By Jim Caccavo

Photos: Nancy Newman

This year’s PPAGLA Awards Luncheon was another raging success for those on a diet – no food.  With last year’s 2020 program being much the same:  crippled by the covid-19 pandemic,  the PPAGLA Awards program was forced to go remote via Zoom.  With surviving that challenge last year, this year’s second remote program went almost with no glitches, but when they attempted to trip up the show, they were quickly tackled and tossed out the window.  Over 150 “attendee computers” joined from far and wide, many with whole families on screen.

PPAGLA President, Amy Gaskin, who had been, less than a decade ago, a student member, kicked off the program reflecting on the past 14 months of job and staff position losses; a contentious presidential campaign that brought very real danger and threats to the media.  She expressed condolences to those who lost family and loved ones to the Covid-19 pandemic, concluding that we had to cover each other’s back by looking out for one another.  With effective vaccines now being given, Amy saw better times ahead, with next year’s award program being again a live dining event. 

 Before the actual program began, old friends and colleagues as they came on screen, began connecting , sharing old stories of the late George Fry, our past-president in 1969, whose wife, Ruth, was also on line absorbing it all.

 For a remote program, it became very personal and candid with banter going back & forth with chat about Rick Meyers’ new glasses purchase during which anything the sales lady brought up was “fine.” His wife, Jeanette, explained they finally went with a pair of glasses that made him look “ really hot”, but for Rick they all were “fine,” just as long as they were “light.”  Butt in John McCoy about buying 20 Christmas gifts in less than 10 minutes at a time. Family of Otto Rothschild delighted the gathering with stories of their father and his years photographing performing arts.  And so it went with much laughter, punctuated with more George Fry stories popping in and out from members as far back as Wayne Kelly recalling 1957 LA Times 4x5 Speed Graphic stories of staff fleeing the photog’s lounge when George showed up with a bag full of film holders to be processed.

 I had my own Wayne Kelly story of first meeting him at the LA Times in 1970, fresh back from Vietnam and enrolled at Art Center – a long belated ambition, I came to seek advice from Wayne on whether to remain at Art Center or jump in full time with an opportunity Newsweek was offering as a staff photographer in Los Angeles.  Wayne’s advice was to get that Art Center degree as at the time to be an Art Center photo graduate  carried a great deal of professional respect and status.  I followed Wayne’s advice with no regrets.  When receiving his “President’s Award” for being a founder of the Student Photographer of the Year Award (now in it’s 30th year!), Wayne expressed appreciated surprise as he was approaching his 87th birthday and thought he already had  his “Last Hoorahs.”

 Joanna Matos, PPAGLA’s first woman president, also received the President’s Award for her contributions to the founding of the Student Photographer of the Year Award, as she responded from her mobile  phone while on the road with her family in an RV, fighting winds on the highway 93 as members were showing up from all over the world with Marcus Yam in Afghanistan, who won “Photojournalist of the Year.

 David LaBelle, who chaired the Stills judging – from Ohio and was receiving our Honorary Member Award, took an opportunity to thank Joe Messinger for his inspiration when Dave was “a kid” which got a comical response from Messinger, who still flies his new plane.  Without the remote Zoom, we would not be in on the many personal chats that go back and forth between old friends – many thousands of miles apart as more members showed up.

 Armando Aparicio was out grocery shopping when he checked in to acknowledge his  award for the Best Animal Video.

At first, it seemed that  the  program  would be flying without its star awards MC,  KCBS/KCAL News Anchor, Suzie Suh as she cut in that she lost her air pod, then finally popped up and then after a detailed introduction of the former UCSD cheerleader – “the one who got thrown in the air,”….. Suzie was missing.  Board member Nancy Newman, one of four former woman PPAGLA presidents, who was serving as the raffle announcer from home with her large metal salad bowl full of paper snips of hopeful potential winners, was being propped up as the potential replacement awards MC, when Suzie suddenly popped up again, apologizing for a failed internet connection, but not this time in the well lit frame in which she initially appeared, but nevertheless, Suzie never looked as good as she did in the flat under lit frame, but she was live, and lit up the screen with her enthusiasm and candid comments.  Following a written script, Amy Gaskin PPAGLA President and Suzie would adlib reactions and comments, keeping the presentation moving along in a lively way.

