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THE INFLUENCE OF AL PANZERA UPON SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY
AT DALLAS-FORT WORTH METROPOLITAN NEWSPAPERS
THESIS
Presented to the Graduate Council of the
North Texas State University in Partial
Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of
MASTER OF JOURNALISM
By
Ben W. Wilhite, Jr., B. S.
Denton, Texas
August, 1979 Wilhite, Ben W., Jr. , The Influence of Al Panzera Upon
Sports Photography at Dallas-Fort Worth MetropOlitan
Newspapers. Master of Journalism, August,, 1979, 102 pp.,
19 illustrations, bibliography ,33 titles.
This problem's investigation deals with the influence
of sports photographer Al Panzera upon staff photographers
at four major metropolitan newspapers in the Dallas-Fort
Worth area. Information was gathered through interviews, periodicals, and the pages of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The study found Panzera to be influential in varying degrees upon all photographers interviewed. He proved most influential with beginners, especially in the 1940's and
1950's. He influenced advanced photographers to a limited extent, Areas of influence included his techniques., abilities, personality, and tenure with the Star-Telegram. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS., ...... iii
Chapter
. ,.,. . , . T I. INTRODUCTION ......
Statement of the Problem Purpose of the Study Questions Review of Literature Justification Limitations of the Study Methodology Organization of the Thesis
II. EARLY HISTORY AND LEARNING A PROFESSION.. . . 12
III. THE PANZERA WAY...... ,...... 39
Photographic Angles Equipment Lighting Newspaper Graphics Pregame Preparation
IV. AL PANZERA tS INFLUENCE ON NEWSPAPER PHOTOGRAPHERS ...... 65
Equipment Lighting Knowledge of Sports Publicity Photographs Graphics Teacher Personality Respect
V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION , ,a . , . . a . , , 89
Summary Conclusion Suggestions for Further Study
APPENDIX ...... 99
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 100
ii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure Page
1,0 Al Panzera ...... 2
2. Memorable Golden Gloves . . 9 . . , . . . . . 17
3. Large Art Display .. 99, 19
4. "Ordered" Photograph 9 , 25
5, Early Award Winner . . . 9 , 9 . , . . 33
6. Low-Angle Publicity Photograph . 9. . . , . .42
7. Big Bertha . 9 9 . . . . 45
8. Telephoto Lens . . . . . , 47
99 Effect of Telephoto Lens . . . 48
109 Short-Duration Flash Photograph 9 9 9 . . . . 52
119 Multiple Strobe Lighting ,, . .9. 9 9 . . , 514
12. Eight Column Photograph , , . 9 9 . . , , . 56
13. Diagram Picture...... 9 9 9. . 9 9 . 58
14. Sequence Pictures...... ,. . 9 9 . . . , 60
15. Follow Focus Photograph...... 62
16. Pregame Planning Photograph . 64
17. Multiple Strobe Lighting . 9 ...... 70
18. "Lucky" Photograph . .. 9 .9.. .,9. 75
19. Peak Action Timing .. 85
iii CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
If a picture is worth a thousand words, Al Panzera
was sports photography's dictionary. For twenty-eight years,
Panzera covered sports photographically for the Fort Worth
Star-Telegram while it was under the ownership of the Amon
G. Carter family, During that time, Panzera covered
practically all sporting events in Fort Worth and many events
throughout the southwestern United States.1 Panzera
earned a reputation as "one of the nation's outstanding
photographers. t 2 He has been called "a pioneer in a lot
of sports photography in the Southwest (see page 2).,3
Panzera became interested in photography at age sixteen
in his native Brooklyn, New York, in 1940.4 As a general
apprentice for the New York Journal-American, Panzera
received his first technical training in photography. 5
Military service was the next step in his learning process.
Panzera was drafted into the army, but was transferred into
"Alls Camera Sees a Lot of Action," Fort Worth Star Telegram, February 16, 1978, morning, p. 3d.
2 Milt Hopwood, "Conversation With Al Panzera," Fort Worth, L, 8 (August, 1974), 14, 3 Interview with John Mazziota, photographer, Dallas Times Herald, July 3, 1978, Dallas, Texas.
4Interview with Al Panzera, June 13, 1978, Fort Worth, Texas.
5Ibid.
1 I I I I I
14
Plate 1--Al Panzera. Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram December 31, 1971. 3 the United States Army Air Corps after he received high scores on his General Aptitude Test.6 A transfer to a photography section as a member of the "Flying Training
Command" sent Panzera to Fort Worth, introducing him to the 7 city and to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Panzera's work as a military photographer included the areas of public relations, promotion and publicity, plane crashes, visiting 8 dignitaries, and work for the camp newspaper. Training in sports photography began when Panzera became personal photog rapher to his commanding officer, General Barton K. Yount, while he was stationed at Tarrant Field, now Carswell Air
Force Base.9 The general's pet project was a camp football team, the "Skymasters." Panzera covered the team's games, his introduction to sports photography.10
In 1944, he married a native of Fort Worth. Following his discharge, Panzera remained in the city.1 1 His background in sports photography led to a temporary job photographing the Golden Gloves for the Fort Worth Star
6Ibid. 7 Steve Stibbens, "Al Panzera. The Telegram's 'Star' Photographer Shares Tips on Shooting Sports,," dallasPhoto, 1, 3 (June, 1978), 21,
8Mazziota. 9 Panzera.
10 Stibbens, p. 21.
11Panzera, '4
Telegram.12 This temporary job grew into more than a quarter century of award-winning sports photographs for Panzera and for the Star-Telegram.
Panzera's temporary job with the Star-Telegram was that of a photographer assigned to the sports department, not as a general photographer in the photography department.
For fifteen years, his temporary job was provided by a special budget as Panzera photographed sports exclusively.1 3
During this time, Panzera worked six days a week, whenever sporting events occurred. His responsibility for covering all newsworthy events went far beyond the usual forty-hour per-week job.1 4
At that time, the Star-Telegram had the largest newspaper circulation in Texas. Therefore, the sports department covered more events than most papers. With this increased coverage, the pace was set for the other papers in the Southwest.1 Panzera regularly used several techniques from his New York Journal-American days that were innovations in the Southwest, Panzera was the first photographer in the Southwest to use strobe units to photograph baseball, special speedlight set-ups at hockey games, and Big Bertha, a seventy-eight-pound camera and lens used for sports closeups.16
1 2 Ibid. 1 3Ibid.
1 4bid,15Ibid,
1 6 mazziota, 5
As photography changed, so did Panzera. His style
developed easily as cameras and techniques became more
refined. Panzera progressed from the large, bulky Speed
Graphic camera to the smaller twin lens reflex camera to
today' s compact thirty-five-millimeter models. He used all
types of equipment to meet various needs; he searched for new
cameras and techniques to advance his talents and those of
others .17
Panzera used his techniques and talents in photographing
unknown amateurs and the great names in sports for many
publications. Among the great sports stars photographed were
Ben Hogan, Duke Snider, Rod Laver, Bobby Morrow, Willie
Shoemaker, Rocky Marciano, and Panzera's choice as the best
all-around athlete, Doak Walker. Panzera continued to be on
a first-name basis with most of them,18 Because of the quality of Panzera's work and of the people and events he covered, his
photographs appeared not only in the Star-Telegram, but in books,
university pamphlets, and magazines such as Life, Newsweek,
Sports Illustrated, and Sport. His publications were so numerous that Panzera often did not even see them,' 9
His photographs were seen enough by other people for him to be recognized as one of the best sports photographers in the country. His work was honored constantly. Panzera
1 7 Stibbens, p. 21. 18 "If You're in Sports, Panzerats Shot You," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, April 2, 1972, Sunday, p. 151. 19 Panzera. 6
earned more than 200 major awards, including six from the
National Press Photographers Association for best sports 20 photography, and ten consecutive first places in annual
competition sponsored by the Texas Associated Press.2 1
Panzera' s successful career continued in spite of a heart
attack on August 16, 1971. After surgery the following
November, Panzera returned to work, photographing the 22 January 1, 1972 Cotton Bowl football game,
Panzera's career with the Star-Telegram flourished for more than thirty years. He turned down offers to work for other newspapers and for Sports Illustrated to stay in
Fort Worth and work for the Star-Telegram. He loved the city and the newspaper and continued to honor both with his work.2 3
Statement of the Problem
The major problem of this study was to attempt to determine the influence of sports photographer Al Panzera upon the work of staff photographers at the four major newspapers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area as perceived by those photographers.
20 "Alts Camera Sees."
"IfYou're In Sports."
2 Panzera,
23 Ibid. 7
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to examine the background of Al Panzera, its effects upon his ability as a sports photographer, and his influence upon major metropolitan newspaper photographers in Dallas and Fort Worth. It studied the changes in photographic coverage of sports events at the
Star-Telegram during Panzerats employment as a sports photographer. The study attempted to determine his influence through his tenure at the Star-Telegram, his technical skills, and his awards and prestige.
Questions
This study was designed to answer these questions..
(a) Did Al Panzera influence other photographers on major metropolitan newspapers in Dallas-Fort Worth? (b) Did the
Star-Telegram's photographic coverage of sporting events change during Panzera's employment? (c) What was Panzera's philosophy in sports photography?
Review of Literature
Little has been written on Al Panzera or on most other photographers, especially those specializing in sports photography. No scholarly works were found on Panzera or sports photography in Journalism Quarterly, Journalism
Educator, or the Journal of Communication, Studies of sports photography were limited almost exclusively to "how to" articles in photography magazines. Information on Al Panzera 8 was limited to a 1974 interview in Fort Worth, a monthly
Chamber of Commerce publication, an article in the June, 1978
issue of dallasPhoto, and thirteen articles about Panzera
that appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram from 1951 to
1978. Additional articles from 1951 to 1971 mentioned Panzera,
but did not relate to this study.
Justification
Publishers have printed many books about photography,
covering scenic, news, or sports photography. However, little material has become available on the photographers themselves,
especially sports photographers. However, Fort Worth and
dallasPhoto magazines found Panzera worthy of articles in
1974 and 1978. His work was a vital part of the history of sports photography in Texas. His career covered the time when the Star-Telegram had Texas' largest circulation and was at the peak of its influence. It was during this time that photojournalism first became recognized as an important part of the total journalism program.
If Panzera influenced area photographers, he may have influenced others, By recording his life, his techniques, his awards, and his influence, the student of photography obtained a new source of material to aid in the learning program. 9
Limitations of the Study
This study examined the life and techniques of Al
Panzera, sports photographer. It studied the lives of no
other photographers, The study centered on the twenty-eight
years Panzera worked for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram under
the ownership of the Amon G. Carter family, beginning in 1946
when Panzera joined the Star-Telegram and ending with the
sale of the newspaper in 1974. The study covered Panzera's
youth and various photographic training influences and
experiences. These time periods were examined only for
their influence upon Panzera's Star-Telegram career, The
study examined Panzera's influence upon the current photography
staffs of the morning and evening Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
the Dallas Morning News, and the Dallas Times Herald,
Because of their unavailability, former members of these
photography staffs were not questioned. News service
photographers were not questioned,
Methodology
Information on this study came from publications and interviews. The publications were from stories about Panzera .24 25 in Fort Worth and dallasPhoto magazines and twelve articles published in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram from
1951 to 1978. These articles appeared on January 5, 1951N26
2 4 Hopwood , 2 5Stibbens. 2 6"Panzera Tells Inside of Sports Photography," Fort Worth Star Telegram, January 5, 1951, morning, p. 12. 10
November 4, 1951;27 October 3, 1955;28 January 22, 1956;29
September 3, 1961;30 November 21, 1965;31 March 29, 1967;32
October 28, 1971; 33 December 31, 1971; 34 April 2, 1972;35
December 17, 1972;36 and February 16, 1978.37 An unpublished
biography from the Star-Telegram dated December, 197138 was used. Reproductions of photographs in this study were
used with the permission of these publications and Al Panzera.
27 "A' Panzera To Address Photographic Society," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, November 4, 1951, morning, p. 7. 28 28 "Three Photographers From Here Win Prizes," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 3, 1955, evening, p. 6.
29"Al Panzera Photo First; Other S-T Men Score," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 22, 1956, Sunday, p, 1. 30 "Sports Guest," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, September 3, 1961, Sunday, p. 21. 31 "Staffer Beats Odds To Get Pics," Fort Worth Star Telegram, November 21, 1965, Sunday, p. 1, Section 1,
32 "Wherever News Is Happening, Star-Telegram Photographers Are There," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 29, 1967, evening, p, 12A. 33 "Barnes Praises S-T's Panzera," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 28, 1971, morning, p. 2D.
