When I was about 8 years old, my dad bought me a Brownie Hawkeye camera. I started taking pictures, developed and printed the 620 roll film with my father in our basement darkroom and put together a family newspaper by pasting the prints onto letter size paper on which I reported the news of the week. As time went on I inherited my dad's twin lens reflex, which, once I got my driver's license, I dutifully carried in the trunk of my car awaiting Pulitzer Prize winning photo ops to appear.

More than 56 years have elapsed since the first time I held my own camera, but I have never stopped taking photos. It's true that my budding career in photojournalism was interrupted by a 39-year detour in law and politics during which I often found myself on the lens end of the camera rather than at the eyepiece, but my desire to document the world around me has remained strong. Now that I have "retired," I am back on track, trying to capture images that reflect the beauty, challenges and incredible individual stories that surround us.

The images in these galleries represent a small part of the photos I have made in recent years. From time to time, the galleries will be updated to reflect my ongoing efforts. I hope you enjoy them and invite your comments and constructive criticism.

Photo News Service is located in Gloucester MA. We welcome assignments within our area and will consider those that may be further from home.

Best regards,

Marty Luster
Gloucester MA