On August 26 students in Photo teacher Angelia Perkins’ zero and sixth hour classes piled into a bus waiting out front at Lawrence High. The classes were heading to the Lawrence Arts Center where they would hear a panel of photojournalists talk about their careers. Among the four panelists was the first chief photographer for Rolling Stone Magazine Baron Wolman.
Wolman grew up in Columbus, Ohio. At his high school he had always wanted to play football, but shortly after he joined the team he realized that football was not for him. Wolman still wanted to be part of the action, so he joined the school’s newspaper staff as a photographer.

“The very first time I picked up my first camera it felt good,” Wolman said. It was in April of 1967 in San Francisco, California that Wolman got involved with Rolling Stone. During his time with the magazine Wolman photographed the musical legends of that era, such as Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, Johnny Cash, and many more.

Before the panel discussion began, the students had the opportunity to view the gallery at the Arts Center where some of the very best of Wolman’s photographs are on display until October 1. The students recognized many of the photos because Wolman’s images have become so legendary. The panelists discussed how different the field of photojournalism is today as opposed to how it was in the past. Someone could see a photo on a news website and then check back later in the day to discover that it has already been replaced with new images. “If a photo is worth ten minutes, what is it to the photographers? We make our images for a lifetime,” Wolman said.
Getting to see Wolman in person and listen to him talk was an unique experience for the students. Junior Sarah Sutterfield greatly enjoyed the opportunity. She had been planning on going to visit the exhibit on her own, but “to see him personally was kind of like experiencing history,” Sutterfield said. She noted how down to earth and open Wolman was during the presentation. Perkins felt the field trip was very beneficial to her students. “Nothing replaces meeting the artist,” Perkins said.