34Al Panzera, "Victim of Heart Attack Relates Ordeal, 'I Didn't Want To Die,'" Fort Worth Star-Telegram, December 31, 1971, evening, p. 4A. 35"If-You're in Sports."
36 "Puck Pops Panzera," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, December 17, 1972, Sunday, p. 1B.
3 "AlsCamera Sees." 38Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Unpublished biography, DecembeF7,i971. 11
Interviews were conducted with Panzera; Herb Owens, business editor at the Star-Telegram; Clifford King, retired
Star-Telegram reporter; Flem Hall, retired Star'-Telegram
sports director; Harry Cabluck, former Star-Telegram photog rapher: and members of the photography staffs at the four major newspapers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including
Gene Gordon, Joe McAulay, Ron Heflin, and Rodger Mallison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram morning and evening editions,
Ray Adler, John Mazziota, Skeeter Hagler, Jay Dickman, and Paul Iverson of the Dallas Times Herald, and Kurt Wallace,
Larry Reese, and Larry Provart of the Dallas Morning News
(see Appendix A).
Organization of the Thesis
This study is organized into five chapters: Chapter I,, introduction; Chapter II, Panzera's early history and learning a profession- Chapter III, Panzerats techniques;
Chapter IV, Panzera s. influence on area photographers; and Chapter V, summary and conclusion. CHAPTER II
EARLY HISTORY AND LEARNING
A PROFESSION
The busyness of Brooklyn, New York, in the 1920's created an environment that encouraged young men to seek adventure.
Boys and men dreamed of being firemen or policemen, wearing uniforms, and saving people. Vincent Panzera struggled to support his wife as he dreamed of a better future. He became a member of the New York Police Department ensuring a better life for his family, Panzera and his wife raised five sons, two of whom became policemen. The eldest son sought something different. Alphonsus Ricardo Panzera, born in 1924, Ibegan preparing for a career that would eventually 2 make him "one of the nation's outstanding photographers."
Al Panzera earned his success in life. In the years before his father obtained a well-paying job on the police force, Panzera and his family worked hard for all they had.
Panzera entered school before he was six and began supplementing the family income at eight by working afternoons and evenings.
Despite part-time work and classwork, Panzera still found time to devote to the school sports program. He played
Interview with Al Panzera, June 13, 1978, Fort Worth, Texas.
2Milt Hopwood, "Conversation With Al Panzera," Fort Worth, L, 8 (August, 1974), 12-15,
12 13 football, basketball, and baseball and still managed to graduate at age seventeen.3
During these school years, Panzera, in his few spare moments, developed a hobby, photography, Like sports, photography was fun for Panzera. Although his interest in photography began as a boy and progressed to his having a home darkroom, he gave little consideration to a career in this field. "I was going to go on to college and be something else, like a pharmacist or a chemical engineer,"4 he said.
Panzera's interest in photography grew during the years following his introduction to the camera. His father bought
Panzera a $25 Zeiss Maximar, and a graphics kit including a lens, tripod, and film holders.5 At fourteen, Panzera obtained an apprentice job with the New York Journal-American.
He gradually worked into the position of "general flunky" in the photo lab by age sixteen.6 For two years, Panzera observed the newspaper's photographers, while earning $17 a week, His job changed his attitude toward a career.
"I converted my chemistry lab into a photo lab and decided that's what I wanted to do the rest of my life, ,, he said.
3 Panzera. Ibid.
5Steve Stibbens, "Al Panzera. The Telegram's 'Star' Photographer Shares Tips on Shooting Sports,t " dallasPhoto, I, 3 (June, 1978), 20-22.
6 Panzera.
7 Stibbens, p. 21, 14
It was only natural that Panzera combine his love of sports, his devotion to hard work, and his talent in photography,
Shooting sports photographs became his major interest in photography,
The United States Army drafted Panzera in 1942. Panzera completed basic training at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, but his high scores on the General Aptitude Test rescued him from service in the infantry. In 1943, the army transferred
Panzera to the Army Air Corps at Foster Field in Victoria,
Texas, Following a stint as permanent Kitchen Police Orderly,
Panzera became a clerk. He was chief clerk in the message center when he saw notice of the formation of a photo section at Tarrant Field, now Carswell Air Force Base, in Fort Worth.8
Another transfer took Panzera to Fort Worth as a member of the "Flying Training Command.,"9
The service offered Panzera his only formal training in photography, Although he had little instruction, Panzera benefited from an unlimited amount of supplies and a variety of work assignments. Panzera covered routine air corps photography at Tarrant Field, He and the eleven members of the photo section photographed visiting dignitaries, promotion and publicity events, and airplane crashes,11
8 Panzera.
9 Stibbens, p, 21.
10Panzera,
"Interview with John Mazziota, photographer, Dallas Times Herald, July 3, 1978, Dallas, Texas. 15
Panzera generally used his own equipment since the military
offered only aerial cameras which were inadequate on the
ground. "That was the day of the Speed Graphic which
produced one shot at a time." However, the service gave
Panzera unlimited supplies with which to work. "The access
of film and material at the time that I was in the service was a great asset to me because that's where we learned,
by practice,"12 he said.
Panzera's work gained recognition in 1944 as his remaining
time in the service dwindled. During his last few months of
duty, Panzera became personal photographer to his commanding
officer, General Barton K. Yount.13 Besides doing public
relations work for Yount, Panzera got a chance to return to his first love, photographing sports. The generals pet project was the base football team, the "Skymasters."
Panzera became the personal photographer to the team, covering
all the games, He left the service with experience in sports photography and some excellent samples of his work with the
"Skymasters. "' I
Panzera married a native of Fort Worth in 1944, a few months before he was discharged from military service,
Their desire to stay in Fort Worth resulted in Panzera's seeking civilian employment as a local photographer,1 5
12 Panzera, 1 3 Ibid.
14Stibbens, p.21. Panzera, 16
Before and after his discharge, Panzera had worked with
commercial photographer Bob Abey, who photographed Golden
Gloves fighters for their hometown newspapers. He assigned the job to Panzera, who turned up such fine quality prints that the Sports Department of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
sponsor of the Golden Gloves, took notice (see p. 17)0.16
In March, 1946, Lorin McMullen, sports editor of the Star
Telegram, offered Panzera a two-week job photographing the
Golden Gloves. The assignment led to a $200-a-month temporary job as a sports photographer provided by a special budget.
The "temporary job" lasted for more than thirty years.
Panzera never felt the job would be permanent. "I think I felt it was permanent about five years later when they put me on insurance,"1 7 he said.
The Sports Department, not the Photography Department, employed Panzera. However, he used the same photo lab as the four staff photographers, "It was a dark, dingy, filthy old place that was outdated, outmoded by twenty years."
Panzera didn't work a specific number of hours or days; he worked the job. The Star-Telegram assigned Panzera to any sports story that needed photographing, morning, evening, or night, seven days a week, Panzera covered and enjoyed all sports. Although he specialized in boxing and football,
1 6 lnterview with Flem Hall, retired sports director, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 17, 1978, Fort Worth, Texas,
17 Panzera. 'I
Plate 2--The Golden Gloves provided Panzera with many memorable situations. Source: dallasPhoto, June, 1978. 18 he welcomed the change and challenge of each new sport
season.18
Panzera applied his talents to his work and was respected . . 19 immediately, 9He utilized the old equipment, getting better results than his peers. He ordered new equipment, He remained informed on newspaper photography,2 0 he said, explaining:
I tried to get my hands on anything pertaining to newspaper photographers, what newspapers were doing. If I saw they were using a different tech nique or different type equipment than I was using, I'd write them and call them and ask them what they were doing, how they were doing, what kind of developer they were using in order to get speed out of the film they were using.2 1
Panzera's bosses, McMullen and Bill Van Fleet, another sports writer and later sports editor, influenced Panzera's growth as a sports photographer. The two believed in big art displays on the sports pages (see p. 19) and demanded perfection in getting the big play of each game or event. 2 2
The sports editors placed large action shots on much of page one in the sports section. More and bigger photos were placed on inside pages in the section. Innovations included sequence pictures and panel pictures spread across the
18Ibid.
19 Interview with Joe McAulay, photographer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 13, 1978, Fort Worth, Texas.
2 0 Hall. 2 1 Panzera,
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Plate 3--The Star-Telegram prominently displayed Panzera' s photographs. Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 21, 1979. 20
entire page. Sequence pictures showed a play in several
stages from beginning to end. Panel pictures included several
photographs of one person in a graphic block as that person reacted to different situations in a golf tournament or
tennis match. All of these graphics offered Panzera more
opportunities to work.23 McMullen and Van Fleet demanded the good action shot of the game-winning play or the record
setting event. Since the Star-Telegram had both morning and evening editions, Panzera's deadlines required twice as many outstanding photographs as those of photographers on other newspapers. 2 4 McMullen helped Panzera prepare for his photo assignments, Panzera said:
We talked over sports situations. We talked over picture possibilities. He talked to me like a coach would talk to his quarterback. He demanded that I read the sports pages from top to bottom, everyday and to read some of the wire services to get familiar with the names and the eople that do things and make things happen. 2
Panzera's knowledge of sports often proved useful.
In the 1950's, Panzera photographed a high school football game in which a Fort Worth team consistently fell victim to big offensive plays by the opponent, The Fort Worth coach saw Panzera photographing the game and asked him what was wrong with the defense, Panzera suggested moving the linebackers closer to the line of scrimmage. The coach
2 31bid 24 Panzera. 25Ibid, 21 made the adjustment, solving his problem. Panzera thought
like a quarterback and a coach and anticipated the plays that the opposing coach used. He then adjusted the Fort
Worth team's defense to stop that type of play.2 6
Many of Panzera's assignments included high school teams. The 1940's and 19.50's preceded the time of North
Texas' professional teams like the Dallas Cowboys and the.
Texas Rangers. A typical fall week included high school football games at Farrington Field in Fort Worth on Wednesday,
Thursday, and Friday nights. Saturdays were devoted to
Texas Christian University football games in the Southwest
Conference. On Sundays, Panzera photographed automobile races at Arlington Downs,2 7
Panzera covered practically all types of sporting events including baseball, basketball, track, golf, tennis, and swimming, He mixed horse racing and motorcycle racing with national all-star games and championship prize fights.2 8 Panzera utilized a wide range of equipment to meet the needs of each sport. The Speed Graphic camera gave way to Big Bertha, a seventy-eight-pound camera with a sixty-two-inch lens for extreme closeups of football action
2 61nterview with Herb Owens, business editor, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 13, 1978, Fort Worth, Texas. 27 King.
28"Alls Camera Sees a Lot of Action," Fort Worth Star Telegram, February 16, 1978, morning, p. 3d. 22
at long range,29 Panzera modified equipment to meet his
needs until modern technology produced the equipment he
desired .30
In 1956, Star-Telegram photographers began to use
newer and better equipment, Panzera changed from the large, bulky press camera to the small, mobile 35-millimeter Leica,
For Panzera, the transition was easy. He had used the smaller
camera for studio work for some time, A single thirty-six
exposure roll of 35-millimeter film could photograph as many
shots as the bulky press camera with eighteen film holders, and took up less space.3 1
By easily getting more shots on a roll of film than they could get with several film holders, Panzera and the
Star -elegram photographers shot the large number of pictures needed to supply both morning and evening editions. The two
editions produced the largest combined newspaper circulation
in Texas. The lack of a good, large newspaper in West Texas contributed to the Star-Telegramt s growth in that area.
Panzera continued to work sixty-hour weeks as he carried his equipment to sporting events throughout North and West
Texas. "I think we covered more, We set a pace," he said.
To provide the entire readership with photographic coverage,
Panzera flew to games, shot the, first half, and flew to
Fort Worth to process the film in time to meet that editions
2 9Hopwood,
3 0Panzera. 3 1Ibid. 23 deadline, Panzera said, "We innovated flying to football games and flying back.)'32
In addition to building a reputation for making good sports photos, Panzera built a reputation for meeting deadlines when he began chartering airplane flights. He once overcame critical odds to photograph a Southwest Conference football game between Texas Tech and The University of Arkansas in
Fayetteville, Arkansas. Panzera chartered a 10 a.m, flight for the 1:30 p.m. game. An unusual fog bank with a 400-foot ceiling forced the pilot to seek another landing site.
