That's a more difficult question than it seems at first. It came up today in a conversation with another, much younger, photographer who's shooting good pictures, and wondering where to take it. Classes, more reading, studying? What?

And my reaction was to think back when I was in school shooting pictures, developing my own film and making enlargements when we lived just outside of New York. Go to the city, document the people and times? I would listen to Alan Freed and later Cousin Brucie and Murry the K on the radio and hear about the rock and roll shows being given at the Brooklyn Fox. Not easy to get there from where I lived, but why not go down and see if I couldn't shoot film at the shows, get back stage, cover the crowds?

I knew photographers who started shooting as amateurs in San Francisco in the 1960's when the music scene heated up. One, in particular, mentioned he'd gone to an early Janis Joplin concert and shot some film he thought turned out all right, so he looked Janis up in the phone book and gave her a call. "You've got some pictures of me?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Well, come on over then and lets look."

Amateur to professional, overnight.

Well, you can't do that now, because a Janis Joplin or a whatever superstar would never let you get close enough to shoot a picture, let alone list their number in the phone book. And that's true, but Janis Joplin was just starting when he took those photographs, Annie Liebowitz was just starting when she approached the newly formed Rolling Stone and offered to do much of her early work on her own hook (You've gotta get 'em to cover the out of pocket, though. Sleep on the floor, but make them buy the film and the fish and chips.).

So, if I were starting again, I'd find things that interested me whether anyone thought they were interesting or not and shoot pictures, get involved and see where it lead. The trick is to find things that are interesting enough to suck you in, then find out if your bent is to shoot photographs. It can be, it almost always is a solitary trip and that has to match who you are and what you want.

So, am I giving advice to another photographer or giving advice to myself? And this starting school business, what is that about, because if you can start at 18, you can start at 56. Janis and all that are gone, long gone with the rock and roll acts at the Brooklyn Fox, but are there not things happening today that might be kind of fun to check out? I think so. And do I want this to lead to a "challenging career in photography"? Shit not! Too much work and besides, I haven't figured out how to make a light meter work yet.