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| DoD photo by Stacy Pearsall |
| Click photo to see more images. |
Combat photojournalist Stacy Pearsall was named the Military Photographer of the Year recently for the second time. One of only two women to take home the honor, she is the first woman to take it twice. Having just finished serving as a mentor for the annual Department of Defense Worldwide Military Workshop, Pearsall talked with American Photo about how she proved she could hang with the boys and her fast rise through the ranks.
American Photo: To get started, please tell me how old you are, where you were born, where you live now, and what your basic job description is.
Stacy Pearsall: I am a globetrotting 28 years-young female combat photographer. I was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. My dad was and air traffic controller serving in the Navy and we were at the air station there. I currently am stationed in Charleston, South Carolina, with my husband, Master Sergeant Andy Dunaway. We are both aerial combat photojournalists with the 1st Combat Camera Squadron. My job as a combat photojournalist is to deploy around the world to various locations to document Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines taking part in combat operations, humanitarian relief, and exercises. Ultimately our imagery is used to keep the senior military leadership (combat commanders, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretary of Defense, and the President) abreast of the day-to-day military activities. Also, our imagery is put on a server, which civilian news agencies may access and use and for historical purposes.
AP: It says in your bio that you started out as an Air Force photographer when you were 17. How did you end up there and what was that experience like?
SP: While growing up, I really liked to paint and draw. I took a small photo class in high school, which was pretty fun. However, I didn't know that is what I would do later down the road. I just thought of photography as another means of expressing myself. When it came time to graduate and fly the nest, I had every intention of going to college. I started looking at the cost and didn't think I could manage. My sister, Meggen Pearsall-Ditmore, had joined the Air Force right after school, so I started looking into the service too. I found out that the Air Force had a really great graphics art and photography program. I thought, bingo! I talked it over with my parents and they agreed to sign the age-waiver, which would allow me to go to basic before my 18th birthday. I told my recruiter that I would like to be either a photographer or a graphics artist. Well, a photography position was open and I jumped at the opportunity.
I found out quickly that the photography career field was quite small in the Air Force and that I got lucky with the job. Moreover, the pool of DoD [Department of Defense] photographers is small, so I got to know everyone quickly.
I didn't take to photography at first. I spent my first four years processing U-2 (spy plane) aircraft film. It wasn't a glamorous job, but it taught me patience and motivation. I focused (no pun intended) my spare time on building a portfolio, which would eventually get me into one of the coveted Combat Camera Squadron slots in Charleston.
AP: What has your career progression been since you started as an Air Force photographer? How do promotions and job changes work within the military?
SP: I started out as an Airman Basic, which means I had no rank or real authority. My sole purpose was to watch, learn, and practice. I was trained at the Defense Information School in Laurel, Maryland, with a Nikon film camera. I got a basic course on how to shoot as well as process film and caption pictures. After I finished the six-month course, I was assigned to the U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. I processed huge roles of five-inch film from the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft. I also trained on one of the first Nikon digital cameras.
Over time, I got promoted a couple of ranks and transferred to the Joint Analysis Center at Royal Air Force Molesworth, United Kingdom. I did more film processing, went to college at night, and worked on getting a portfolio together.
I really excelled at being a model Airman. I was on the honor guard, won many awards for being an outstanding volunteer, went to school, and really gave 100 percent all the time. I went from being the trainee to being the trainer within months.
After four years of darkroom work, I got accepted into the 1st Combat Camera Squadron (COMCAM) at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina. I was on cloud nine. I re-enlisted for another four years of service and got promoted to Senior Airman (E-4).
When I got to COMCAM, I really felt out of my league. Many of my colleagues had years of shooting experience and had attended the military photojournalism course at Syracuse University. I struggled at first, but I handled it like I do anything else: I just kept plugging away. I shot every chance I could and listened to the feedback I was getting. COMCAM sent me to the DoD Workshop, the Multimedia Bootcamp, the Eddie Adams Workshop, and more. The more I put into learning, the more I improved. It was not easy, though.
My first major deployment was to Chile where I was supposed to document the U.S. Army participating in Cabanas (a training exercise). That is where things started to click for me. After I got back, I got promoted to Staff Sergeant. I went to Korea and did some aerial missions over Iraq until I finally had ground orders to deploy to Baghdad. When I returned from Iraq, I won Military Photographer of the Year and was accepted into Syracuse. I took a year off for school and went straight to Africa after graduation. I was then sent to Cyprus to cover the Lebanon evacuations and then back to Iraq. I won Military Photographer of the Year for a second time after returning from Iraq. I have been to several other places in between, but those are some of the highlights of my tours.
I pretty much went from learning to teaching. But I still stand firm in the belief that you never stop learning. At least that is what I believe for myself. As the industry changes, so does military photography. We do our best to stay current with trends.
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