Sam Bass 
Sam Bass is a former Navy Chief and an award-winning combat photojournalist. His
photoworks have been described as stunning and provocative, images that challenge the
viewer with one stimulating visual experience after another.
He received his grounding in classic commercial photography at the Art 
Center
School of Design in Los Angeles, California; and honed his creative photographic and news
writing skills at Syracuse University in New York where he graduated from a highly
intensive photojournalism program designed specifically for the Navy.
“After Syracuse I was assigned to South Vietnam and operated throughout Vietnam
and Southeast Asia as a Navy combat photojournalist over a three-year period from 1967-
1970,” Sam said. “During this period, I was also briefly assigned to the United Nations
Command in South Korea to document North Korean violations against the armistice.”
In 1972, Sam was selected Photographer of the Year by the National Press
Photographers Association, the University of Missouri School of Journalism and the U.S.
Defense Department based primarily on his Vietnam photoworks.
“This internationally prestigious award was presented annually at the University of
Missouri following a world-wide competition of photojournalists and news
photographers,” said Sam. “I was privileged to share Photographer of the Year honors with
a National Geographic photographer that year.”
During his combat tours in Vietnam, Sam’s photoworks also received the respect of
his peers. One such news photography colleague in Saigon was Horst Fass, an AP
photographer and Pulitzer Prize laureate.
“I am impressed with Sam’s artistic photographic eye and his sensitivity,” said Fass.
“Few combat photographers actually contribute to the advancement of photography. His
photographs are definitely a contribution and have deepened my understanding of the
Navy and it’s operations in Vietnam.”
Over the years, Sam’s images have been widely recognized and published,
particularly his Vietnam-era images. But in addition to his ability and experience as a
photojournalist, Sam has developed broad experience in all areas of commercial and fine
art photography as well. He is a master small format photographer, and although skilled
with Photoshop, he is a master of the small format black and white darkroom as well.
“After leaving the Navy in 1974,” Sam said, “I spent many years as a freelance
photojournalist producing images for all marketing communications applications for a
variety of regional and national clients.”
Over the years, Sam’s clients have included companies and publications such as:
Cox Communications, Coast Guard Academy/Tall Ship Eagle, Der Stern Magazine, General
Atomic, Eastern Airlines, Getty Oil Company, Family Health Programs (HMO), First
Pacific International Bank, Interocean Corporation, General Dynamics, Keyocera
International, Laventhol & Horwath, Life Magazine, Microdata Corporation, Moctezuma
Beer Imports, Paris Match Magazine, Rohr Industries, Scripps Institute and Memorial
Hospitals, U.S. Information Agency, Time-Warner, U.S. General Corporation, and Yamaha
International, among many others.
Expanding beyond his photoworks, Sam has also designed and conducted a series of
photojournalism-based creative communications workshops and seminars to share his
unique style and technique with amateur and professional photographers, as well as non-
creative professionals.
“The best photographers strive to be masters of light, shadow, composition and
time. We attempt to balance these elements to create the most powerful, thought-
provoking images, remembering always we are but stewards of an instant in time,” said
Sam. “But we’re more than simply stewards, we interpret that instant.”
How and when did you get started taking pictures?
In the early 1960s I was a young Navy journalist and had little notion of seriously
picking up a camera. There were, after all, young Navy photographers to do that. Then the
Navy did an interesting thing: it collaborated with Syracuse University to develop a unique,
highly intensive photojournalism program specifically designed to build a cadre of creative,
competitive, highly motivated, professional photojournalists to tell the Navy and Marine
Corps story.
At the time I was working for one of the most innovative public affairs officers in the
Navy and had access to one of the finest Navy photo labs. My boss convinced the photo
officer to issue me a Leica kit (an M2 body with three lenses: 35mm, 50mm and 90mm)
and turned me loose. After he realized I might actually have some talent, he organized a
scholarship for me to attend the Los Angeles Art Center School commercial photography
program. What a gift and eye opener that was. I built a portfolio for my application to the
Syracuse program while attending Art Center. The rest is history.
Do you shoot film or digital?
My portfolio is a mix of both. I maintain a bag of six Nikon bodies and a full range of
lenses. I cut my teeth on Kodak films and chemistry and in the process became a Master
small format photographer and lab technician. The only way to control quality, particularly
in a 35mm environment, is to know how to optimize the quality of the image by carefully
handling and processing the film and prints.
So, getting into digital was difficult for me, even traumatic. I began by simply
digitizing my film. There’s a permanence and sense of comfort with film that doesn’t exist
with digital. To me, “digital” was an intangible gossamer-like image floating somewhere in
cyberspace. I just couldn’t wrap my arms around it. Besides, digital seemed toy-like, an
amateur point-and-shoot marketing gimmick. Little did I know. It takes us old guys a bit
longer to catch on.
