Published January 11, 2009 03:31 pm - For 20 years Jim Stefanucci's photographs have come into the Meadville Tribune readers homes on the front pages, page 2, sports pages and every other section of the paper. Hear Jim talk about his work by clicking on his picture below.
AUDIO SLIDESHOW: Jim Stefanucci/20 years
Meadville Tribune
Click image for slideshow
meadville tribune
“I saw this fireman with his uniform on and I said ‘Don’t be alarmed if I get beside you when the (hearse) comes by. I want to take a picture,’ ” photographer Jim Stefanucci recalls as he describes how he went about taking a picture at a funeral for a former Meadville fire chief in 1995. It is one of the hundreds of important pictures he has taken over the last 20 years for The Meadville Tribune.
“When the (hearse) came by I stood where I could see the fire station and the hearse (together). I framed it with his salute. In my mind, it was kind of like a final farewell to the fire chief.”
Click here for audio of former
Trib photographer Harmony Motter talking about Jim
This picture and many others are now featured in a look at Jim’s career to date at the Trib. It’s on our Web site and includes audio of Jim discussing several other photographs and his philosophy of covering the news.
“Once a picture runs, it affects more than just the people viewing it, it affects the people in the picture and their family members,” he says. Jim knows that a newspaper photograph can sit around for days for readers to see again, impacting them over and over. His concern is for the subjects he photographs. “Could it be shot in a way the public will know what is going on, to show the emotion of the scene without causing more pain to the family or the subject in the picture? How important is that picture? Can it be shot a different way?”
Jim’s trusting and caring eye has been the hallmark for the type of photography the Tribune is known for throughout the state of Pennsylvania. Photographers from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh know the Tribune from the years when Jim was among the top five or 10 photojournalists in the Pennsylvania Press Photographers Association, winning award after award.
Jim’s documentary approach to telling the news and showing the life of Crawford Countians gives our readers something more than just a simple account; he seeks to be a mirror into our lives, to record the essence of who we are. He took a paper that showcased politicians giving awards to showcasing the award-winner doing what they do to make the community a better place. He showed the life behind the recognition, not the posed and stiff moment of the staged recognition ceremony.
“Instead of a line-up inside someone’s office for a check passing, why not show what the money is being used for or why the award is being given?” Jim asks this question every time the phone rings with a request to take a picture.
see Jim's 2007 favorites
This approach has not only helped us understand our neighbors better, it has won many awards.
Jim doesn’t dismiss the awards, he’s proud of them, but he does understand that that’s not why he is here doing what he does.