Will Hines Dot Net

I worked for The Acorn Press (now Hersam Acorn) for two years after college as a reporter. Often we had to take photos for our articles. None of us had any real photo experience. But when Jack Sanders, executive editor then and now, handed me a camera he said “Get close. People like to see faces.”

And he was right! Almost all amateur photographs are too far away from the people. Moving a few steps closer makes a big difference. But now I am always a jerk when people take pictures. “Can you step closer?” I say. They move a quarter of an inch closer. “No, more [...]

George Ferencz (farthest left in the photo above) was the first person I saw at my 20th high school reunion, thank God. He was my first friend in Connecticut when my family moved here when I was eight, so it was fitting to me that he was the person I saw at the reunion. To my surprise, the entire reunion was fun. I don’t look back that fondly on high school. Everyone was kind of a jerk. *I* was kind of a jerk. My mother died halfway through. Girls paid attention to jerk guys. Guys paid attention to jerk girls. Lots of meaningless rules. A horrible time!

But even *I* enjoyed the reunion! There’s something [...]