• MLK and me: How rookie photographer captured history

    Vernon Matthews / Commercial Appeal / Landov

    Photographer Richard Copley in Memphis on March 18, 1968. In his first paid job as a photographer, Copley was sent to the Mason Temple, where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. rallied a large crowd of sanitation workers. It was the same location where King would later deliver his famous "Mountaintop" speech.

    NBC News

    Photographer Richard Copley with the Rev. Cleophus Smith, who was a young man when he participated in the sanitation workers' strike in 1968.

    By Christina Caron, NBC News

    Richard Copley was just 22 when he got his first paid job as a photographer. But that assignment propelled him into one of the most significant historical events of the 20th century -- and his career.

    “I had no idea what I was stepping into,” he told NBC News during his first media interview from his home in Fisherville, Tenn. “I guess the biggest story of my life and ironically the first.”

    As the photographer for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union, Copley was initially asked to attend the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March 18, 1968, speech in Memphis, Tenn., (pictured above) where the civil rights leader spoke to thousands of sanitation workers who were fighting for better pay and improved safety standards after two Memphis garbage collectors were crushed to death by their truck’s trash compactor.

    Richard Copley

    The most famous of Richard Copley's sanitation strike photos featured the iconic "I Am a Man" posters carried by striking members of Memphis Local 1733 during the march led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on March 28, 1968.

    King promised to come back and lead a protest across the city, and on March 28, he did. At the march Copley captured what is now his most famous image: the sea of signs reading, “I Am a Man.” It didn’t take long, however, for things to turn violent.

    “You could hear the glass breaking.… I knew all hell was breaking loose. I will have to say it was exhilarating and terrifying all at once,” said Copley, who got pepper-sprayed during the event. 

    Richard Copley

    The National Guard arrived in Memphis on March 29, 1968, after the sanitation workers' strike turned violent.

    King was quickly pulled out of the protest as the violence escalated, and the next day the National Guard showed up.

    “It was frightening – it looked like a war zone. It was just a show of force, obviously, and ... in my mind it was overreaching. But on the other hand you have to consider the time – it was 1968, and there had been riots in other cities, so I’m sure the 'powers that be' thought it was necessary,” Copley said.

    During the peaceful march held on March 29, Copley shot the image that would become his favorite, the one he called “Dignity”: a photo of two men holding poster boards in their best Sunday attire.

    That combo of their formal dress and “the stern looks on their faces” has always stood out in Copley’s mind, he said.  

    Richard Copley

    Sanitation workers the Rev. Theodore Hibbler, left, and Ted Brown march in downtown Memphis on March 29, 1968, the day after the famous sanitation strike march led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shattered by violence.

    King returned to Memphis on April 3 and was assassinated the following day from the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. 

    Richard Copley

    The King family at the April 8, 1968, memorial march for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., which was attended by an estimated 42,000 people and led by his widow, Coretta Scott King.

    Now, 45 years later, the 67-year-old photographer still has a camera in his hand. Now, though, instead of a 35mm, he shoots video in 1080i HD. As a freelance photographer, his work has appeared on several network news broadcasts, including "Nightly News with Brian Williams."  

    Although he has covered several major events such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, Copley says his most memorable assignment was in Memphis in 1968.

     “What these men did was incredible,” he said. “They were courageous. This was 1968, … and to do what they did makes them heroes.” 

    Richard Copley’s photography is currently being featured at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn. The exhibit will be moved to Memphis City Hall later this month. 

     

    Richard Copley

    During the April 8, 1968, memorial march to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who had been shot four days earlier, Richard Copley captured this image of a white man holding an African-American child. Labor groups from all over the country showed up to pay tribute to the Memphis workers and King.

    It's been 45 years since Martin Luther King Jr. was killed after coming to Memphis, Tenn., to support the sanitation workers' strike. Two of the men who demonstrated in the streets that day spoke with NBC's Ann Curry about their fight to make a better community for their families.

  • Cameras help kids cope with cancer

    The Pablove Shutterbugs program is lifting spirits by teaching kids about the art of photography as they battle a serious illness. NBC's Chris Jansing reports.

    By Craig Stanley
    NBC News

    LOS ANGELES – When Layne Simkins, 12, was diagnosed with leukemia last year, he spent a lot of time in the hospital. 

    And while there, in addition to receiving treatment, he also developed a new skill: the art of photography.

