Page 88 - "Who do You Think You Are? Johnny Abbass"?

ISSUE : Issue 58

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1991/8/1

'Who do you think you are • ?Johnny Abbass?" Continued from page 12 I know, because I was very actively in? volved in taking photographs of everything going on in Cape Breton. And I had good people to work with--people like Sean Mac? Donald- -one of the best reporters any? where. Don MacKenzie. Two--they're knowl? edgeable reporters. They would sit down with the leaders of business and industry to do a story. And by the same token, be consulting with them--passing the information they've gained along to the person running the op? eration. And these people had that kind of respect for those reporters. Like, I'd be there, and I'd be privy to conversations, that, you know, I'm not supposed to repeat them when I go out. And I wouldn't. No one ever told me that. But I say, I'm here as a photographer. If they're talking about private information, I know they don't ex? pect that I'm going to go out and say, "Listen, do you know what the steel plant's going to do tomorrow?" Or, "Do you know what's going to happen in the coal mine tomorrow?" That was private informa? tion that I was privy to as a photogra? pher. I wasn't there to get information, I was there to take a picture. And so I re? spected that.... But we really became very attached to tak? ing photographs, and very attached to the community. And we felt that our job was to take photographs that showed the news, and showed the community, in good light. And, if it deserved to be shown in a bad light, that was what happened, we would show it. We wouldn't turn around and say, "Well, look, just because it's my brother that's in that picture, or because it's a friend of mine that's there." You know. Or, "It's his house that's got all this trash in front of it." You know. We took the pic? tures according to the situation, see. We didn't show any favour, or give any quar? ter, to anybody, because of who they were. JONELJIM GENERAL CONSTRUCTION TILT-UP CONCRETE BUILDINGS CONCRETE STRUCTURES PRE-ENGINEERED BUILDINGS TURN-KEY PROJECTS DESIGN BUILD Riverview Drive, Sydney Fax. 539-0104 539-2222 They could call me anytime. Sunday, Mon? day. I could be in church. I could be in bed. Well, that was the agreement. If I wasn't there, my brother George would be available. Or Tony would be available. Or, we had a couple of young fellows working for us--but they found the work very hard. "Gee whiz," (they'd say), "you work a lot at nights. I don't like to work at night." And I said, "Well, look. One of the rea? sons I hired you is so that I could be re? lieved a little bit of this night work." I said, "I'd like to spend a couple of even? ings with my wife, too, to take her to a show. So, if you have a date, tell your date you'll go to the second show. Or tell her you'll go to the first show, but you've got to go right away at 10 o'clock to take a picture at the Oddfellows Hall, because they're going to cut their birth? day cake. Or the Masonic Lodge is going to install their officers, or the Knights of Skye Motor Hotel and Licensed Restaurant 48 Comfortable Units * Free Colour Pay-TV (902)625-1300 P.O.Box 190 PORT HASTINGS n.s.boe2to ' Open All Year at the Canso Causeway -

Cape Breton's Magazine