WORK EXPERIENCE

What follows is an expanded chronology of early work experiences – excuse the minutia of some of these ‘jobs’, while some may seem minor they’ve had a lasting impact.

1971 – Photography
In fourth grade, I started taking photos at the Brookwood School in Manchester MA and one of my parents and I made a darkroom in the creepy attic of our old home. The darkroom consisted of a small enlarger and little trays for developing prints. I still remember the bright yellow packets of Kodak chemicals, so different than any other packaging I’d seen. We used kitchen red wine vinegar for Stop Bath.

1974 – Student Newspaper
In seventh grade, I revived a dormant school newspaper called The Heron. I wrote the articles, printed on an old mimeograph machine, and distributed to the students and teachers with the help of a couple of classmates. I learned how to write an article including the Who What Where & Why of journalism.

Mid 1970s – Lawn Mower, Painting
Odd jobs painting fences and mowing lawns at home and on an island in Maine. These were my first paying jobs. My dad asked me to mow our lawn, which took about 2 hours, every day since it helped the grass ‘breathe’. This was his way of trying to keep me on the straight and narrow much to no avail.

1976 – Photography, Andover MA
First of 12 photo classes at Phillips Academy Andover. The first class was located in Gordon ‘Diz’ Bensley’s photo studio on campus. Signed on with the yearbook, the Pot Pourri and was subsequently fired for unreliability and incompetence.

1977 – Photography, DJ, Andover MA
Contributed photography to various school publications like the Mirror and Eidolons. Had a late-night radio show on WPAA. Back then there was a law that required the Star Spangle Banner to be played for patriotic reasons as the last song of the closing show usually around midnight. I used to play Jimi Hendrix’s version from Woodstock.

1978 – Computer Programming, Andover MA (student)
First class and exposure to computer programming by taking a class in Visual Basic. Also was exposed to working with microprocessors and electronics for kinetic sculptures.

1979/80 – Year Book Editor, Andover MA (unpaid)
Was re-hired onto the yearbook Pot Pourri staff and went on to be the editor senior year. Signed my first contract for $15,000 with Hunter Publishing to print the book. The sales rep took Hyun Park (photo editor) and me out to dinner at the Ground Round, fed us beers (we were underage) and we signed the contract in the parking lot. My first business trip was to Winston Salem North Carolina to proof the printing. Most of the time was spent playing pool and occasionally looking at the press proofs.

1979/80 – NY Times Distributer, Andover MA
I was also given the opportunity to sell the New York Times to students at Andover. All parents received a welcome mailer that included an offer to purchase the NY Times for their children. Quite a few parents did this and my job was to coordinate the paper delivery from a distributor in Lawrence to the front desk in Washington Hall where a school administrator passed out the papers. In a nutshell, it was an easy job and quite lucrative. Suffice to say I was 18 and didn’t spend the money wisely. I did receive voluminous amounts of advertising from the NY Times. These were very well-designed flyers and posters promoting reading and journalism. This had quite an impact at an impressionable age.

1978 – Photo Counselor, Damariscotta ME
Summer job as a photography counselor at Camp Kieve, Damariscotta Maine. This entailed teaching the campers Diz Bensley’s innovative “Visual Studies” program that he developed at Andover. All kids used a 99-cent Diana plastic camera with 120mm roll film to complete assignments on texture, form, light, and composition.

1979 – Westport Playhouse Intern, Westport CT
Summer job as an intern at the Westport Playhouse in Westport CT. Helped create stage sets and theater productions as well as swept a parking lot. Had to hitchhike each way from Norwalk to Westport since there was a gas shortage and couldn’t get a ride otherwise. Worked on the Oscar Wilde play “Diversions & Delights” performed by Vincent Price who wrote a letter of recommendation to Robert Brustein at the American Repertory Theater (ART) at Harvard, needless to say, I didn’t get into Harvard.

1980 – Casting Agency Intern, NYC
Summer job at Theater Now in New York. Located in Times Square, I was a messenger boy delivering scripts in the city. Spent most of my time exploring Times Square which was quite the place back then.

1982 – Souper Salad, Boston
Busboy at a restaurant on Newbury Street in Boston. Got to know ‘George’ a sage from Haiti and Dorchester, my drinking buddy mentor.

1983 – Satch’s, Boston
Busboy at Satch’s restaurant in the South End of Boston before it was fully gentrified. This was Satch Sanders, the great Celtics basketball player’s restaurant.