Panzera's airplane finally landed twenty minutes before gametime at Joplin, Missouri, ninety-three miles from
Fayetteville, Panzera rented a car, sped through the Ozark
Mountains in one hour and twenty minutes, and arrived at the game during the third quarter. After photographing twenty five minutes of action, Panzera hurridly returned to Joplin and flew to Fort Worth. Within an hour after landing, his pictures of the game were being prepared for the next edition. "It was the most hectic experience I've ever had trying to make a deadline," Panzera said.3 3
Another late flight proved that Panzera knew the content of his work. Having returned on a late flight from a TCU
Georgia Tech football game in Atlanta, Georgia, Panzera resisted pressure from a deadline-conscious sports editor
3 2Ibid, 33 "Staffer Beats Odds To Get Pics," Fort Worth Star- Telegram, November 21, 1965, Sunday, p. 1, Section-1. 24
to print just any acceptable picture, Panzera searched
through several rolls of developed negatives for the one
action shot that he remembered as having great potential.
He found the negative, made the print, and produced the page
one display photo for the next day's paper,.334
Despite these difficulties and others, Panzera consistently
produced the photographs needed by the Star-Telegram Sports
Department, Herb Owens, sportswriter and later Star-Telegram
sports editor, challenged Panzera to produce special photographs
on many occasions, During the 1956 TCU-Texas ASM football
game at College Station, Panzera found no accommodations for him in the press box. Panzera placed himself and his equipment on the roof of the press box and photographed the game while holding onto a light pole while tornadic winds bent other light standards.35 Once, Owens placed an order for a very special football photo for page one of the sports section.
Owens liked large graphics and ordered a long, horizontal shot from a TCU night football game, Panzera responded by photographing a TCU receiver diving with outstretched arms for a pass. The player and the ball were one foot above the ground; the picture ran seven columns wide in the next morning's paper (see p. 25). "I still think it was an accident, but I can't forget it," said Owens).36
Panzera believed in submitting only his best shots.
He never hesitated to use an unlimited number of shots to
3 4 Owens, 35Ibid. 3 6 Ibid. S
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U2 26 photograph a sporting event, but he carefully edited his negatives. Although he might submit forty or fifty prints to the sports editors for publication, the prints were always placed in order so that his best shots were on top. Panzera
influenced the editor's choice of pictures in other ways.
Owens said, "Another little trick he used to sell you a certain picture was, he would print the picture on 11 by 14 paper as opposed to 8 by 10, and he would cut the borders off so there would be no cropping space," 3 7
Panzera edited his work carefully, refusing to submit bad shots or bad prints. Panzera developed and printed all of his photographs himself to control their quality. Any print
lacking good action or print quality went into the trash.
Although he was conscious of the need for excellent prints,
Panzera deemphasized his darkroom techniques in favor of his shooting ability. His emphasis was on getting a good image on the negative.. Then, darkroom work became simplified, 38
To get the images he wanted, Panzera relied on more than his own abilities. "I don't find any sport hard to cover. With the proper equipment, I think I'm well prepared," he said.39
During his years at the Star-Telegram, Panzera became proficient with all major types of cameras. He never discarded a particular format when new equipment appeared. He chose the proper equipment for the particular event he photographed.
37Ibid.
3 8 Panzera. 3 9 Ibid. 27
His equipment included a 4 by 5 Speed Graphic, three
Rolleiflex, and seven 35-millimeter cameras. These seven cameras comprised five motorized Nikons and two Nikkormats.
He used lenses that ranged from a 20-millimeter wide-angle to a 600-millimeter telephoto to produce photographs that drew recognition to Panzera and the Star-Telegram.40
Because other newspapers noticed Panzera's photographs, his work produced offers of employment, 41 In 1963, Panzera declined an opportunity to return to his native New York to work for sports Illustrated, He said he remained in Fort
Worth because of the living style and because the Star-Telegram "was a real great place to work.,,42
In 1971, Panzera almost ended employment at the Star
Telegram, not because of another job, but because of a heart attack suffered while digging a ditch to repair plumbing at his home. The attack occurred in mid-August when an aneurism ruptured above Panzera's left ventricle. 43
Panzera encountered many difficulties immediately after his heart attack. When Panzera got on the stretcher for his ambulance ride to the hospital, the stretcher collapsed.
During the ride, Panzera experienced difficulty breathing even while wearing an oxygen mask, He asked the ambulance attendant to adjust the equipment. During a turn, the oxygen tank rolled against Panzera's oxygen mask, breaking
4 0 Stibbens, p. 21, 41King.
4 2 Panzera. 4 3 Ibid. 28 the strap. Panzera held the mask in place for the rest of the trip, adjusting the mask only once when the driver radioed the hospital that he was carrying a fifty-year-old Latin
American male cardiac victim, Proud of his heritage, Panzera raised the mask and shouted, "Italian' Italian!"4
In the hospital, Panzera received treatment by the cardiac care unit, He was administered Roman Catholicism's
Last Rites of Extreme Unction by a priest new to Panzerals church. The priest had recently retired after serving as a school principal for thirty-eight years. He apologized for his nervousness since he had never administered last rites.
Panzera told the priest not to be nervous because he was fifty-one and had never received the last rites before.45
Panzera's condition was so critical that the Star
Telegram assigned Herb Owens to write a biography that could be used as Panzera s obituary if he failed to recover.
Owens began listing facts, accomplishments, and stories about
Panzera. As Owens thought of many anecdotes concerning
Panzera, he began to chuckle and then to laugh. Other Star
Telegram employees gathered around and asked why he was laughing. Owens startled them when he replied that he was writing Al Panzera's obituary.46
44A1 Panzera, "Victim of Heart Attack Relates Ordeal: 'I Didn't Want To Die," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, December 31, 1971, evening, p, 4A.
45Ibid.i 4 Owens. 29
Everyone understood the respect and concern Owens and
others had for Panzera. While Panzera was recovering from
the attack, he received praise from Texas Lieutenant Governor
Ben Barnes, who called Panzera "the most talented sports
photographer in America."4 7 Owens, Barnes, and others noted
Panzera's progress during his recovery period. Panzera and
his doctor attributed his recovery to Panzera's good physical
condition, However, without surgery, his damaged heart would prevent his return to work,48
A critical double-vein bypass operation separated
Panzera from the normal life he knew before the attack.49
He said:
The doctor told me that I could never work again if I didn't have the surgery. I felt like I wasn't ready to retire. I was too young to retire. So I decided to have the surgery. I set a date that I was going to work., I had the surgery November 3. I said I was going to go back to work January 1, 1972, and I covered the Cotton Bowl football game that day,5 0
He slowly worked into a complete recovery, returning to full-time work at the Star-Telegram in 1972.51
Panzera became more than just a Star-Telegram employee,
t He represented the S ar-Telegram to anyone interested in
47 "Barnes Praises S-T s Panzera," Fort Worth Star Telegram, October 28, 1971. p. 2D.
4 8Hall.
"IfYou're in Sports, Panzera's Shot You," Fort Worth Star-Te legram, April 2, 1972, Sunday, p. 151.
5 0 Panzera, 5 1 King. 30
sports. Clifford King, retired sports director said,
"Photographers are like salesmen, They are born with natural
abilities; they represent the paper,,512 Panzerats outgoing
personality and exposure to the follower of sports made him
instantly recognized. Herb Owens said,
He (Panzera) spent probably twenty years shooting pictures of high school, college, and professional athletes, and he probably was more visible and I would guess that more people knew him than anybody else in the city of Fort Worth, 5 3
Panzera possessed the type of personality that made him instantly liked by those he met. Five minutes after meeting
Panzera, people felt they had known him for years. He profited from a friendly personality that opened many photographic doors for him.54 Panzera spoke on a first name basis with most of the coaches and athletes he photographed,
They knew and enjoyed Panzera, When he asked for a picture, they did not refuse. Panzera's friendship with his subjects proved to be an asset to him and the Star-Telegram since he could get photographs other cameramen could not.55
Flem Hall, who worked at the Star-Telegram for more than forty-five years, most as sports editor or sports director, said:
I've never known him to get cross with any people he was engaged in photographing, even tempermental people like Billy Martin, Panzera has exceptional courage, and is always
52 Ibid.-53 Owens.
5 4King. 5 5 Panzera. 31
cool, This is unusual in a field where tensions and emotions run so high. He just had that quality of getting along with people.56
Some people thought the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Al
Panzera were synonymous according to LeRoy Menzing, former
Star-Telegram oil editor. In his job, Menzing covered oil stories throughout the world. Once, Menzing's plane stopped in Johannesburg, South Africa en route to an international oil convention in Saudia Arabia in the 1960's. Menzing deplaned for a few minutes and carried his typewriter into the terminal. There, a stranger saw Fort Worth Star-Telegram written on the typewriter case, "Say, do you work for the
Star-Telegram?" the man asked,
Menzing replied, "Yes," IThen do you know Al Panzera?" the man asked,57
In addition to.being known as a great sports photographer,
Panzera's close friendships with many outstanding athletes and his knowledge of sports made him an expert on the subject in the eyes of many. In 1961, Panzera was asked to write a guest sports column in the Star-Telegram listing the ten greatest athletes he had encountered, Doak Walker topped a list that comprised Ben Hogan, Duke Snider, Babe Didrikson
Zaharias, Bobby Morrow, John David Crow, Roy Harris, Billy
Welu, Carrol Shelby, and Slater Martin.58 Panzera said he
56 EHall.,
5 7 Fort Worth Star-Telegram, unpublished biography, December719~7-.
5 8 "Sports Guest," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, September 3, 1961, Sunday, p. 21. 32
made Walker his top selection because, "the Doaker could do
almost anything well, He played baseball well; in football
he could throw the ball, run the ball and catch the ball.
I guess I have to go with Doak Walker," 5 9
Panzera's choice of great athletes represents the wide
number of events and sports he covered, Because of the degree
of coverage he gave each assignment, Panzera created stacks
of outstanding sports pictures that the Star-Telegram did
not use. Panzera submitted many of these shots to other
publications. Panzera created first an awareness, then a
demand for his photographs beyond the readership of the Star
Telegram. On his days off, Panzera shot assignments for
books, magazines, and other publications. His work appeared
in Life, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Sport, Golf Digest,
and Baseball Quarterly. He photographed for books on golfers
Ben Hogan and Sandra Haynie. He shot covers for the
National Collegiate Athletic Association and shot public relations work for the sports departments at the University of Texas, the University of Arkansas, the University of
Oklahoma, Texas Christian University, and others.60
Panzera's widespread exposure from these publications and his photographic ability resulted in his recognition as one of the best sports photographers in the country. He won more than fifty blue ribbons in city, state, and national 61 contests (see p. 33). Panzera won first place in the
59Hopwood, p. 15. 60Panzera.
61",I Yourre in Sports." A7
000"
Plate 5--This 1949 photograph was one of Panzera's first award winners. Source: dallasPhoto, June, 1978. 34 sports photography division of the Texas Associated Press
Managing Editors Association eight of the ten years the contest was held.6 2 In contests sponsored by the Dallas
Fort Worth Press Photographers Association, Panzera often won more than one award.6 3 Nationally, Panzera won the top awards of The Associated Press, National Press Photographers
Association, and Sigma Delta Chi. 6 4 Panzera won the National
Press Photographers Association award for best sports photography six times.65 His awards number more than 200, including photos designated for the National Football League
Hall of Fame. Although the Star-Telegram belonged to The
Associated Press, Panzera even won an award from the rival news agency, United Press International.66 Panzera took pride in two nonprestigious "purple hearts," injuries suffered in the line of duty, An errant foul ball struck Panzera in a l9.48 Texas League baseball game between Fort Worth and
Shreveport, In 1972, Panzera stopped a hockey puck with his chin while photographing a game between Fort Worth and
,2'Al Panzera Photo First; Other S-T Men Score," Fort Worth Star-.Telegram, January 22, 1956, Sunday, p. 1. 63 "Three Photographers From Here Win Prizes," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 3, 1955, evening, p. 6,
6 4"Wherever News Is Happening, Star-Telegram Photographers Are There,'" Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 29, 19.67, evening, p. 12A. 5"Al'sCamera Sees."
