My seventeen year old son, Andrew photograped B.O.M.B fest a few weekends ago for the Middletown Press. He is not on the payroll, but he does receive service hours. His photographs appeared in the Weekend Edition and I'll admit, I was impressed.

With the invention of digital imagery, there are more photographers than ever and everyone thinks their pictures are as good as any professional. NOT.

Whether you're a portrait, commercial, or a fine art

photographer, there is so much more than just making a pretty picture. Photojournalism is definitely not for everybody, but I have come to realize that it is for my son. He gets it, he really gets it. He tells a story and studies a person's body language like a pro.

When I was Andrew's age, I wanted to work for Sports Illustrated. I loved sports and lived for softball. In high school, I spent a lot of time shooting and had a tiny darkroom in our basement. If you stretched your arms out, you could touch the walls. Ahh, the smell of chemicals and a fresh box of photographic paper.

Andrew dreams of shooting for National Georgraphic. He has had a subscription for years and has been critiqued by two NG photographers.

He spends countless hours at a computer editing images. He hates when I stand over his shoulder but is very open to my criticism. I feel like he is reading my mind when he is cropping. It's kind of wierd really. He gets so excited when we talk shop and I really like when he shadows me at work. The conversation in the car between assignments is the best and since I work long hours at the Press, it is a great time to catch up.

Who knows, maybe someday he will work for National Geographic!

Check out his website: http://www.wix.com/AndrewAvalone/Andrew-Avalone-Images