1982/84 – Photo Chemistry Distributer, Providence RI
While a student at the Rhode Island School of Design worked for the school distributing photography chemistry to students. The chemicals were stored in the basement of Benson Hall and it was my job to hand out the chemistry to any student taking a photography class. The basement was stocked full of cubes of liquid and powder chemistry mostly from Sprint Chemical Corporation founded by the photo teacher extraordinaire Paul Krot. One day my hands enlarged to twice their normal size after exposure to a particular chemical. Paul said not to worry.

1983 – Photo Repair Technician, Providence
Worked during the summer for RISD as a photo repairman fixing enlargers and darkroom equipment.

1983/84 Teaching Assistant, Providence
Worked for RISD as a Teaching Assistant for three of Paul Krot’s classes: Principles & Procedures, Audio Arts, and Studio Photography. I learned a lot from Paul – he was brilliant, originally from Brooklyn he combined intelligence with street smarts and an endlessly creative, innovative, and fearless approach to teaching and business. I asked him what to do with the postcards and photo books I had made. He told me to go to New York and sell them. Down to SoHo I went, walking in cold to one art bookstore after another until one said they’d buy the whole lot. It left a lasting impression and sparked a lifelong interest in selling things I’d made.

1983 – Photography Intern, NYC
Summer internship at Big City Productions in New York City. It was an unpaid internship and I was the 7th assistant for the photographer Steve Steigman. Loaded road cases into a van for location shooting, set up lights and equipment in the studio, swept floors, and cleaned bathrooms. Steigman was a top shooter in NY’s photo district (19th and 5th). Clients included Amex, Nikon, and IBM. There was a bad vibe at Big City and I wound up getting fired for not bringing someone’s hat back from a rental van drop-off at Kennedy Airport. The second time I was fired from a job. It was a humiliating experience.

1984: Communications for Learning, Arlington MA
Worked for Jonathan Barkan, an independent AV producer. Worked as a freelancer doing small multi-image AV projects. My first job after college.

1984 – 1989: Business Graphics – Kendall Square Cambridge MA
My first full-time job after graduating from college a couple of months earlier. I started out making “stats” which are enlargements of text. This is how if the designer wants 24 point text instead of 18 point text they need a stat. The company also made multi-image shows but mostly speaker support slides for companies like Biogen, Repligen, IBM, Eaton Vance, and Polaroid. After stats I became a cameraman working with a Marron Carrel cell animation camera and a multi-image programmer and sound producer. There were about 20 employees when I was hired. When I left there were 2. I’m replaced by a computer and a new program called PowerPoint. My first exposure to computers replacing people.

1988 – Crossfield Lightspeed, Boston MA
This was an early computer graphics imaging company, located in the Fort Point Channel area of Boston. I made images for them to test out their new imaging platform.

1989 – Photo Assistant, Boston MA
Worked for Suzie Cushner, a still life and fashion accessory photographer.

1989 – 1993 C Squared (C2), Watertown, MA.
Previously known as Slide Graphics we make large multi-image presentations for companies like Digital Equipment Corporation, IBM, Lotus, and Polaroid. These are 4 – 6 minute animated audio-visual ‘modules’ used to kick off large corporate events that use up to 30 slide projectors as well as video projectors and hundreds if not thousands of 35mm slides. My role is a producer and programmer. This includes working with a cell animation camera (Marron Carrol), processing film, creating magazine cover photo-illustrations using 70mm film, and designing the AV shows, one of which was for Steve Jobs when he was at NeXT. He presented at Lotus, the original spreadsheet software company and the show is about the history of computing tools. Business at C Squared slowed down as analog communications transitioned to digital and they go from around 15 employees to 3. I’m replaced by a computer again, this time computer-produced video walls.

1993 – 1998 Bartlett Photographic, Watertown MA
My first business – studio and location photography as well as photo illustration. I rented a 1,500 square loft-like mill space in the same building as C2. It’s an awesome job, so much fun shooting for ad agencies like Hill Holiday and Arnold Worldwide as well as clients Rebook, Charles Schwab, and the Rose Art Museum. I signed with FPG, a New York based stock photography distributor which was in turn bought by Getty Images. Selling stock turned out to be more lucrative than assignment photography. As the web took off in the mid-90s I started going to Internet conferences and learning how to make websites.

1998 – 2022 Bartlett Interactive, West Concord MA
Originally Bartlett Creative designing websites then joined forces with Cadent Technologies and become Cadent.com, then Satoria Interactive, then Bartlett Communications to Bartlett Interactive. Still going today – see Bartlett.agency.

2007 – 2017 – Concord Conserves, West Concord MA
Started a 501 C 3 nonprofit which was active for about 10 years. Created a carbon calculator used by the Concord Carlisle High School students as part of the earth science curriculum. Hosted a conservation fair for local green companies and residents. Created an extensive website and email communications about environmental education and news.