66P 35
Dallas. After -receiving eight stitches in the Fort Worth
dressing room, he returned to his task, Panzera complained
only when the Fort Worth coach, Bob Lemieux, tossed him a
red towel to control the bleeding, "I told him I didn't want
it because it wouldn't show the blood," Panzera said.67
Panzera refused to believe his awards and successes
were the result of luck or natural talent. Instead, he
attributed his success to hard work. Flem Hall thought of
Panzera as an artist when he. said:
Al is a special sort of fellow. He's an artist in a way, although he was never one for strictly art photography, but he has a sense of beauty and what will make an attractive picture and what won't. He has the quickest reflexes of any photographer I ever knew.6 8
Panzera felt that his photography was a talent, not an art,
"I don't feel that I'm an artist in any way, I feel that
I'm a well-trained professional photographer.',69
Panzera believed in studying other photographers and
adapting their techniques to his own innovations. His own
personal idols included Herbie Scharfman of United Press
International, Jimmy Laughead, and Joe Costa of the New York
Daly News. He considered Scharfman a great sports photographer.
Laughead did not instruct Panzera in shooting, but Panzera
learned much from him just by observation. Costa was an
G7 "Puck Pops Panzera," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, December 17, 1972, Sunday, p. 1B,
6 8Hall, 69 Hopwood, p. 14. 36 influence and later became Panzera's close friend70
Panzera regarded Costa as the "father of press photography."
Costa sneaked a camera into Sing Sing to photograph the electrocution of Ruth Snyder, the first woman executed in the United States, He took classic fight pictures between
Joe Louis and Billy Conn and other fighters of the 1940's.
These shots gave Panzera the incentive to produce better fight pictures when photographing the Golden Gloves, 7 1
By studying the techniques of these and other photographers,
Panzera created techniques that led to his own success. He listed three requirements that he believed had to be perfected to become a good sports photographer: (1) knowledge of the sport, (2) familiarity with equipment, and (3) timing, which improved only with experience.7 2 Panzera said, "The first thing about being a good photographer is knowing your equipment and knowing what you cover, ,7 3 Panzera bought and used his own equipment for most of his work so he knew its condition. He would work on old equipment so it could do new jobs he planned. Panzera purchased new equipment whenever he thought he could use it to improve his photographs,
Early in his career, he decided he would not miss an important photograph because he did not have good equipment to do good work.7 4
70 Panzera. 71 Hopwood, p. 14, 7 2 "Panzera Tells Inside of Sports Photography," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 5, 19.51, morning, p. 12.
7 3 Panzera. 7 4 Ibid. 37
Besides being familiar with his equipment, Panzera knew
the importance of understanding the sports situation, His many talks with Loren McMullen taught him to think like a quarterback or a coach. He examined and criticized each of his assignments. He learned much by studying his Golden
Gloves work, in which he produced more than 50,000 shots.7 5
Knowing his equipment and the sport he was photographing helped develop Panzera's anticipation and timing. Many photographers achieve good sports pictures by using modern equipment like motor drives that make it possible to shoot six to ten shots per second. Panzera developed a sense of anticipation in his training days when his Speed Graphic limited him to one shot at the peak of action.76 Panzera said, "Sports is an anticipation field. I anticipate things that will probably happen. I'm ready to shoot them when they happen. Being ready and prepared is a big thing.77 Panzera's timing developed from years of experiencing sports situations. ie made mistakes like all photographers, but he tried to use experience to avoid making the same mistake twice.78
Panzera firmly believed in sharing the knowledge and techniques he gained from his experiences. From his earliest days with the Star-Telegram, he lectured and exhibited
75"Al' sCamera Sees.t"
7 6 Owens. 7 7 Panzera,
7 8 Ibid, 38
photographs at meetings of photography organizations.7 9
Panzera and other Star-Telegram photographers made a common
practice of discussing picture possibilities and sharing knowledge, Panzera said:
The only way you learn is from comparing what other successful people are doing and how they are doing it. If I had a technique and somebody wanted to know about it, I'd be glad to tell them. After all, why lock it up and put it in the closet? Let people know how you do it and why you do it.80
Panzera shared his knowledge and his photographs with the readers of the Star-Telegram for more than thirty years,
He occasionally left his work during photo vacations, on which he sometimes only took "tourist snapshots," On some vacations,, Panzera refused to take a camera.8 1 But, he always returned to find his job a challenge. He still experienced excitement and stage fright before a big game.82
Despite all of his awards, all of his experiences, and all of his deadlines, Panzera still respected and enjoyed his job as sports photographer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
"I don't regret it. I've had a good life. I've made a 83 good mark."
79 "Al Panzera To Address Photographic Society," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, November 4, 1951, morning, p, 7.
8 0 Panzera. 81Ibid, 82Ibid. 8 3 Ibid. CHAPTER III
THE PANZERA WAY
For more than thirty years, the name Al Panzera has been
synonymous with sports photography at the Fort Worth Star
Telegram. During that time, Panzera photographed most sports
in many different situations. Larry Provart, Dallas Morning
News photographer, said of Panzera, "He's a walking text book I on sports photography." Covering different sports situations
gave Panzera the opportunity and the experience to develop
many techniques as a sports photographer.
Although photography consists of two basic areas, shooting
and darkroom processing, Panzera concentrated on developing
shooting techniques and results. He believed that darkroom
work, developing film and printing pictures, was a simple
procedure that any technician could do, He did not consider
himself to be a great darkroom technician, nor did he consider
there to be a need for great talent in this area. 2 Panzera
believed the key to producing good sports photographs was to
get a good negative. Then, darkroom work would be simplified.
He said, "I think the key to all photography is getting the
lInterview with Larry Provart, photographer, Dallas Morning News, February 9, 1979, Dallas, Texas.
2 Interview with Al Panzera, June 13, 1978, Fort Worth, Texas.
39 40 image on the negative, If you've got it on the negative, almost anybody can print it. "3
Panzera' s goal in photography was to obtain the best possible image on the negative. However, he wanted more than
just a sharp, well-lighted subject. He always tried to produce a special photograph from an ordinary assignment. All sporting events held equal prominence with Panzera. He spent just as much time preparing for an elementary track meet as for a professional football game. He wanted to do the best possible
job, no matter what he was photographing.4
In an attempt to produce the best possible photographs,
Panzera tried new ideas and equipment, and adapted old ideas
and equipment to produce new results. He studied the athletes
and their sports to improve his ability to anticipate where
the best action would happen next, In addition to the hours
Panzera spent photographing sports, he practiced using his
equipment to make his motions and reflexes automatic, Many
of Panzera's techniques brought him recognition as an outstanding
sports photographer; some became his trademarks. All of the
techniques led to Panzera's growth as a sports photographer.
Photographic Angles
Photographic equipment offered few luxuries to Panzera when he began working on the Fort Worth Star--Telegram in 1946.
3 Ibid.
4Interview with John Mazziota, photographer, Dallas Times Herald, July 3, 1978, Dallas, Texas. 41
At that time a photographer's technique lay in his use of equipment, not in the equipment itself. In the 1940's and
1950's, most newspapers posed publicity shots to highlight each team's star athletes. These pictures normally showed a basketball or football player running toward the camera, In the background were trees, buildings, telephone wires, and other distracting elements that drew attention away from the subject of the picture, Panzera believed he could reduce the number of visual distractions by putting his camera on the ground, pointed toward the sky. He innovated the low angle photograph, which removed the cluttered background and gave the athletes the appearance of being larger than life
(see p. 42). These low-angle publicity photos remained popular until sideline candids replaced them in the 1960's,
The success of the low-angle photographs encouraged
Panzera to try the opposite type picture, the high-angle shot.
In the early 1950 's, Panzera attempted to photograph an outstanding kicker from an unusual angle. To obtain the high angle shot, Panzera, carrying his bulky Speed Graphic camera, climbed onto the goal post, a task considerably more difficult than with today's much smaller cameras, Careful positioning produced a photograph showing the goal post, the kicker, and the ball.6 The results of this photograph gave Panzera a new
5Interview with Al Panzera, January 24, 1979, Fort Worth, Texas.
6Ibid. 9 - i..
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Plate 6--Low-angle publicity photographs presented a background free of distractions. Source: Fort Worth Star Telegram, September 17, 1957. 43 technique, the high-angle publicity shot. The Star-Telegram later purchased a twelve-foot stepladder for this type of photograph. "It gave you nothing but a grass background," said Panzera.7
Panzera developed other innovative shots by using a six-foot ladder. He began using the ladder at the golf tournaments at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth in the late 1950'ts. Panzera suggested using the ladder to shoot above the heads of the crowds gathered around the green,
The high angle allowed Panzera to frame the golfers who were putting, by having the crowd in the foreground and around the green. The Star-Telegram not only bought the $15 ladder, but also hired a young boy to carry it for Panzera, 8 Panzera used the ladder at hockey games to get high-angle shots over the hockey nets.9
Equipment
Other techniques helped improve the quality of sports photography before equipment greatly improved, The popularity of football in the Southwest in the late 1940's created a desire in readers and photographers for new, exciting photographic coverage. At that time most football action shots were made from the sidelines. Panzera believed a
Ibid.
8 Interview with Clifford King, retired sports director, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 19, 1978, Fort Worth, Texas,
9 Panzera, January 24, 1979. 44
shot from the press box would provide a new type of football
photograph, However, most cameras could not produce an
acceptable image at the distance from the press box to the
field. Although the Speed Graphic camera produced a large
negative, it had no lens that could be used to magnify the
image to the size necessary for good newspaper photographs, Panzera used an innovation from his apprenticeship days at the
New York Journal-American to obtain the press box photographs
he desired, While working at the Journal-American as a youth, Panzera observed that staff photographers sometimes used a large camera and lens called Big Bertha (see p. 45),10 offered a 5- by 7-inch negative, but more important, it made telephoto closeups of the action on the field from the press
box, The camera measured sixty-two inches long and weighed seventy-eight pounds. Film and film holders added forty pounds of weight 1
Despite the cumbersome size, Panzera realized Big Bertha would give him the press box sports pictures he needed, The
Star-Telegram initially rejected Panzera's appeal to purchase
Big Bertha because of its high cost, $1,500. However, after some persuasion, the newspaper bought the camera and Panzera used it exclusively from 1945 to 1955.12 Only six custom
l0Ibid,
Milt Hopwood, "Conversation With Al Panzera,"I Fort Worth, L, 8 (August, 1974), 14. 1 2 Interview with Joe McAulay, photographer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 13, 1978, Fort Worth, Texas, 0 (d
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The Star-Telegram's model was the first in Texas.1 3 The most important feature of Big Bertha was the forty-inch,
1,000-millimeter Ektar F/5.6 lens that enabled Panzera to get extreme closeups of the action on the field. Panzera's use of Big Bertha provided such good pictures that the Houston
Chronicle soon ordered its own Big Bertha, "They thought we outdid them, so they bought the only other Big Bertha in the Southwest," Panzera saidi 4
Big Bertha was Panzera's first use of extra long telephoto lenses, but they soon became one of his trademarks,
In the early 1960's, Panzera purchased a 500-millimeter telephoto lens for his compact 35-millimeter camera, This lens gave the same effect on the small camera as the forty inch lens on Big Bertha (see p. 47). Panzera used the lens in the press box and on the field for football games.
"Everybody thought we were crazy. They thought it was too long to use," he said, The lens allowed Panzera to get extreme closeups of players' faces from the field. Panzera's normal lens for football action shots became the 200-millimeter or the 30%-millimeter lens.15 These lenses provided Panzera with a closeup of the action which filled the negative, allowing better enlargements. Panzera concentrated on using telephoto lenses which emphasized the sharply focused subject and deemphasized the background (see p. 48). Other
13Panzera, January 24, 1979. Ibid 15I'bi*d. Q0) -r bO O rd
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Plate 9--Long telephoto lenses emphasized a sharply focused subject against a blurred background. Source: Al Panzera. 49 photographers used wide-angle lenses to photograph groups of ten or twelve Golden Gloves winners positioned in two rows with their trophys, These lenses permitted the photographers to photograph the boxers from a relatively short distance.
