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Sid Birns on the job in Ecuador while working for UPI.


SID BIRNS

 

I’m a native New Yorker, but I’ve lived most of my life in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.

I have always had a passion for aviation. I went to Haaren Aviation High School in Manhattan.
 
I enlisted in the Army, but never got anywhere near flying or anything connected with aviation. Instead I was 'sorta' pushed into photography in the service by being transferred into the signal corps.

After finishing my 'trip to Europe as a guest of uncle Sam', I became a staff photographer for United Press International.

To me, doing what I have been doing my entire adult life, has been like living in a dream world. 

I'm semi retired now, but I still do photo essays and am in the process of putting together a book of all the photo essays I have done. So far it's taken me over two years to get the first six stories together and I’m now working on four more.

I truly love what I do and would love to be able to continue being out in the field, but and thats a big but. The mind can handle it; the body just doesn't have the same flexibility any more, so I content myself with doing the easy stuff.

I will probably continue doing photography until my "shutter" finger freezes up. 
 

 

 

SID BIRNS' TALE

 

IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT
by Sid Birns
Retired UPI Staff Photographer


Where to begin…”It was a dark and stormy night.”
I started my photographic career as kind of a fluke. 

I was going to Pratt Institute, an art school in downtown Brooklyn. This of course was pre WWII. I had been going for a year, taking commercial art and cartooning, but, after that amount of time, I realized I didn't really have "it".  I could draw and copy well, but just couldn't come up with ideas. My mind was a blank.

At some point, a friend of mine asked if I would like to see him make photo prints.  So I did. 

After seeing him do that, something kinda clicked in my mind and I bought a 39 cent Univex camera.  (remember this is around 1939. When you spent a nickel, you really got your money's worth.)

I started taking pictures from that time on. Everywhere I went my Univex camera went with me. By the way, it took 127 film. Not too many people will remember that.  I still have photos from that time period. 

Along came WWII, and I enlisted in the Army.  I left for basic training in October 1944. I finished basic and immediately went overseas to England, to prepare for the invasion. Of course we didn't have any idea that was what we would be doing. We finished our training and headed for Southampton in the latter part of May, '44 and awaited our turn to board landing craft.  At that time I had been transferred to the Signal Corps. Well, after spending three days on board a landing craft and being deathly sick, we finally landed 15 days after D day and let me tell you, I don't think there was anyone happier than we were to get onto solid ground.

I did photo processing for the European Theater of Operations; did some photography and moved with the troops as they moved forward into Germany where we ultimately did occupation duty under General Patton.

I was discharged in February of 1946 and immediately went to the New York Institute of Photography to learn the latest in color photography and commercial photography. As soon as I finished the courses I was hired by Acme Newspictures, a photo service like AP, which then became United Press International around 1953/54.

As a staff photographer, I travelled Europe, South America and the Caribbean islands, as well as Canada and Mexico. 

This was one of those jobs that I would have paid them to be able to do. Actually it wasn't a job, it was just one big happy party for me.

I have met some great people, had some funny things happen and even had the opportunity to run the 1962 to 1966 NY Worlds Fair Office for UPI.  That in and of itself was a total of four years of being in a dream world.

Ultimately, I went out on my own to do photojournalism and have been enjoying that as well. It gives me the opportunity to join in the actual action of the story I am shooting...like flying with the Canadian Snowbirds aerobatic team; flying with the French Connection aerobatic team and so on.

I am 'retired' now, I think, but I still look for the next "photo essay" that I think will make a good story. 

I still take my digital camera with me everywhere I go. I have a Nikon D 100, but I use a small Canon digital. There are fewer buttons to think about and it does just about everything I demand of it.

So there you have it; my life in a small camera bag. When I leave this mortal world for the big darkroom in the sky, my camera will be with me.
 
                                               ###

 

 

 

That's me in the lower right hand corner.


The story behind the photo of the Queen.
 
The assignment was given to four of us to cover the Queen of England as she and her entourage visited the top of the Empire State Building.  It was Ben Heller, Dave Davis, Bill Soro and myself. Bill Soro was given a 'high' elevation position" so he could get a shot looking down, enabling him to get a lot of the New York skyline in the background. 

I never counted how many photographers there were on this assignment, but I would say somewhere around thirty +.  The photographers were from all the NYC papers, plus the wire services, plus radio, plus TV. Yes TV was still in its infancy stage....it was May of 1957.

When the Queen arrived, it was as though we weren't there, they just did their 'thing'....looking up and enjoying the view. 

At one point, someone in our ranks, hollered out, "Hey queenie, could you move a little closer together?"  At that point I almost fell over with laughter. The Queen never flinched and did as she was asked.

This is the kind of "story" that followed me through my entire career....the funny things that happened or strange things that happened. That's what made for great and exciting days. 

As one of my very first assignments (as a new staff photographer) I had to photograph Governor Dewey, who was running for President against Truman.  As I was about to take the Governor's picture, he said, "Hold it son."

I said, "What's wrong governor?"

He replied,"You forgot to put a bulb in." 

Now thats embarrassing, but, I thanked him and finally got the shot.

The photo shows left to right:
Prince Phillip, the Queen's husband and fourth from him is Queen Elizabeth. 

As for the rest of the entourage I haven't got a clue....but who cares. The Queen and her huband were the important ones....right?

 

s s