    Through a program called Pablove Shutterbugs, Layne and other children living with different types of cancer are given a digital camera and a photography mentor for hands-on training.

    Click here to learn more about Pablove Shutterbugs.

    Layne, whose work was featured at the 'Gallery Show' in Los Angeles in May, credits mentor, Graham John Bell, for much of his newfound artistic insight. 

    "He's taught me a lot of skills -- how to hold the camera and how to keep it still when you're taking the pictures," Layne said. "He's the one who showed me that you could see the most boring thing ever and just take a picture of it a certain way, and it will just become really interesting."

    Slideshow: Photos from the 'shutterbugs'

    Aiden / The Pablove Foundation

    Kids diagnosed with cancer discover the art of photography in the Pablove Shutterbugs program.

    Launch slideshow

    'The world really is a beautiful place'

    Layne, now in remission, has come a long way as a photographer. His mother, Wendy Simkins, said she's also noticed another kind of growth.

    "It's helped him come out of his shell a little bit more," she said. "Since he's been diagnosed with the cancer, he's had a tough time, 'cause he's stuck at home. This gave him an opportunity, when he was able to go out or do things, that he can look through the lens and not really think about what was going on with himself. [He] could really think about, 'Wow. There's a whole world out there, but this is just a small part of my life that I'm battling now. But I have such a great future to look forward to. And the world really is a beautiful place."

    Jeff Castelaz and Jo Ann Thrailkill reflect on the life of their son and the inspiring moments of creation born in his memory.

    Pablove Shutterbugs co-founder Jo Ann Thrailkill said part of the program's purpose is to help bring a sense of normalcy to the lives of children afflicted with cancer.

    "Your child isn't in school when they're in treatment and ... your life is constantly revolving around medical appointments," Thrailkill said.

    Thrailkill's husband and co-founder, Jeff Castelaz, added, "We're trying to help families to get their child into a situation where they can be in sort of a school-type situation.  Where they're learning something."

    The program is named after the couple's youngest son, Pablo, who died in 2009 from Wilms Tumor, a rare form of childhood cancer, at the age of six. They started the Pablove Foundation in 2008 to raise money for pediatric cancer research. Three years later -- with the help of their friend Catherine Berclaz, a producer, creative director and co-founder -- the Pablove Shutterbug program was born. 

    Catherine Berclaz discusses the origin of Pablove Shutterbugs and its mission—to teach children with cancer how to express themselves through the art of photography.

    Pablo had a strong interest in photography, often taking photos and arranging shoots with his older brother, Grady. Jeff and Jo Ann said the photos Pablo took are a strong part of his legacy today.

    "What we realized about Pablo was that, when he passed away, every possible photo we could find that he took or that he was in -- became very, very precious to us," Jeff said. "The photos and videos that we found that we had never seen, really, to this day, carry a really important place in our lives."

    An amazing imagination

    Pablo’s passion for photography lives on in Pablove Shutterbugs, which gives its young participants an opportunity to cultivate their photographic proficiency.

    "A lot of our kids are painters," Jeff said. "They like to draw, but they can't be touching those materials anymore. I think, with photography, it's something clean.  It's a way for them to express themselves."

    Layne's mentor, who said Layne showed "amazing creative imagination" despite battling fatigue during the early weeks of the program, says Pablove Shutterbugs gives the students a sense of control.

    NBC's Chris Jansing sits down with shutterbug Layne Simkins. Layne shares some of his work and talks about his battle with cancer.

    "Photography for me has always had the power to freeze a split second in time - something that will never happen again, that's it, it's history," Bell said in an e-mail. "This enables them if they wish to remove themselves outside of their current situation and play with those split seconds on their terms."

    Beyond creative expression, Berclaz said the program includes educational and social components.  But one topic they choose not to discuss is cancer.

    "In this room, cancer has no place," Berclaz said. "We talk about photography. We talk about visuals. We talk about what colors they like. We talk about technique ... They get to talk about something else besides cancer treatment with other kids, which is a really great thing for them ... And the work they put out is astonishing."

    Berclaz recalled a positive experience in which she asked one of the past program participants how he enjoyed a class session.

    "I love it," the student told her. "There's no needles."

    Layne, who said he often had to deal with those needles during hospital visits, was appreciative of the program. In fact, he's incorporated photography into his future.

    "If I'm not, like, a photographer when I grow older," Layne said, "I'm sure taking pictures would definitely be a hobby [of] mine."