But because the lenses made the boxers kneeling in front appear larger than those standing behind them, Panzera turned to a short telephoto lens to photograph boxers. This lens made the two rows appear much closer and corrected the unequal perspective of the wide-angle lenses, "I love to use a long lens,U he said, 1I always tried to do something different from everybody else,??16
Lighting
In addition to using new techniques with equipment,
Panzera worked on the problem of insufficient light for the slow reacting, insensitive film of the late 1940's and
1950's. Film speed, or sensitivity, measured by a rating called ASA, was very slow when Panzera started to work at the Star-Telegram. Then, an ASA rating of 100 was considered fast. According to Panzera, the speed was very poor compared to films of the 1970's, which maintain ASA ratings of 1,600 or more by using a longer-than-normal development time. With the need of a high speed film to freeze the action of various sports, Panzera tried to improve his film speed by exposing it to ammonia fumes before shooting his pictures. "I used to hypersensitize film to double the ASA to 200,' he said. "I
16 Ibid. 50 put the film in a cabinet and let ammonia fumes get around it. 11
This process helped increase the film's light sensitivity by chemical action, but did not solve the problem. The other choice in the 194OVs was to increase the amount of
light near his subject. Flash bulbs provided the only means of additional light for sporting events, especially in late afternoon or evening. Panzera utilized them more than other photographers who used only a single bulb mounted on or near
the camera. Panzera began using two flash bulbs in situations where he knew action would occur. The additional flash bulb was mounted on a stand or held by an assistant several feet
from the camera. When the two bulbs fired simultaneously,
they not only doubled the amount of added light, they allowed
Panzera's photographs to show more depth and detail. These
factors increased the impact of the pictures. In 1949, U.S.
Camera Annual published Panzera's photograph of a baseball
player sliding into third base during a Texas League night
game. Panzera' s two-light set-up allowed him to stop the
action despite the lack of light at a night game and the
slow speed of the film. In 1949, this type of photograph was considered unique.18
Panzerats next improvement in lighting occurred when
lie encouraged the Star-Telegram to buy strobe lights to
replace the flash bulbs, Strobes were battery powered units
7 bid 18lbid. 51 capable of producing repeated flashes without replacement of the flashing element after each use, Thus, they were reusable compared to bulbs, which needed replacing after each use. Panzera had noticed the effectiveness of strobes on news photographs when he worked at the New York Journal
American, He believed strobes would work just as well on sports photographs because the short-duration flash stopped action (see p. 52). Although the Star-Telegram refused to buy the $3,00Q strobes Panzera had seen at the Journal
American, it did purchase several units costing $200 each.
Panzerats early success influenced the Dallas Morning News to buy several strobes within six months,'9
Because he was probably the first in Texas to use strobes for sports photography, Panzera set the pace for experimenting with artificial light. He quickly converted his two-flash bulb technique to multiple strobe units, He would set up multiple strobes at hockey games to increase his picture possibilities; He arrived hours before gametime to tape the strobe units in place on the rink guard rail supports. He ran his wiring from each strobe to his pre determined camera position. Panzera directed the units to several areas for different effects, He would use strobes in the immediate foreground to light the action while using another strobe to illuminate the crowd in the background.
The increased lighted area gave the photographs a greater
1 9 Ibid. LO LO
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HO 53 feeling of depth.2 0 Likewise, in 1948, he shot the first action pictures of an indoor rodeo, He placed one strobe over the chutes by hanging extension cords from the arena ceiling. The task was difficult and time-consuming since the cords had to be connected in fifty-foot lengths to reach the top of the arena. Panzera mounted the other strobe near his camera. The light from the strobes was bright enough to stop the action of unpredictable rodeo animals.2 1
Panzera would spend hours locating his strobes to provide proper lighting. He would use direct wiring to connect his strobes to provide simultaneous firing or, for difficult situations, he used radio signals to activate the strobes. His multiple strobe use at Golden Gloves boxing matches provided not only his biggest challenge in lighting, 22 but also his greatest accomplishment. Herb Owens of the
Fort Worth Star-Telegram said:
He always went to a lot of pains to set up his lighting. He would go out a couple of days before the tournament began, Workmen would lower the, overhead lights and he would put strobes up there that were masked behind the light ref actors so he could get some lighting from the top.
His lighting provided pictures of a quality that few photographers could match (see p, 54). Panzera said that the additional lighting made his pictures what they were. "7The pictures that were shot almost thirty years ago are
2G Mazziota, 21 22 Panzera, January 24, 1979. Ibid.
23 Interview with Herb Owens, business editor, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 13, 1978, Fort Worth, Texas. 4-)
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Newspaper Graphics
Although he spent much time working with his multiple lighting set-ups, Panzera became known for other innovations including graphics: panel, diagram, and sequence pictures,
Panel pictures consisted of a series of photographs of one individual taken over a period of time, The winner of a golf tournament could be pictured reacting differently at various times during his game, Panzera did not originate panel pictures, but he became closely associated with them because he used them so often.2 6
Panel pictures and diagram pictures were techniques encouraged by Loren McMullen and Bill Van Fleet, sports editors at the Star-Telegram. Their emphasis on big graphics was heightened by Panzera's ability to produce the big, unusual picture (see p. 56). Several adjacent pictures forming the panel often required as much space as the diagram picture, which was a large, overall picture usually of a football play taken from the press box, Artwork was added to the picture to show the path of the ball carrier before and after the shot was made, Key blocks and yard markers were illustrated
2 4Panzera, January 24, 1979. 2 5 Provart.
2 6 Panzera, January 24, 1979.
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Panzera had time to shoot two pictures, one at the beginning of the play, another downfield near the completion of the play. The pictures, sometimes eight columns wide, were difficult to achieve in the early 1950's, Panzera, using his
Big Bertha camera, provided large, close-up negatives which could make pictures of the necessary size and quality.2 7
Diagram pictures led to sequence pictures, a series of photographs showing one play at various stages from beginning to end, Again, Panzera did not originate the idea, but he adapted it and became known as one of the leaders in this type of sports photography. Until the mid 1960's, most cameras required changing film holders between photographs, a step requiring several seconds. Most sports plays lasted only a few seconds. Therefore, photographers were lucky to get two shots of one play. To increase his speed in changing film holders, Panzera constantly practiced with his Speed
Graphic. He practiced so often that he could make rapid changes subconsciously. Panzera said, "Speed was very important, and I used to practice that speed.,?28
In 1961, the Dallas Morning News obtained an aerial camera that could take several pictures in a few seconds.
Sequence pictures were born, but not fully utilized. Panzera devised a way to compete with the Morning News.29 Panzera
27 Ibid.
2 8Panzera, June 13, 1978, 2 9Panzera, January 24, 1979. 4 - 4 ~~2' *' a .. 4*.4$ g4 I 0 ''I' 4# / a ~ I 4- fr*4 ~A ,,pa ,~II 2
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A4 4 444 4 U)0 /i)d ~1~ 59 and Joe McAulay, another Star-Telegram photographer began shooting their own sequence photos by alternating shots on several cameras. As the play began, Panzera would make an exposure and yell, "Shoot,'" McAulay would take another shot and yell, "Got it!" Panzera with a different camera would make another shot, again yelling, "Got it!" By alternating with different cameras, a good set of sequence pictures was captured. The men used five cameras. Panzera made three exposures, one each with a Graflex, a Graphic, and a Leica;
McAulay used two Graphics,30 Despite the confusion, Panzera said, "Our shots were far superior than what the Dallas News was putting out." By 1963, Nikon had introduced a motorized camera with a 500-millimeter telephoto lens that allowed one photQgrapher to do the same job with less effort and more concentration on the action, Panzera happily accepted the equipment, already armed with several years experience in shooting sequence pictures (see p. 60),.31
Because of Panzera's willingness to use new equipment, he never became technologically limited in his ability as a sports photographer, He earned his peers' respect by never hesitating to try a new piece of equipment, Skeeter
Hagler, photographer for the Dallas Times Herald said;
He always keeps up to date on equipment. He doesn't linger with the old stuff, He is always the
3 0McAulay,
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first one to get something new. Everybody sees what he is using and usually follows suit, cause they see what it produces in the newspaper,
Panzera believed that a photographer must use all the tools of his craft , but must quickly become familiar with the new equipment so that it could be automatically used correctly,
Panzera said his greatest personal asset was focusing. His technique was to focus on the ball at all times, changing focus when necessary, Following a moving subject without losing sharp focus is difficult, Using telephoto lenses as
Panzera did was even more difficult because they only have a very small area in focus at one time, To follow focus successfully, a photographer must practice constantly and must be familiar with his equipment (see p, 62). The technique can be difficult with new equipment because of lack of familiarity, "I know my equipment very well,'" said Panzera. "I have to.,33
Pregame Preparation
Al Panzerals success depended on knowing sports just as much as knowing his equipment, During his Star-Telegram career, Panzera spent countless hours planning his photographic coverage of each sporting event. He discussed team strength and weakness with McMullen, Van Fleet, and others knowledgeable in sports. He studied the types of plays each team ran in different situations. He memorized jersey
3 2 Interview with Skeeter Hagler, photographer, Dallas Times Herald, February 6, 1979, Dallas, Texas,
3 3 Panzera, June 13, 1978, 0 Q
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Panzera's planning put him in the right place to capture that "lucky" shot (see p. 64). Panzera said, "I think I still do more of this preparation than anybody else." 3 4
Hagler said, "Practice and preparation made Al Panzera great, He is looked upon as being the best sports photographer in this part of the country.",3 5
3 4 P anzera, January 24, 1979,
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00 'C 4- CHAPTER IV
AL PANZERA'S INFLUENCE ON
NEWSPAPER PHOTOGRAPHERS
Al Panzera happened at the right time, In the 1940's, sports photography in Texas awaited a catalyst that would increase its importance in the mass news media. Although
Panzera photographed general news assignments and visiting dignitaries, he brought recognition to his profession as he became a pioneer in sports photography in the Southwest.
Panzera strived to produce the best possible sports photographs.
His adaptation of ideas from his New York Journal-American days prepared Panzera more than all the competition in the area. He evaluated the needs of the field, then attempted to meet them.2 Panzera possessed a natural curiosity that made him a student of other sports photographers, He adapted photographic techniques and developed others as he created
a photographic style that influenced other newspaper photog raphers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and eventually other 3 parts of the country.
'Interview with John Mazziota, photographer, Dallas Times Herald, July 3, 1978, Dallas, Texas, 2 lbid
Ibid.
65 66
Equipment
Panzera became known for his constant search for new and better equipment necessary to perfect his results in sports photography, He always remained informed on new equipment, constantly experimenting with cameras, lenses, and techniques in an effort to produce a better product. He usually purchased new equipment before other photographers were aware that it was even on the market. 4 Panzera put the equipment to good use, and he shared the results with other photographers, Larry Reese of the Dallas Morning News said,
"Sitting in the same area watching Panzera work, you learn about equipment by seeing how it works and what he gets with it. 5 Panzera influenced other photographers to try the telephoto lenses that he preferred because the lenses allowed him to get better close-up shots of the action. Paul Iverson of the Dallas Times Herald said:
It took a little work, Watching him use equipment like that, you saw the possibilities of longer lenses. I thought the 135-millimeter lens was perfect for football action. Then I went to Al. He was using a 200-millimeter and a 300 millimeter lens. I went back and borrowed a longer 6 lens to shoot games. The difference was remarkable.
4Interview with Kurt Wallace, photographer, Dallas Morning News February 6, 1979, Dallas, Texas,
5Interview with Larry Reese, photographer, Dallas Morning News, March 16, 1979, Dallas, Texas.
6Interview with Paul Iverson, photographer, Dallas Times Herald, February 6, 1979, Dallas, Texas, 67
Panzera used a long telephoto lens like the 400-millimeter lens as comfortably as other photographers used shorter 135 or 200-millimeter lenses.7 Panzera first tried the long focal length lenses early in his career, More than thirty years of experience provided many opportunities to perfect his use of a difficult piece of equipment. Panzera proved skillful in the most difficult part of using long telephoto lenses, following focus or keeping a moving subject in sharp focus, With a 300- or 400-millimeter lens, only a narrow area of the picture is in focus at one time, Keeping a moving subject in sharp focus requires much practice.8 Larry Provart of the Dallas Morning News recognized Panzera's capability,
saying, 'Al is quick with his focusing and is always on the right spot." In addition to requiring practice, being good at follow-focusing requires a thorough knowledge of the photographer's equipment. Gene Gordon of the 'Fort Worth Star
Telegram added, "Panzera knows his equipment and gets the most out of it." 1 0 Most photographers have access to the
same equipment as Panzera, but Gordon said that Panzera' s knowledge and use of this equipment produced better results.1 1
7 Interview with Harry Cabluck, former photographer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 20, 1979, Fort Worth, Texas.
