crosley, all rights reserved. No reproduction or other use without express prior written permission from copyright holder of text and/or image. Image may be available in other sizes as an original; others mages shot in color may be available also in color. Image may also be available on other media such as 'fine art' paper and canvas' - just inquire of me or Saatchiart.com

Photography:Black & White on Paper

Artist Produced Limited Edition of:15

Size:36 W x 26 H x 0.1 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.