Richard Mackson (2017)

George Zanuzoski & Bill Mochon (2016)

Lifetime Achievement - George Zanuzoski

Lifetime Achievement - Bill Mochon

Rick Meyer (2015)

Rick comes from a long line of itinerant photographers. His birth parents are rumored to be Dorothea Lange and Victor Hasselblad.

Rick knew that he was a natural for a photojournalism career when he processed his first roll of black and white film in hypo. After this initial setback, Rick developed a sure fire method for success. Fail and then succeed.

His first gig was shooting football games for the Glendale News Press and Burbank Leader. What’s not to love about getting paid $5 per picture?

Due to economic hardship or maybe the fact that Pepperdine University required you to attend chapel twice a week, Rick completed his Journalism BA degree in just 3.5 years. 

A self-diagnosed "early bloomer," Rick’s motto was “start at the top and work your way down.” At the tender age of 23, he landed his first full-time job as a staff photographer at the Los Angeles Times where he covered local as well as international assignments. His exact start date was lost when The Times was bombed in 1910.

He joined the PPGALA in 1975 and was promptly made Treasurer and later served as President in 1992 and 1993. For the last 20 years he coordinated the Student Photojournalist of the Year contest and served as Membership Chairperson. His PPAGLA favorite saying is “You know who you are, now pay your dues!”

Continuing his “early bloomer” routine, Rick retired from The Times at age 50.  For the next seven years he taught four photojournalism classes at the other institution of higher learning, USC. 

Often described as one of the 100,000 richest people in Burbank, a city of 100,000, Rick took all his LA Times experiences and made a living shooting photographs for rich people who want “glamour” photos of their shopping malls. Rick says his experience with The White House pool, OJ Simpson trial, election campaigns, earthquakes and riots really pays off when you have to shoot a building.

Rick, having never heard of Rich Dad Poor Dad sure-fire financial success seminars, wasted a small fortune getting an MBA.

No matter how crazy, outlandish, or stupid the request from an assignment editor, photo editor or graphics person, Rick’s polite response was always the same, “No problem, I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Even if the assignment was in Rialto at rush hour. He is also credited with coining the phrase “When news breaks, I fix it.”

Rick enjoys running into former Los Angeles Times editors at the car wash or golf course where he enjoys making pleasantries. Then tells them that they missed a spot on his bumper or they get back on their mower and ride away.

A practical joker, Rick always chuckles at the irony of having Parkinson’s Disease and being a still photographer.

What’s not to love about photojournalism? No other profession allows you to head to the front of any police or buffet line.

Fred Prouser (2015)

Fred Prouser was born in Greenville, Mississippi. His first camera was an instamatic that his mother gave him when he was 19. 

He began his photographic career in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania shooting for his college newspaper and later the Harrisburg Independent Press. 

While in Harrisburg, Fred was hired as a stringer photographer by United Press International and the Associated Press. He married Rose in 1976, and the two began Prouser Photographic. They moved to Los Angeles in 1992, just in time to cover the Rodney King beating trial as a freelancer for Reuters.

Rose had perused a career in nursing after moving to Los Angeles, however would later return to her love of photography. Fred worked consistently for Reuters covering entertainment stories, and Rose would join him. Rose became the set photographer for Larry King Live, working at CNN for over 10 years.

The first premier that Fred recalled covering was for “Lethal Weapon 3” in 1992. He got to know Alan and Alex Berlin, from the well-known celebrity photo agency Berliner Studios. They showed him the ropes.

In the late 1990’s Reuters provided Variety with a majority of photos for its celebrity coverage. Fred and Rose would work until 2 o’clock in the morning three to four times a week shooting premiers and then parties. Rose would take rolls of film to the lab from the premier to get processed, while Fred would stay late shooting the soirees.

Variety launched its party page in 1997, and Fred’s photos were a main source of material. According to Variety, Fred covered nearly 3,000 Hollywood galas and premiers from the red carpet. He was a familiar face to the many of the celebrities.

When Rose developed brain cancer, Fred was stricken with liver cancer 9 months later. While Rose battled her illness with caregivers and hospice, Fred continued to work. Fred later claimed that he would not have been able to continue working without the support of his Reuters boss, Sam Mircovich.

Rose passed away in January of 2013, and Fred soldiered on. His liver cancer continued to take its toll, and work became increasingly more difficult. His last assignment was the Oscars in 2014.

Shortly before retirement Fred met a wonderful woman, Cindy Klundt. The two of them became inseparable. They traveled, dined, and enjoyed each other’s company for the remainder of his life. According to Fred, he had found love again.

Fred is survived by his sons Scott and Jeff; two granddaughters Macy and Olivia Bornman, his sister Debra, brother Alan, and many nieces and nephews, as well as his loving companion Cindy Klundt

George Robert Smith

George Robert Smith

Glenn Waggner

Glenn Waggner

Carlos Schiebeck (2011)

Carlos at 16

Carlos Schiebeck was born in Los Angeles and began working in the photo business right after graduating from Polytechnic High School in Los Angeles in 1947. After graduating, he went back to school on a post-graduate program in photography under H.Lee Hansen, his photo teacher who arranged an interview for him one year later at Acme Newspictures, the forerunner of UP Photos and UPI Photos.

He started with Acme Newspictures in October 1948 as a telephoto operator along with Garry Watson, Ernie Schworck and Bob Flora and was promoted to photographer in 1952 and worked as a photographer until 1968, when he was promoted to UPI bureau manager while covering the Olympics in Mexico City. He continued as a UP/UPI photographer until 1984 when he joined Agency France-Presse photos. 

"Although I didn't have any ambitions to be a bureau manager when I was hired, during the interview in 1948, Frank Chapman, bureau manager for Acme told me it would be at least 13 years before I could become a photographer, I answered him ,"Mr. Chapman, I'll have your job in seven years." It took me 16 years, but I did it", Schiebeck said. 

"Photographers that started in the late 1940s were very lucky because a new era was starting in the wire service business. They were expanding with new clients and TV was coming into the picture. We were quickly put into receiving pictures in negative form, editing and printing for clients, and going out on stories with photogs to process and print their pictures on assignments out of the city", he added. 

One of his first out-of-town jobs was a United Nations meeting in San Francisco. It was the start of a career living out of a suitcase covering 17 countries, with assignments ranging from A-bombs to zoos. Over the years, Carlos has covered Oscar Awards, 10 U.S. presidents, 3 Olympics, 10 A bomb tests in Nevada from the "News Nob," six miles from ground zero. He became very proficient in boxing photography, covering title fights in both the U.S. and Mexico, including numerous World Series and Super Bowls and so many Rose Bowls he lost count.

During his coverage of international uprisings in Latin America. He got to know many dictators on a personal basis, including Fidel Castro who called Carlos, 'Don Carlos'. King Juan Carlos of Spain once gave him a beer in Guatemala during his tour of Central America and introduced me to Queen Sophia as "my wife, Sophie." Carlos left UPI in 1984 on a job offer from Agency France Presse (AFP) to run their west coast operations until 1995 when he retired. He has been married to his wife Arsenia for 61 years and have seven children. 

"I like to think I helped a lot of young guys get started in the business during my years as bureau manager both for UPI and AFP. All told, it was a great 46 year career which I would do all over again in the blink of an eye", Schiebeck added.