8Interview with PRon Heflin, photographer, Fort Worth Star Telegram, March 13, 1979, Fort Worth, Texas.
9 Interview with Larry Provart, photographer, Dallas Ylorning News, February 9, 1979, Dallas, Texas.
10Interview with Gene Gordon, chief photographer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 13, 1979, Fort Worth, Texas. 1.Ibid. 68
Panzerats knowledge of his equipment was kept up to date because he forced himself to use all of his cameras and lenses regularly. He assigned himself a specific camera or lens for all assignments that day, no matter what equipment was used routinely on that type of assignment. Despite his preference for long lenses, Panzera refused to rely on them solely. Being limited to a specific lens on an assignment required Panzera to obtain the maximum benefit from each type of lens. 12 Harry Cabluck, former Star-Telegram photographer said,"I benefited as a photographer by watching Panzera squeeze the maximum from whatever photographic tool he employed. g l3
Lighting
Another photographic tool Panzera utilized was artificial lighting to impvove- photographs. Panzera attempted to emphasize depth in his photographs by using multiple flash bulbs and, later, multiple strobes. He not only added light to the subject in the foreground of his pictures, he fired additional light onto the background, This technique provided a sufficiently lighted area much larger than other photographers obtained with the conventional single flash lighting. The area that was lighted well enough to be photographed made the picture appear three-dimensional because the lighted background in Panzera s pictures provided a proportion
2Reese 1 3Cabluck. 69 comparison with the foreground, Other photographers showed only the one-dimension foreground in their pictures,14
His ice hockey photographs showed the action around the net and the fans in the background, both well-lighted, producing the effect of depth in the photograph, Cabluck used Panzera's multiple strobe lighting set-up to teach three-dimensional photography to students and photographers who asked him for help, Of Panzera's efforts, Cabluck said, "His lighting techniques make great areas of instruction in today's photojournalism classes ,"15
Another example of Panzera' s use of additional lighting was his multiple strobe set-up for Golden Gloves photographs,
His lighting technique provided two major benefits, the use of faster shutter settings and smaller aperture settings.
Faster shutter settings meant that the film was exposed to the subject for a shorter time, allowing Panzera to photograph rapidly moving boxers with very little blur on the negative,
A smaller aperture setting provided a sharper image and an increase in the depth area in focus, Both camera techniques provided Panzera with a distinct advantage over other sports photographers who were shooting at slower speeds with a
smaller area in focus (see p, 70). 16
Panzera began using the multiple strobe set-up in the early days of the Golden Gloves and continued throughout his
14Ibid. 15Ibid.
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(JJ)U) Q CG) n,0 .H3 71 career. The elaborate wiring system needed to connect the strobes to Panzera's camera required several hours of work to set up, and then only with the aid of the arena lighting director, Other photographers could not walk in and get the same cooperation as Panzera who had known the lighting technicians personally for many years. He possessed a lighting system that no other photographer could match, but he allowed other photographers to use his lighting system to produce better photographs whenever he was not shooting boxing matches .17
Panzerals own Golden Gloves pictures lighted with multiple strobes provided a new type of photograph that appealed to newspaper sports fans. Cabluck said;
Al's use of high voltage, short flash-duration strobes is only one example of his seizure of an idea and molding it to his need, What reader of the Star-Telegram does not marvel at his mouthpiece-and sweat-flying photos made every year at the Golden Gloves? He made use of multiple flash to cover boxing before there were adequate strobes. He used flash bulbs, making the change between rounds. 18
Iverson observed Panzerals system when the pair worked at
the Star-Telegram, and, after he moved to the Dallas Times
Herald, Iverson adapted the system to fit his needs.
Iverson said:
When I moved to Dallas, I didn't go to the extreme Panzera did, but I would set lights up in the corners and use multiple strobes. I totally
1 7 Interview with Skeeter Hagler, photographer, Dallas Times Herald, February 6, 1979, Dallas, Texas,
1 8 Cabluck. 72
got the idea of multiple strobe from Al, There was nobody in the whole state who had done anything like that,19
Knowledge of Sports
In addition to knowing his equipment, Panzera believed that a knowledge of the sport he was photographing was important. Panzera maintained a total consciousness about any sporting event he photographed. He prepared equally for minor and major events.2 0 Panzera used a systematic approach to photographing sporting events, studying teams, players, coaches, and situations in addition to studying the rules of the sporting event. This knowledge helped Panzera anticipate where the next action would occur so he could prepare the proper equipment to photograph the event,.21 Panzera proved to be right more often than other photographers. He became so good at anticipating action that other photographers began to think like him. Heflin said:
I used to think I knew a little bit about football. I didn't until I started studying the game like Al. I started trying to think what was going to happen on the next play. What down was it? I didn't know anything about baseball. Al knew a lot about baseball from covering the old Fort WoS h Cats. I'm really amazed at the pictures he got.
Panzera was so much more successful with anticipating action that he attracted attention, If other photographers
1 9 Iverson.
2 01nterview with FRay Adler, chief photographer, Dallas Times Herald, February 6, 1979, Dallas, Texas.
2-1Wallace. 2 2 Heflin., 73 did not stand near him, they at least knew where he was.
Hagler formerly with the Star-Telegram, later with the
Dallas Times Herald, said:
I learned the sport itself from watching Al. He would be somewhere shooting, I d be somewhere else shooting. He always got the better picture. He knew the odds of what was going to happen, After a while I realized that where I was, I wasn't getting anything and where he was, he was getting some good pictures. You soon realized your best odds were to stick around where he is. To this very day, I'm not saying people stand where he stands, but he is always in the heart of the group Psychologically, people stand around where he is,
Herb Owens, business editor of the Star-Telegram, remembered one Southwest Conference football game he covered when he was sports editor. One team had worked its way to its opponent's ten-yard-line by effectively using running plays through the middle of the line. All of the photographers, expecting a play in the line, ran to position themselves under the goal post. Panzera, who remembered that the coach liked to do the unexpected in tense situations and had a clutch outside receiver, went to the corner of the end zone, The next play produced an outside pass directly in front of Panzera who got the photograph the others missed.24
Flem Hall, retired Star-Telegram sports director, said he found it interesting to watch other photographers at football
2 3 Hagler.
24Interview with Herb Owens, business editor, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 13, 1978, Fort Worth, Texas, 74 games. When he saw Panzera change positions, many would move with him, closely following his every move. 2 5
Panzera's anticipation gained through his knowledge of sports situations led to Heflin's calling him "the luckiest photographer I know.1 ,26 Panzera conceded that he is lucky, saying, "Luck is the threshold of preparation, If you prepare, luck is going to fall on your side of the fence."27 Gene
Gordon, chief photographer at the Star-Telegram, said of
Panzerals luck;
Ilve heard Al say he would rather be lucky than good, I've also heard other photographers competing against him say that they would follow the action and be ready for two or three hours during a game and Al would sit around and visit. Two seconds before a play, Al would walk over to his camera, and suddenly, it would happen, He's got it, and they may have missed it even though they are working harder at trying to get the pictures than he appears to be.28
Heflin agreed with Gordon, saying:
Al will be standing there drinking a coke. He'll set the coke down, pick up his camera, and somebody will fall at his feet (see p. 75). Evidently, he is subconsciously into the game. He can talk all the time and still be into ge game. Other photographers would be distracted,
Larry Reese of the Dallas Morning News believed Panzera's luck was a result of his anticipation of the sport, Reese
2 5Interview with Flem Hall, retired sports director, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 17, 1978, Fort Worth, Texas.
2 6 Heflin.
2 7 Steve Stibbens, "Al Panzera, The Telegram's 'Star Photographer Shares Tips on Shooting Sports," dallasPhoto, I, 3 (June, 1978), -14.
2 8Gordon. 2 9Heflin, 3
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'-,lucky shots were the. Plate 18--Many of Panz rats right equipment. result of anticipation and choice of the Source: Al Panzera. 76 explained, "He's lucky, but being in the right spot increases his luck,,1 3 0 Cabluck was influenced by Panzera's luck. He patterned some of his pregame preparation after he observed
Panzera's awareness of the sports situation, Cabluck said:
Al has the knack for being in the right place at the right time because he knows what is going on. He knows the sport, or he gets to the heart of the feeling for the situation. He seizes that, as if to make it a part of his autonomic nervous system, and then simply makes pictures.3 1
Publicity Photographs
Luck could not be attributed to the success of Panzera's posed publicity photographs of the late 1950's and early
19601s. lie photographed the publicity photographs for several universities in the southwest, He shot more of these photographs than anyone else and was considered an authority in this type of photograph. These shots were posed pictures of individuals or of small groups of players, usually members of the university's football or basketball teams, The photographs were used for news releases, pregame publicity, and school brochures and programs.32 Panzeras personal touch was to place his camera on the ground, pointed up toward the player with the sky as the background. His low angle removed such background distractions as trees, power lines, and buildings, Heflin said, "He's still shooting publicity pictures, The reason is that the sky is a very
30Reese. 31 Cabluck.
3 2 Gordon. 77 nice background compared to a cluttered stadium,i 3 3 This type of shot was seen by other photographers who picked up
Panzera's technique, Iverson said, "When I worked at the old Fort Worth Press, we shot the TCU players that way,
I had seen Al's work, so we set up the pictures that way2"34
Graphics
In addition to the low angle publicity photographs,
Panzera specialized in such graphics as sequence pictures, diagram pictures, and large, display photographs. The Star
Telegram sports department utilized special graphics work, keying its layouts to what Panzera could produce.35 Panzera's ability to produce large, close-up photographs showing peak action influenced the newspaper to produce layouts that emphasized his work. Readers and other photographers were influenced when they saw the result of the teamwork between
Panzera and the Star-Telegram.36
Iverson observed Panzera's sequence photographs,
Iverson was so influenced by them that he attempted to duplicate them. He said:
The Star-Telegram used to run Panzerats sequence pictures all the time, The people at the Dallas Times Herald very rarely ran them. I picked ThFe~ ldea up at the Star-Telegram and brought it over to the Herald, I strictly got that idea from Al from watching him and seeing his results, I don't get to shoot football games from the field very much anymore because I shoot sequence pictures from the press box all the time,3 7
3 3Heflin, 34Iverson, 3 5Gordon,
3 6Keese, 3 7 Iverson. 78
As sports grew in the Dallas-Fort Worth area with the addition of major league baseball and professional foot ball, more people saw and became aware of Panzera's work,
The widespread knowledge of the quality of Panzerals work set an example for other members of the photographic profession.38
Teacher
Sharing photographic knowledge with others interested
Panzera. He willingly shared his expertisse unlike some of the photographers who tried to hide their trade secrets when
Panzera was a youth. lMazziota of the Dallas Times Herald had served in an Army Air Corps photography section with
Panzera in the mid 1940Vs and worked with him at the Star
Telegram. Panzera helped Mazziota and others during the early days of their careers. Mazziota said:
Al was very, very generous with his time and very generous with his suggestions, If someone had a problem, Al always helped the photographer. He never said, It took me twenty years to learn this. You go out and learn it." He was good for the profession. 39
During Panzera's thirty years with the Star-Telegram, professional newspaper photographers began to share knowledge with each other. Fanzera became a big part of this sharing of information as he freely taught some of the techniques he
3 8 Interview with Clifford King, retired sports director, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 19. 1978, Fort Worth, Texas.
3 9 lMazziota. 79 learned through his experiences,40 Rodger Mallison of the
Star-Telegram said, "Alts not secretive at all. He doesn't keep his knowledge to himself, If he has a special technique, he'll tell you about it, 41 Mazziota who knew Panzera throughout this period said, "The thing I remember above all is he was totally unselfish in sharing his knowledge with me when I was progressing, 142 The fact that Panzera was considered a great photographer added to the influence he had on others, Iverson said, "Knowing that you are learning photography from somebody who has achieved all that he achieved is going to impress you.,43
Although Panzera shared his techniques with other photographers, he especially instructed the beginners, In
1946, before he worked for the Star-Telegram, Panzera helped his less experienced Army Air Corps friends following World
War II. Mazziota said, "Al was quite knowledgeable in the field where my experience was minimal, He was most helpful to me since I had much to learn, 444 Other photographers were influenced by Panzera by watching and trying to duplicate his results, Hagler remembered when he first met Panzera during a publicity session for the Baylor University football team. Hagler, a beginning photographer for the Waco News
40 Wallace,
41Interview with Rodger Mallison, photographer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 13, 1979, Fort Worth, Texas.
