Early Work
U.S. Army soldiers at rest during Operation Red Flag in the Mojave Desert, sometime around 1976, 1977. The Vietnam War had just ended about a year earlier and feelings toward the military were still sour as evidenced by these men's expressions. Or maybe they were just really tired.
Brothers living in squalor, Colorado Springs. The story never ran, unfortunately. These men needed help, mentally and physically. The one brother "looking" into my camera was blind. He took care of his mentally incapacitated sibling.
Despair and destitution in one expression.
A New York City subway scene in the early '80s. Graffiti was everywhere. And poverty was more prevalent.
Four-star General James "Jimmy" Doolittle at a press conference in Colorado Springs. I forget the reason for the appearance, but I was certainly impressed when he looked me right in the eye over the reporter's shoulder. I was a young bohemian at the time, and the look made me straighten up my slouch. Doolittle led the famous long-range raid on Tokyo in WWII, and won the Medal of Honor, among other accomplishments.
A weather feature for The Sun. It snowed a lot during the winter in Colorado, but the sun always came out soon after.
Bill Breen was a college classmate and a budding writer. He went on to work for Fast Company, Seventh Generation, and other media and consulting groups.