Vintage Clips: Belfast Photographers -- On the Front Lines Every Day

Photo District News, 1992

On a trip to Ireland in 1991, I took a train from Dublin, the world's largest village, to Belfast, center of conflict between Irish Nationalists and U.K. Loyalists. It was just before Christmas, when bombings -- and thus checkpoints and police presence -- typically peaked, and it would be seven more years before the "Good Friday" Agreement would signal an end to "The Troubles." It felt to me like it may as well have been the Soviet Union. It didn't feel "free," from the perspective of a 20-something American in the pre-9/11 world. Three newspaper photographers -- Alan Lewis, Hugh Russell and Trevor Dixon -- spoke to me about the challenges of shooting even the most mundane events, never knowing when they might erupt in violence, and of balancing their personal political feelings with getting the best, most newsworthy shot.

Vintage Clips: The Irish Romance of Mike Bunn

Photo District News, 1992

At a time when interest in Irish cuisine, fashion and art was enjoying a renaissance, I visited with photographer Mike Bunn, who was bringing the three together in his ethereal images. He had recently published his first book, Ireland: The Taste and the Country, and was regularly shooting up-and-coming Irish designers and artists. Within a few years the Irish economy would become the Celtic Tiger of the European Union, but when we met, Eire was still on the cusp between the dewy twilight of Yeats' vision and the modern economic leader of the late 90s. Check out Bunn's work on his Facebook page.

Vintage Clips: Web 101

Computerworld, 1996

In the spring of 1996, I went back to high school. At Sachem High in Ronkonkoma, Long Island, I spent a day shadowing a 17-year-old who had mobilized his fellow students to build a school website and changed the way students and teachers communicated. Vinny Pasceri's Webslingers was among the first of its kind during a time when you still had to ask traditional brick-and-mortar companies, "Do you have a website?" Today Pasceri is a senior member of Microsoft's Bing development team in Seattle. Follow him on Twitter: @vinnypasceri.

Vintage Clips: The Webbing of the President

Computerworld, 1996

The 1996 presidential election saw the emergence of the Web as a serious campaign tool, giving voters new opportunities to be seduced by populism or put off by propaganda.

Vintage Clips: Programming Pioneer

Computerworld, 1996

On the prowl in the East Village, summer 1996, with James Altucher, who created one of the Web's first TV series, III:am, for HB0. Catch up with Altucher today at his blog, James Altucher Confidential.