42 Mazziota. 4 3 Iverson, 4Mazziota, 80
Tribune, was impressed by Panzera's professional approach and tried to duplicate it. Hagler said:
I watched him for the first time there. His work was automatic, I ended up shooting over his shoulder. He set up the shots perfectly. He was more than happy t h elp me. He got me started in the business,
Reese remembered a similar experience in which he shared
Panzera's knowledge and experience and willingness to teach him techniques. He said;
On my first intern job, I was sent to photograph the Dallas Cowboys at an out-of-town game. As a newcomer to the business, I didn't know what to do and was growing frantic, I asked the AP (The Associated Press) wire service what to do. They suggested I call Panzera. I did, At eight a.m. the next day, we had breakfast. Even being from another paper, he accepted me from our first meeting, He let me follow him and shoot the same basic pictures he shot. Of course, his were better,4 6
Some photographers remember Panzera's influence as an easy, personal experience. Hagler said:
It was never a teacher-student thing, You just learned by talking to him, If you had a question, he answered it. I learned from Al by watching him. When I went to these sports events, I would just watch him. That's what everybody did, In his years of experience he had come across every conceivable problem.4 7
Other photographers had slightly different experiences.
In his training days, Iverson carried Panzerais equipment
just so he could get into sporting events to observe Panzera closely, He said;
4 5 Hagler. 46 Rese. 81
Panzera had this little rule that if I did help him at games, I couldn t bring a camera along to take pictures because I was there to help him which was fine with me. So I just stood back and watched him. That helped a lot.48
In addition to observing Panzera on the field, photographers learned techniques by studying his photographs.
Mallison learned about timing by viewing Panzera' s photographs showing peak action. He said, "I can also study placement. I know what lenses Al uses,, so I can figure out where he was standing when he made the shot."?49
Perhaps the ultimate sacrifice for a photographer to make in helping other photographers, especially beginners, is to lend his equipment. When Panzera worked with a serious student of photography, he was more interested in sharing his knowledge than in protecting his equipment from a beginner. He trusted students with hundreds of dollars worth of equipment in an effort to motivate and assist the beginner. Cabluck explained:
Sharing a piece of equipment with a student is fraught with misgivings. But while I was still a student, Al allowed me overnight use of his Speed Graphic, long lens, and short duration flash unit, An act of the heart.5 0
Personality
Upon meeting Panzera, many beginning photographers were as impressed with his personality and attitude as with his
48 Iverson. 4 9 Mallison,
5 0 Cabluck. 82 camera work. Panzera possessed an outgoing personality that generally drew immediate, favorable attention to him, His rapport with sports figures and members of the news media produced many friendships. His casual humor put people at ease in the newsroom or on assignment on the field or in the dressing room,5 1 His personality was not that of someone irresponsible, but of someone who had a positive attitude toward his profession. He was dedicated to photography, but never took it too seriously. He constantly tried to make better sports photographs and never wasted time worrying about shots he missed. 2
Panzera's personality made him a friend to many people throughout the Southwest. His personality became one of his professional tools. Reese said, "After thirty years,
Al knows everybody. Its a tool he uses to take better pictures, He can go places others can't because people know and like him.5 3 Mallison added that Panzera's personality opened many doors. People who liked Panzera would let him into many areas restricted to everyone else.
Cooperation from Golden Gloves officials allowed Panzera to set-up strobe lights among the ring's overhead lights
for more than thirty years.5 4 Panzera, in turn, influenced many aspiring photographers by passing on some of these
5 1Interview with Jay Dickman, photographer, Dallas Times Herald, March 20, 1979, Dallas, Texas,
52Hagler. 53Reese. 5 4 Mallison, 83 benefits, While Iverson attended college, Panzera presented him with the opportunity to practice photographing college teams. Iverson said;
Al helped me several times get a press pass to an SMU game or a TCU game which normally I couldn't have gotten because I didn't work for any news media, That was a practical application of what I had been watching him do. That helped tremendously,5 5
Panzera's friendly personality combined with an aggressive, professional pursuit of good sports photographs,
Iverson said, "He's an easy-going guy, but if something is going on, he's got to get a picture of it. He's not afraid to stand up in front of 60,000 people so he can get the picture.',56 Panzera's approach to better photography impressed Reese, who said:
The new kid on the block is usually introverted or shy, But you watch Panzera walk in front of a large crowd and a TV audience to get the shot you can't get in the middle of the crowd. Because of watching Panzera, I've become more extroverted. I try to know everybody and do what's necessary to get the shot.5 7
Respect
Panzera's dual personality of an easy-going, yet aggressive, photographer, brought him attention and respect from his peers. Gordon worked at the Fort Worth Press, competing against Panzera for more than twenty-five years before becoming chief photographer at the Star-Telegram. He said, "I respect Al's ability. I always have. I didn't change my opinion of him when I came to the Star-Telegram. ' 58
55Iverson. 5 6Ibid, 5 7Reese. 58 Gordon. 84
Gordon considered Panzera to be easily the best sports photographer in Texas. He said, "Day in and day out, he will outshoot nearly anyone in sports photography.1 5 9
Joe McAulay, another thirty-year veteran of the Star-Telegram photography department said, "Al perfected the technique of shooting action sports. He anticipates what will happen next, His timing is great (see p. 85).,,60 Mazziota respects all of Panzera's work, but singled out his boxing photography,
Mazziota said, "He's the best boxing photographer I've ever seen. His Golden Gloves work separates him from everyone else.11 6 1 RAy Adler, chief photographer for the Dallas Times
Herald said, "I think Al deserves all the applause in the world. He's done it all. He's done it well." 6 2 Hall, who observed many photographers in his forty years as head of the Star-Telegram sports department, said:
I don't think there is any better sports photographer anyplace in the world. He's won every award in this part of the country. If you were going to have a contest and could pick any photographer to represent you, I'd take Al.6 3
The respect photographers have for Panzera has influenced their competitive feelings toward him as they try to outshoot him. Gordon said, "He's the one everyone is competitive with and competes against. le's the one to shoot against when
59Ibid.
6 0Interview with Joe McAulay, photographer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 13, 19.78, Fort Worth, Texas.
6 1Mazziota, 6 2Adler. 63Hall. 14
G) N
H
ci) C)
0 86 you are shooting sports, He's the yardstick that people measure themselves by. ' 6 4
Reese said, "It's always a challenge to go to a ball game and shoot against him. The only way I beat him is if he's gone to the bathroom2'"65 Heflin, who worked with Panzera at the Star-Telegram, has been impressed by
Panzera's competitiveness. Heflin said:
He's been a challenge to me. When I'm there on the sidelines at the same game he is, I feel like Itve got to beat Al. When he's not there, I don't feel the same way toward the photographers from the Dallas papers, Al inspired me., He's the thing I aim at, He makes me do a better job.6
The degree and type of Panzera's influence varied from person to person. In some cases, this influence developed from his abilities and innovations in photography,
Iverson said;
He brought some ideas to this area that hadn't been tried, He went to all kinds of trouble that other photographers simply wouldn't do, His determination to get a different kind of picture, is going to have an influence on you,6 7
Fanzera influenced photographers by getting them jobs
or by helping them with their personal decisions in life.6 8
Panzera' s attitudes and opinions greatly influenced Cabluck.
His friendship with Panzera led Cabluck to say, "He has
69 influenced my life more than anyone outside my family."
64Gordon. 6 5 Reese,
6 6Heflin, 6 7 Iverson.
6 8Mazziota 6 9 Cabluck. 87
However, it was the way Panzera approached his job and the results he obtained that had the most influence on
photographers. Dickman of the Dallas Times Herald was
impressed with Panzera's approach and satisfaction with
his job. He explained:
He loves what he's doing and controls his own life. Being in competitive situations keeps him going, He stays mentally young. He impressed me most with his excitement over his job after all these years. He's a catalyst to me. This is a short term business with photographers changing jobs frequently. Psycho logically, he's been a mental support to me. I enjoy seeing someone stay in a job 'ey like after thirty five years. It's comforting.
Others find comfort in Panzera's longevity. Adler said,
"Even after all those years, Al seems to be able to keep
coming back with new and interesting ideas. He still finds
it a challenge," 71 Panzerals success throughout his tenure
at the Star-Telegram produced a reputation which has
influenced many photographers who strive to meet his standards,
Reese was impressed with Panzera's success, saying:
Al is successful because he gets results. He tries hard all the time, He hasn't given up. He will die with a camera in his hand,, and his last shot will be good,7 2
Cabluck believed in Panzera's hard work as the reason for
his success, He said, "Al always makes a picture, He
never takes a picture.T,7 3 Panzerals overall work during
70 Dickman. 7 Adler,
72 Reese. 7 3 Cabluck, 88 his thirty years at the Star-Telegram resulted in a greater degree of professionalism among the photographers than they would have obtained otherwise. Dickman said,
'Al's high standards have raised the standards of sports photographers. Anytime you have high standards, you bring up the standards of the profession, 7 4 Adler agreed that
Panzera influenced the newspaper photographers who had seen him or his work. lie said, "Im sure that nearly everyone
7 5 has been influenced in one way or another by Al."
74.Dickman,
7 5Adler, CHAPTER V
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
Summary
More than thirty years of photographing sports for a metropolitan newspaper provide an enormous treasury of work. Al Panzera began working for the Fort Worth Star
Telegram in 1946. Throughout his tenure with the newspaper, he covered every major sporting event in the Southwest and many national events. His work was seen daily by newspaper readers throughout north central Texas. Many photographers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area viewed Panzera's work during his Star-Telegram career. Did Panzera influence any of these photographers? What influences did Panzera have on sports photography during his tenure with the Star-Telegram? These questions may be answered by studying Panzera ts history and the impression he made upon his peers.
Panzera became accustomed to hard work in his youth in
New York. He supplemented the family income from age eight,
spending equal parts of each day in school and at various
jobs. 1 His interest in photography was heightened by one
of his part-time jobs as a New York JournalAmerican
photography apprentice at age sixteen. This experience
first exposed Panzera to big city newspaper photography.
lInterview with Al Panzera, June 13, 1978, Fort Worth Texas. 89 90
Coupled with his belief in hard work, the job provided two basic qualities that later made Panzera an outstanding photographer: experience and diligence.2
The Army Air Corps provided Panzera with more experience and a tour of duty in Fort Worth, Texas. The military job in a photography section exposed Panzera to a variety of subjects to photograph. Almost unlimited supplies of film enabled
Panzera to experiment with different types of photographs.
The. move to Fort Worth allowed Panzera to find a new home and employment at the Star-Telegram. 3
By this time, Panzera had developed skills that produced work worthy of immediate respect.4 His willingness to spend many more hours on his job than most photographers gave him more opportunities to obtain the best possible photographs.
At that time, the Star-Telegram circulation blanketed North and West Texas, Nany people viewed Panzerats work in both the morning and evening editions of the Star-Telegram, elevating Panzera to the best known newspaper photographer in the area. 5
Other photographers saw Panzerais work and took notice of his techniques, which Panzera never believed in hiding.
Whenever possible, he shared ideas with other photographers
2 Ibid. 3 lbid.
4Interview with Joe McAulay, photographer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 13, 1978, Fort Worth, Texas,
5 Ibid. 91 for what he considered to be the good of the profession.
Many photographers were able to improve their skills by trying to utilize the techniques they learned from Panzera.6
Some important techniques Panzera passed on to other photographers included his use of equipment, Panzerals constant search for new equipment and better use of old equipment created an awareness of the importance of equipment in the minds of other photographers. Having seen Panzera's results with equipment, his peers were encouraged to try to duplicate the quality of his work. They could not be held back by tie restrictions of limited equipment.7
In some instances, Panzera's use of specific equipment resulted in photographers becoming more aware of the potential of their photographic tools. One example was the 300- and
40-0-millimeter telephoto lenses in which Panzera specialized.
Fon Heflin of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram said:
Because of his success with long telephoto lenses, I've become more aware of their use. You study Al and you study Sports Illustrated and you ask yourself how they get certain pictures. It's their equipment and techniques.8
6Interview with John Mazziota, photographer, Dallas Times Herald, July 3, 1978, Dallas, Texas,
7Interview with Harry Cabluck, former photographer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 20, 1979, Fort Worth, Texas,
8Interview with Ron Heflin, photographer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 13, 19.79, Fort Worth, Texas, 92
In other circumstances, the direction of an entire newspaper department in covering some sports became altered because photographers imitated Panzerai s techniques. Certainly,
Panzerals use of multiple strobes for boxing directly influenced Larry Reese and the Dallas Morning News photo department. Reese said:
We're currently trying to improve our photo department. For our Golden Gloves shots, we started using multiple strobes wired a la Panzera. This extremely improved our Gloves shots. With the new lighting, we got good color shots, also, We got the idea straight from Panzera.9
Some Panzera techniques failed to influence photographers.
