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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 14, 1980)
daily nebraskan monday, april 14, 1980 into the OOsphotography into the 80s photography into the 80s photography For Time cameraman, career once was pastime page 10 By Lori McGinnis What started as a hobby has developed into a fascinat ing career for Neil Leifer. Leifer is a photographer for Time magazine in New York. From 1962 to 1978 he was a photographer for Sports Illustrated. Leifer said he didn't plan to be a professional photo grapher as a teen-ager. "The thought never crossed my mind," he said. It wasn't until .he discovered people would pay him for something he enjoyed doing that he wanted to be a photo grapher. To me it was a joke that someone would pay me to take pictures of Muhammad Ali fighting " he said. But he started work for Sports Illustrated right out of high school and had his first cover picture when he was 19 years old. Now, at 37, he has had more than 150 of his 7 i V 'V" :- 1 It- - f - ft a- M I J pictures on the covers of Sports Illustrated and Time, more than any other photographer in the history of Time, Inc. Although he has been taking pictures for 20 years, he said seeing his work published still gives him a thrill. Leifer said he has taken pictures of "a little bit of everything" ranging from the pope to Burt Reynolds. He took Time's cover picture of the Lake Placid Olympics. He also has taken pictures of about "everybody in the sports world, he said. Some of his most famous pictures were Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston during a fight in Lewis ton, Maine in 1965, and Secretariat winning the Belmont Stakes. A year ago he had a book of his best sports photo graphs published. Leifer said he wants to direct films in the near future. Recently he took seven months off his job to direct his first feature film in England, "Yesterday's Hero." Leifer owns eight Nikon cameras and all the attaching lenses. He said he is a better photographer than technician so the photo lab processes his film. Although he does an occasional job for himself or for a friend, most of his work is for the magazine. "I've been taking pictures for 20 years. In my time off there are other things I like to do," he said. Leifer said photography as a medium has changed with the folding of such picture magazines as Look and the weekly version of Life. "I think professionally it's a tragedy we're losing so many of our picture vehicles," he said. Because of Time's photography, he thinks it is the best photo magazine today. The popularity of photography is increasing, he said, but he isn't encouraging anybody to make it a career be cause the number of hopeful photographers exceeds the number of jobs. Leifer thinks television is competing with photography. It is hard to be original in photography because television can match that originality, he said. For example, a close-up of a football player in a huddle used to be something only a still life camera could photo graph. Now television can zoom in close and show the viewers everything a still photograph can, he said. Frustration comes with any photographer's job, he said. Hoping for a sunny day and getting a cloudy one is one thing that can frustrate a picture taker. . But Leifer doesn't have to live with much frustration He said his work brings him satisfaction and pride. Photographers need proper 'tools' Third Place Portrait-Debbie McBride By Debora Hemminger A camera is a tool, like a shovel or a rake are tools. Associate Professor George Tuck advises that one buy a camera that will do the job that needs to be done. Tuck who teaches photography classes in the School of Journalism, also advised that the photographer be happy and comfortable with his camera. However, Tuck recommended buying developing equipment before buying a camera. He said in this way the photographer wiU not spend all of his money on a camera and none on the enlarger. With a lower-quality enlarger, the quality of 'the camera is negated, he said. Marilyn Sudback, store manager of Max Miller Cameras Inc., 1434 O St., said a darkroom usually comes later, when the photographer is no longer satisfied with , the work of other places. However, she said most people don't realize how easy and inexpensive a darkroom can be to install in a home. . She suggested placing a portable darkroom made of heavy -black plastic in the -basement. Running water is not need ed in the immediate area,, she said, explaining that the prints can be carried to another room to be washed. She estimated that 3 to 5 percent of their customers have their own darkrooms. A complete darkroom, includ ing an enlarger, can be put together for about $150, accordint to Sudback. She advises beginning photographers to buy a lot of film, so they can learn by their mistakes. She said a good photographer shows only his good shots and bad photographers show everything. Ralph Harman, part owner of Harman's Camera Center, 244 N. 13th St., said he suggests that beginning photographers buy their cameras first, so they can build up a negative library, before buying an enlarger , Jfe said beginning photographers should have an educated helper to advise them in buying equipment. Tuck suggested that beginning photographers talk to people that are as good as they want to be, look at, others' equipment and take a class in beginning photography.' He said a beginning class in photography provides basic knowledge before. a person invests a lot of'money.in-. equipment. 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