I didn’t really pick up a digital camera until early 2006…and not until Panasonic
and Leica collaborated on the Lumix and perfected the technology. I believe Leica crafts
superior photographic optics, and the Lumix has not disappointed. This little camera has
taught me a huge lesson. In the right hands even a small, pocket-sized digital can make
salon quality images. Then, of course, there’s the transition from the lab to Photoshop.
One quick note about Photoshop. 
I’m not a super computer whiz and am an old guy
to boot, so my journey from the darkroom to Photoshop has been challenging. I have not,
in any fashion, tapped it’s full potential and doubt that I ever will, but I have discovered
that Photoshop is a versatile creative tool providing in every way the elements of a
comprehensive darkroom without the dark light, chemistry and the smell of hypo on your
hands. A complete cyber photo lab designed by photographers for photographers.
Why did you become a combat photojournalist?
For many of us getting to Vietnam was a significant part of the reason we worked so
hard to get into and survive the Syracuse program. For any photojournalist, military or
civilian, the only place to be in the mid- to late-60s was Vietnam and Southeast Asia. The
Navy was very active in Vietnam, both off-shore and in-country, so we were covering
everything from carrier and inshore interdiction operations, to Mekong delta small boat,
gunship and special ops. For a combat photojournalist, it was, as Dickens has said “…the
best of times, and the worst of times.” A crucible. I was a member of elite Navy combat
photographic teams operating out of Saigon and had orders which allowed me to travel to
any Navy-related story in the theater, a unique and unusual experience for a military
photojournalist…a bitter-sweet experience, as most “crucible” experiences tend to be.
How long were you in Vietnam and Southeast Asia?
A total of two combat tours over a three-year period, 1967 through 1970.
What is your definition of a Photojournalist?
I was trained as a classic photojournalist after I developed a solid foundation as a
news writer as well as a thorough understanding of the technical aspects of photography.
Classic photojournalism should not be confused with general news or press photography.
In my view, the primary distinction is the ability of the photojournalist not only to shoot
great photographs to illustrate a story, but also to have the skill to gather the news and
write a great story as well: the ability to create a complete story, words and images. I
believe the ability to write enhances the images made by a truly creative photojournalist.
Is Photography an “Art?”
No question. Photography is an art. And as with all art, there’s good art and bad art.
What is your definition of “Fine Art” Photography?
All photography begins as a technical challenge: camera, lens, film/digital,
chemistry, light, shadow, color, grayscale, time. In this regard, photography is not unlike
fine art: camera, film/digital and lenses = paint, palette and brushes. We all strive to
become Masters of these elements, and worthy stewards of the instants in time we capture.
The question, “What is fine art photography?” is an aesthetic one, like asking the
classic question “what is the difference between a photograph and a picture?” A
“photograph” is a technical description of an image created by a lens on film, while a
“picture” attributes a creative or aesthetic quality to a photograph. In that regard, I hold
that photographers in every photographic specialty are capable of producing “fine art
photography.” It’s simply a matter of whether they choose to do so.
Why might a photojournalist have a creative edge or
advantage over a classically trained photographer?
In my experience, it is the ability to write well that adds a creative edge or intangible
element to the images of a skilled photojournalist, an image which confronts the viewer
and moves him or her to action. The better the writer/photographer, the better the
communication and the deeper the interaction between the image and the viewer.
This not only becomes clear in a pictorial or editorial news environment, but also in
any so-called fine art environment, including landscape, nature and architectural image
making. In all my creative photography workshops, writing (basic news and feature
writing) is an essential element.
Aside from the purely technical elements, what do you
believe goes into a creative photographic image?
In every workshop I begin by asking my students this same question: Technical
elements aside, what goes into a photograph the instant the shutter is tripped in the
camera?
The answer, of course, is the photographer’s whole life experience: his or her world
view, opinions, values, fears, joys, politics, religion, education and training…every aspect of
our lives is applied to that single instant of time. As photographers, whatever or whomever
we’ve become as human beings is translated into our images for better, or worse. Believe
me, there is no objectivity in this world…there are only 6.795 billion very subjective points
of view.
With that point made, I know exactly what an image will look like, and what
message I hope to convey, the instant I shutter the camera. In that instant, I also know how
each techno-chemical (more “techno” then “chemical” these days) or photo-mechanical
element will affect the final image. In many ways, this has been both a blessing and a curse.
As the years go by I find myself cropping pictures everywhere. Everywhere!
What reaction do you hope to inspire within your viewers?
I try to ensure that my photoworks represent a creative statement rather than
provide a platform for a particular point of view or agenda. I do want to confront my
viewers and move them to look at life and their environment differently. To send them to a
different place. The best of us attempt to achieve a “Wow!” factor in our photoworks, not to
overpower our viewer but to excite them, to engage them and even to encourage them. If,
in the process, we send a shiver up their spines, we’ve succeeded.
Enjoy.
Sam Bass will be at Clinch Mountain Arts & Crafts, Thurs., March 10, from noon to 3 p.m., to discuss and demonstrate his art.