Panzera's use of a ladder to achieve high shooting angles proved impractical because of the ladder's size and weight,
Likewise, Panzera's use of the Big Bertha camera proved to be of little influence, With the exception of the camera that the Houston Chronicle bought, no other Big Bertha cameras were available to photographers. Panzera' s exclusive use of Big Bertha for sporting events lasted until the camera industry produced compact cameras. and lenses which could perform the same job with more ease and mobility, This equipment became available to all photographers at the same time. Company promotions probably played a bigger role in influencing photographers to buy the equipment than did Panzera's successes with Big Bertha.
9 Interview with Larry Reese, photographer, Dallas Morning News, March 16, 1979, Dallas, Texas. 93
Other Panzera techniques gave way to changing times and changing tastes. Sequence pictures, once a big part of
Panzera s shooting style, are now commonplace with the popularity of motor drive units that allow cameras to make several photographs per second. Even a novice can sometimes get acceptable sequence pictures with the improved equipment. Diagram pictures have suffered the opposite fate, lack of use. Once popular, this graphic combination of photograph and artwork is now used sparingly by sports editors, Panel pictures, which Panzera popularized, have been used to such a degree that they cannot be attributed solely to him.
Probably Panzera's biggest area of influence was his professional approach to his job and the results he obtained.
Certainly his knowledge of his equipment and his assignment resulted in successful photographs that influenced other photographers who wanted to develop the anticipation of sports action that Panzera possessed, Panzera shared his knowledge and techniques with photographers like Paul
Iverson who said:
I used to go to football games and anywhere I could with Al Panzera. I used to carry his equipment for him just so I could go, I learned to see a football game in a different way instead of just as a fan. You had to preplan what was happening, Just following Panzera around gave me a lot of insight into that, He influenced me greatly.1 0
1 0Interview with Paul Iverson, photographer~ Dallas Times Herald, February 6, 1979, Dallas, Texas. 94
Panzera helped other photographers develop their knowledge and their techniques. When they had questions, he provided answers. When they needed guidance in their careers, he set the example, When they needed a friend, he was theref'l
Many photographers learned some of their basic knowledge from Fanzera. Whether it was offering suggestions or answering questions, Panzera proved to be unselfish in his teachings, In some cases, his students have passed Panzera's teachings to a second generation of interested photographers.
Cabluck explained, "A lot of Al's lessons have been passed on to others who came to me with a desire to learn, They don't know it came from him, and he doesn't know it has been passed to them."TL 2
That Panzera has helped other newspaper photographers is an understatement. His work, techniques, reputation, and personality have added to his large degree of influence on photographers. Some photographers learned many techniques from Panzera and were influenced directly, Others benefited from the increased prestige that Panzera brought not only to photographers, but to newspapers. Panzera s work gained the attention of many newspaper readers who were captivated by his outstanding sports photographs, according to Flem Hall, a member and director of the Star-Telegram sports department for more than forty years, Hall said:
Mazziota.
1 2Cabluck, 95
There's no one who has contributed more to the reader interest than Panzera for all these years. No one has contributed more to the popularity of the paper than Panzera. His work is consistent, What amazes me after all these years is he still hasn' t lost it. 13
Hall said readers bought the newspaper because they were impressed with Panzerais work. Panzerat s outgoing personality and reputation brought good will to the Star-Telegram. Many newspaper readers met Panzera through his photographic assignments during his more than thirty years at the Star
Telegram, Others recognized him at sporting events, Rodger
Mallison of the Star-Telegram called Panzera a "media personality" whose recognition by the public proved beneficial to the paper. He said:
Panzera brings a lot of prestige to the Star-Telegram, I can't count the number of times ITve been on the sidelines and somebody's asked if I know Al Panzera, I think a lot of people don't even know Al except through his bylines, Maybe their picture was taken by him once years ago. 1 4
Panzera' s photographic abilities and his reputation were recognized as the finest in the profession, said Clifford
King, former sports director of the Star-Telegram. He
said Panzera's name often would be mentioned by West
Coast sports directors who discussed sports photography,
1 3 lnterview with .Flem Hall, retired sports director, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 17, 1978, Fort Worth, Texas.
14Interview with Rodger Mallison, photographer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 13, 1979, Fort Worth, Texas". 96
King said, "When I discussed their shots, they invaribly would say, 'You have to remember, we donit have a Panzera out here.'"' King agreed that Panzera was at the top of his field when he said, "I think he's the finest sports photog rapher I ever saw, without question,"15
Conclusion
Al Panzera spent more than thirty years shooting quality sports photographs for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, During that time, Panzera worked diligently and consistently to create an ever-improving style of sports photograph, Panzera made every effort to learn as much about his profession as possible. iHe unselfishly shared what he learned with anyone interested in photography.
The quality of Panzerat s work had several effects on sports photography, Because Panzera could produce large, high quality, action photographs, the Star-Telegram altered its page layout to highlight his work, With Panzera's photographs prominently displayed on the pages of the Star-Telegram, many people became aware of his work, including aspiring photog raphers, As his reputation spread, Panzera Ts type of photography began to appear in the work of other photographers,
Low angle photographs, sequence pictures, and multiple flash boxing photographs in the style of Panzera became evident
in the photographs of other newspaper photographers.
1 5Interview with Clifford King, retired sports director, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 19, 1978, Fort Worth, Texas. 97
In their highly creative profession, many photographers were not ashamed to credit Panzera as the source of some of their techniques. They openly discussed Panzerats influence on their careers, Most photographers shared technical information, but with Panzera, friendship was shared. Because of Panzera's personality and reputation, other photographers constantly talked about him, and his stories and anecdotes and accomplishments.
Virtually every photographer interviewed credited
Panzera as an influence on his career, Most influenced were photographers who were just beginning their careers when they first met Panzera. In the early part of Panzera's career, he influenced beginning photographers more than he did in later years when new equipment made Panzera's innovative techniques available to all photographers.
Panzera influenced professionals with advanced skills, but to a lesser degree than beginners. Having learned the basics before meeting Panzera, these photographers had less to learn than a beginner. Proximity to Panzera was important in determining his influence in all cases. Photographers who worked at the Star-Telegram or saw Panzera frequently on assignments understandably learned more than those who encountered him only occasionally, In all cases, Panzera's influence was attested by the photographers' duplication of his techniques and by their testimony. 98
Suggestions for Further Study
This study was limited to the study of Al Panzera, sports photographer, and his influence on major metropolitan newspaper photographers. Several related areas may provide additional study;
1. Biographies of experienced news and feature photographers could be written. Clint Grant of the Dallas
Morning News and Gene Gordon of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram are worthy of such a study, Their abilities and longevity provide a wealth of experience that could benefit the photography student.
2. A study might be made on the comparative merit of photographers who photograph sports only compared to a staff of photographers who shoot general assignments including
sports. WhQ gets the better photographs? Newspapers could
decide if there - is a way to improve the quality of sports
photographs through such a study,
3. What is the importance of the photography staff
on the layout display on newspapers? Panzera ts use of big
graphics suggest that this practice may not be common.
The impact of photographers could be broadened if they
believed they had input into layout decisions. APPENDIX A
Interview Schedule
1. Has Al Panzera influenced you as a general photographer?
2. Has Al Panzera influenced you as .a sports photographer?
3. To what degree has he influenced you with his:
a. use and type of equipment?
b, timing of peak action?
c. focusing ability for action?
d, positioning ("thinking like a quarterback")?
e, development of film?
f, printing?
g. cropping?
h. prestige, recognition, awards?
i. personality?
j. general observance by you?
k. other?
4. What is your professional opinion of Al Panzera as
a sports photographer?
5. What do you attribute as the main reason for his success?
99 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Articles
Al Panzera," Fort Worth, Hopwood, Milt, "Conversation With L 8 (August, 1974), 12-15. 'Star' Steve, "Al Panzer a. The Telegramn's , Stibbens, on Shooting Sports Photographer Shares Ti ps 1978), 20-22. dallasPhOtO, I, 3 (Jur e,
Interviews
her, DallasTimes Herald, Adler, Ray, chief photogral .February 6, 197 9 , Dal as Texas. Fort Worth Star Cabluck, Harry, former pho :ographer, Telegram, February 20 1979 Fort WorTh,7Texas. Times Herald, March 20, Dickman, Jay', photographer Dallas 1979, Dallas, Texas., gram, Gordon, Gene, chie-f photog ?apher, Fort 'WorthStar-Tele March 13, 1979, Fort torth, Texas. Herald, Hagler, Skeeter, photograp Ler, Dallas Times February 6, 1979, Dal las, Texas. Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Hall, Flem, retired sports director, July 17, 1978, Fort W orth, Texast Star-Telegram, Heflin, Ron, photographer., Fort Worth March 13, 1979, Fort Worth, Texas. Times Herald, Iverson, Paul, photographE r, Dallas February 6, 1979, Dal las, Texas. Fort Worth Star Clifford, retired si orts director, King, Texas, Telegram, July 19, 1C 78, Fort Worth, Fort Worth Star-Telegram Mallis on, Rodger, photogr pher, March 13, 1979, Fort Worth, Texas. Times Herald, Mazziota, John, photograph er, Dallas July 3, 19-78, Dallas Texas.
100 101
McAulay, Joe, photographer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram) July 13, 1978, Fort Worth, Texas.
Owens, Herb, business editor, Fort. Worth Star-Telegram, July 13, 1978, Fort Worth, Texas.
Panzera, Al, photographer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, June 13, 1978, Fort WoFh , Texas.
Panzera, Al, photographer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 24, 1979, Fort Worth, Texas.
Provart, Larry, photographer, Dallas Morning News, February 9, 1979, Dallas, Texas,
Reese, Larry, photographer, Dallas Morning News, March -16, 1979, Dallas, Texas.
Wallace, Kurt, photographer, Dallas Morning News, February 6., 1979, Dallas, Texas.
Newspapers
"Al Panzera Photo First , Other S-T Men Score,'" Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 22, 1956, Sunday, p, 1.
"Al Panzera To Address Photographic Society," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, November 4, 1951, morning, p. 7.
"Alls Camera Sees a Lot of Action," Fort Worth Star Telegram, February 16, 1978, morning, p. 3d.
"Barnes Praises S-T'Is Panzera," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 28, 1971, morning, p, 2D.
"If You're in Sports, Panzerals Shot You,' Fort Worth Star-Telegram, April 2, 1972, Sunday, p, 151.
Panzera, Al, "Victim of Heart Attack Relates Ordeal: 'I Didn't Want To Die,'" Fort Worth Star-Telegram, December 31, 1971, evening, p. 4A,
"Panzera Tells Inside of Sports Photography," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 5, 1951, morning, p9 l2,
"Puck Pops Panzera," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, December 17, 1972, Sunday, p, 1B. 102
"Sports Guest," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, September 3, 1961, Sunday, p. 21.
"Staffer Beats Odds To Get Pics," Fort Worth Star Telegram, November 21, 1965, Sunday, p. 1.,Sect3ion
,Three Photographers From Here Win Prizes," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 3, 1955, evening, p. 6.
"Wherever News Is Happening, Star-Telegram Photographers Are There," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 29, 1967, evening, p. 12A.
Unpublished Materials
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Unpublished biography, December, 1971. AUTHOR'S NOTE ON ILLUSTRATIONS
Illustrations included in this study were reproduced in one of three methods: through the use of' Fort Worth Star
Telegram negatives, through copies taken from publications, and through copies of Al Panzera photographs. Fort' Worth
Star-Telegram negatives were used to print Plates 1, 4, 6,
10, 11, 12, 15, 16, and 17. Plates 2, 5, and 8 were photog raphed from dallasPhoto magazine. Plates 3, 7, 13, and 14 were photographed from the pages of the Star-Telegram,
Al Panzera provided photographs which were copied and printed for Plates 9, 18, and 19,
All illustrations were printed on Kodak 82 by 11 inch
Polycontrast paper. The paper was light weight, "A" finish.