Big Thrill #4

After shooting a large fire at a retirement complex under construction, my fiancé and I rushed from the KC suburbs all the way downtown to the AP office so I could process the film there, and then schedule and hopefully send a quick print over the wire that night. Done: left the building. Case closed: story over, right?

Several days later I was back in the KC Star newsroom and someone said “hey, nice work” as they walked by, but I had no idea what they were talking about. I knew the event had been above average in normally-bland KC terms, but mentally I had moved on.

Newsweek magazine had picked up the story and used my photo along with a shot by the KC Times’ staffer who beat me to the scene. Both photos illustrate the work of the Fire Men substitutes as well as the evacuating residents next door, with the big fire in the background. Ed’s photo had his name in the footer!

It may have only said “AP Photo” in that tiny font in the page margin, but to me it was definitely Big Thrill #4.