Debbie Gunter

I remember being on the other side of the ’80s, laughing with my friends as we looked at old photos and how we dressed during our teen years. We were appalled but grateful styles changed. There was no way high-waisted jeans would ever come back in style; we just knew it. So, you can imagine our horror when they came back in vogue around 2015. How was that possible? What was next, shoulder pads? Well, wouldn’t you know … never saw that one coming.

Another vivid memory is transitioning from my beloved record albums to 8-track tapes, cassette tapes, CDs and then the iPod. The equipment we used for listening to music kept getting smaller and way more convenient, which, while cool, could never come close to the sound of that needle on vinyl. Would you have ever imagined that after decades of CDs being the number one way people purchased albums, vinyl sales topped them in 2022, according to Billboard.com?

In keeping with the cliche that “everything comes back in style eventually,” another outdated trend is on the rise. With the advances in digital photography, who would have thought using actual film would be relevant again? I first realized the film revival was a thing when my daughter’s super-hip, 30-something-year-old now-brother-in-law came to visit last year, 35mm manual camera in tow.

In this month’s edition, we share why some local photographers have jumped on board with this “old-fashioned” way to take pictures. Be sure to read about their passion HERE.

So, what’s next? Is there anything else you think has a chance at a comeback? Based on The Community Paper’s recent uptick in print subscriptions, I’m going with print media. Let me know what you think.

Enjoy this first month of summer, and don’t forget to give the dads in your life some extra love on the 18th!

Zach VanCamp captures a touching moment between his wife and son using a Leica M7 35mm camera. (ZACH VANCAMP)

Today’s featured photographer is Bud Lee. The esteemed photojournalist studied at the Columbia School of Fine Arts and the National Academy of Fine Arts in New York in the early 1960s before abandoning fine art and studio photography in favour of a more action-packed vocation. After joining the US Army in 1965 amid the war in Vietnam, he was assigned to Stars and Stripes as a photographer for the prestigious publication. 

In 1966, the Department of Defense and the National Press Photographers Association named Lee the ‘US Military Photographer of the Year’. This early feat was impressive but a mere sign of things to come. The following year, Lee began working for Life magazine as a photojournalist and found himself in the right place at the right time during one of his very first assignments. 

In July 1967, following the arrest, beating, and imprisonment of Black taxi driver John Smith, the city of Newark fell into a spiral of civil unrest resulting in the infamous riots in New Jersey’s largest city. As the streets descended into an urban battlefield of destruction and bloodshed, Lee was appointed to document the scenes as they unfolded. 

Over five days of rioting, 26 people were killed by police gunfire, with hundreds more critically injured, thousands arrested, and millions of dollars in property damage incurred. The poignant collection of photographs Lee took over this period exposed the atrocities to the world.

At the time, Lee couldn’t conceive the influence his shots would have in the immediate aftermath of the riots, nor could he imagine their ongoing relevance. Most famously, Lee bore witness to the cold-blooded murder of Billy Furr, a 24-year-old who was shot in the back by two police officers after he was caught looting a store for beer. One of the iconic photos below shows a police officer standing over Furr’s body. 

Lee’s photographs were featured in Life over the months following the riots, bringing unpalatable truths to the American public. These moments captured on film remain to this day a harrowing but vital reminder of an eminently dark corner of American history. 

Schoolchildren frequently ask why history is important. In answer to such questions, knowledge of the past’s various atrocities and injustices allows us to learn from our mistakes and ensure events like those seen below never repeat themselves. 

Thankfully, Lee’s photographs are to be further immortalised in The War Is Here: Newark 1967, a new photography book set to publish on May 22nd, 2023, via Ze Books. The book will feature an expansive collection of Lee’s photography from the Newark Riots, accompanied by a foreword from Honorable Ras J. Baraka, 40th Mayor of Newark, NJ and an essay by journalist Chris Campion. 

Sadly, Bud Lee passed away in 2015, aged 74, but his legacy lives on as one of America’s most revered photojournalists of the 20th century. 

SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah — We’re closing out Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with a closer look at a new exhibit in South Salt Lake that highlights the contributions of Chinese immigrants in Utah.

The late Corky Lee was a legendary photographer who spent decades documenting the Asian experience and capturing what he saw as injustices among Chinese railroad workers.

“People would call him a ‘Corky-pedia’ because he knew so much about Asian America,” said Karen Zhou, Lee’s longtime partner.

It’s a bitter-sweet time for Zhou. Lee died in 2021 due to complications from COVID-19.

“He lived life with this unwavering purpose,” Zhou said.

She organized the “Making History Exhibit,” showcasing the challenges Asian Americans encountered in everyday life from racial injustice and discrimination.

“This is from my journey with him from 2014-2019 when he was on a quest to reclaim history,” she said. “I was documenting behind the scenes the process, the people, and Corky, of course.”

His sole mission to Utah over the years was to right a wrong.

Lee felt Chinese immigrants who worked on the first transcontinental railroad were omitted from history books.

In 2014, he recreated a photo of the 1869 gold spike celebration at Promontory Summit, this time using descendants of the Chinese workers who laid much of the track.

“I also felt that one day, it’s not only about their story but his story,” Zhou said.

This form of photographic justice has come full circle for Lee.

For Zhou, this is the best way she knows to honor his legacy and make him proud.

“I feel overwhelmed but in a positive way. I know Corky’s here. His spirit is here.”

The exhibit is located inside the Chinatown Supermarket at 3390 S. State Street in South Salt Lake. It’s free and open to the public until October.