Stacy Pearsall guestblog, war/Military photographer

I met Stacey briefly on the exhibition floor at Photoshop World, the day after I was going to demo for Elinchrom and found out that my model was not where I wanted her, so I had to improvise, from the corner of my eye I saw Stacey walking by and decided that she had to be my model for the demo, luckily for me she wanted to pose for me so in fact she saved my demos, thank you Stacey.
But that’s not all of course, for people not knowing Stacey, she is an amazing photographer but not fashion or glamour, no she does something that a lot of us would not dare to do, and yes she has been blown up several times (when I heard that I shivered) but she still does her job with passion, and man does she shoot images that I love. After seeing her demo at the Elinchrom booth I just had to have her over here for you guys to enjoy, so without any further words her she is, one of the best female military photographers in the world, Stacy Pearsall.

It’s such an honor that Frank would ask me to post a guest blog. I’m truly honored. I don’t even know where to begin actually. I suppose the best place to start is at the beginning. I was born, I grew up… no too much perhaps.

Well, I’ll start where my photographic career began. I was 17 when I enlisted in the US Air Force. Since I was considered a minor, I had to get permission from my parents. Serving in the military is a family tradition, so no one was surprised when I decided to take that path. My uncle was in charge of dishing out various jobs to new enlistees and he promised to help me land a job in the arts. I really wanted to be a graphic designer, since I enjoyed painting and sketching. However, the jobs were few and far between – so was photography, which was my second choice. Turns out, there was a photography slot opening up and I nabbed it straight away.
I went to boot camp and then to the Defense Information School in Washington, DC. The classes were a six-month crash course on camera functions, operations, film processing and more. To say the very least, it was basic stuff. I shot all film at the time and used a hand held meter to figure out my exposures. After completing the basic courses, I took a brief class on how to operate the Versamat film processor. This machine had 7 tanks with a full rack in each. I was huge and we used it to process U-2 aircraft “spy plane” imagery.

I was transferred into intelligence for four years where I developed light sensitive infrared film, which was classified Top Secret or higher. I worked in a vault, within a vault, within a vault. I didn’t care for the job much and I wasn’t allowed time to go out and take pictures. I knew there had to be something else out there for me to do. There were photography positions all over the world at various Air Force bases, but I was stuck.

I began to shoot on my own using an old film camera my father had passed down to me. Since I worked graveyard shifts, I began shooting during the day instead of sleeping. I also shot on the weekends. I lived in Europe for a spell and made the most of traveling and photography. I eventually scrounged together a portfolio and submitted it, along with my performance evaluations and full-length photo, to the 1^st Combat Camera Squadron (COMCAM) for their consideration.

At the time, there were very few positions at COMCAM and highly combat experienced and photographically talented men held them. One of them had to die or retire for a slot to come open. Plus I was a lady, which further complicated things. I didn’t think I had a snowball’s chance in hell to be honest. Weeks passed as the decision board convened. I received notification of my acceptance just a few days after the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

I moved from my home base in England to Charleston, South Carolina. The unit was everything I’d hoped it would be. I trained non-stop for months. I learned different weapons systems, tactical driving, close quarters combat and prisoner of war training. I trained on the latest and greatest camera gear, satellite systems and how to implement them under fire.

As the years passed, I spent 280 days a year on the road. I traveled to over 41 countries and made hundreds of thousands of pictures. It truly was a dream come true. All that was shattered, however, when I was wounded in Iraq and medically evacuated home. I spent over 18 months recovering and was eventually retired from the Air Force. I couldn’t deploy anymore. I thought my life and career was over. However, I didn’t realize that I still had plenty of opportunities to create images. I began to photograph military related topics back here at home and found a new niche. I also began to teach too. I really love where I am now and I firmly believe that it was my past that has paved my future.

My story is a long one and full of other sidebar stories. I’d hate to have this blog go on, and on, and on. So, perhaps Frank will bless me with another opportunity to guest blog and share more.

If you would like to see more of my pictures, please feel free to visit http://stacypearsall.photoshelter.com/

If you’d like to learn more about my studio in Charleston, please feel free to visit http://www.ccforp.org/

Thank you kindly,
Stacy Pearsall