 Two PPAGLA members had birthdays on Saturday, Reed Saxon, who won one of the raffles, and Arturo Quezada, winner of Best Video Breaking News.

 Upon announcing Arturo Quezada winning, Suzie asked if she could relate a story that happened 20 years ago when she and Arturo were  working the weekend.  They went from covering a story at the Actors’Academy where Suzie was wearing heels, black slacks and a hot pink sweater to covering a fire.  As they prepared to do the fire shoot, Arturo, asked her to wait a moment as he took off his photog’s vest and put it on Suzie to make her look more fitting for the new work environment.  She went on to say how she had never forgotten the gesture that would have otherwise left her looking ridiculous covering a fire in a bright pink sweater.  Suzie continued her praise of Arturo’s looking out for talent and beyond to the whole community before she lost her composure to tears she had to address.  It was Arturo who approached Suzie to MC our awards program as Suzie, who earlier in her career had to serve as a photographer & studio floor camera, reported that she couldn’t say “no” to Arturo.

 Now, PPAGLA has its own cheerleader!  Hopefully, we’ll see Suzie again as her appreciation and passion came across for the people on the other side of the lens, reflecting that her parents had a still photo studio business.

 Life Achievement Awards had two recipients this year, having been rescheduled from last year due to the pandemic:  Mike Mullen, who learned photography in the Army, is a  Vietnam veteran and Purple Heart recipient.  A former Herald Examiner staffer, he had been a long time considered candidate when this year’s selection was made to give Mike his long earned recognition.

 Gary Brainard, with a 45 year career as a video photojournalist was actually last year’s recipient, but because the luncheon was cancelled and carried forward via a Zoom webcast, Gary requested the award presentation be delayed, so that his mother could be present to witness the honor.  Unfortunately the pandemic continued to prevail over our lives and this year brought another remote Zoom program. Gary decided to go ahead  with a presentation which resulted in giving  us the pleasure of meeting 95 year-old Virginia Brainard as she beamed from home as her son, Gary, sitting next to her, was announced as a recipient of the Life Achievement Award.

 Sponsors this year included loyal pros, Nikon, Canon, ThinkTank (with a new award this year), and Jet Blue, with Amy – refusing to take “no” for an answer bringing on new sponsors, Sony, Tamron, and Camera Bits/PhotoMechanic.

 Many awards were, for the first time, presented by family members of those who sponsored the categories and we learned a bit of our heritage.  Stan Troutman’s granddaughter Holly Rindge presented best UCLA Sports Photo, Otto Rothchild’s son Dan presented best Performing Arts, and Bill Knight’s son Chris presented Video Breaking News.  Adam Van Gerpen of United Firefighters of Los Angeles City/ IAFF Local 112 AFL-CIO was on hand to present the fire awards.  Our new Pictorial category was generously sponsored this year by Ruth Fry in memory of her husband George.

 All expressed concern over the past year and the importance of photojournalism, but perhaps the most articulate was PPAGLA’s Photojournalist of the Year, Marcus Yam of the LA Times, checking in at 2:00 am from Afghanistan, after winning a Nikon Z6 ii camera with 24-70 zoom lens from Paul Van Allen of Nikon.

 Marcus reflected that 2020 was a challenging year.  He went on to acknowledge all the incredible talent that surrounds us and in this dangerous year the collective blood sweat and tears that went in to the job we all love.  It was a dangerous year for all of us, an emotional roller coaster.  “Visual story telling has never been more vital in our current democracy and ever more so in this crazy digital world.  I should thank my photo editors who nurtured my vision and allowed me to grow from my mistakes.  To young photographers out there, I would like to say there is no photographer without the behind the scenes support of photo editors who push us to be more than what we are.”

Marcus went on to thank Paul Van Allen & Nikon and Amy, and the  board for keeping PPAGLA together and going especially during these tough challenges, and that he himself had once served on the board.

During the course of the entire program there was the stealth presence of Khai Le who was the “Wizard behind the green curtain” running the whole program from his computer, whose skill and hard work made the webcast happen.

 Hopefully next year, Khai can enjoy a live program with the rest of us in a real time presence where we can all be together.