Flashbacks

In the space of a year, Los Angeles Times photographers document millions of moments. Since January, they have brought us scenes of political triumph and capricious destruction and allowed us to look into the lives of ordinary people transformed by extraordinary events. Single frames have captured the shocking moment when Loyola Marymount basketball star forward Hank Gathers collapsed in mid-game, the self-conscious stiffness of four U.S. Presidents united for a “photo op,” the sorrow of Americans wrestling with the specter of war. On the following pages, selected from favorite shots submitted by Times photojournalists, are some of the images by which we will remember 1990.

Dedicating the Richard M. Nixon Library, July 19

Kari Rene Hall

“We were given what amounted to a basic ‘photo op,’ where there’s someone controlling the whole situation. I was with about 15 other photographers, and we could shoot for 30 seconds--that’s it. One of the photographers yelled to Ford to move in a bit, but he had his little masking-tape mark where he was supposed to stand and barely budged.”

The Funeral of Staff Sgt. John Campisi, Aug. 19

Marsha Traeger-Gorman

“Campisi was the first soldier killed in the Persian Gulf, and his wife was so distraught. She leaned over the casket and began to sob, then she just lost it. It was one of the times as a photographer that I felt like I was going to intrude, but then I thought to myself, ‘Let’s make use of this moment to show people the tragedy.’ ”

Refueling the Stealth Fighter Above Kansas, Aug. 26

Larry Davis

“The plane is so top-secret that a year ago people were arrested for trying to shoot photos of it. Now the Air Force wants the Iraqis to know we’re sending it to the gulf, so they arranged for a few photographers to go on a refueling mission. But we couldn’t take pictures of it over a classified air base in Nevada. We had to put our cameras on the floor and couldn’t look out the window.”

Marlon and Christian Brando in Court, Aug. 14

Larry Davis

“For weeks I had been trying to get a picture of father and son together. And then to see a man of his stature brought to the level of a common man expressing emotions for his son was so exciting. All the other photographers had seen the gesture, and when I walked back out the door, they were yelling, ‘Did you get it? Did you get it?’ ”

Campaigning With Nicaragua’s Violeta Chamorro, Feb. 10

J. Albert Diaz

“All I remember about this photo--about this campaign--were the crowds. Elections are so serious there that the turnouts for rallies like this are unbelievable. I was carrying 20 pounds of equipment on this day, and it was nonstop fighting to get to where I finally took this shot. I got bruised and bumped and had equipment broken. And it was like this everywhere.”

After the Metro Rail Fire, July 14

Rick Meyer

“The Hollywood Freeway had been closed since about 2 a.m. because of the cloud of toxic smoke that had blown up from the fire in the Metro Rail tunnel. Before I went out to shoot, I put on safety equipment--a hard hat, boots, goggles and a safety vest--and I got access that the other photographers in sneakers and jeans couldn’t get.”

Dismantling the Red Star, March 24

Marissa Roth

“The day before elections in Hungary, one political group took apart one of the country’s last remaining Red Stars, at the Hero’s Monument in Budapest. The mood was sort of strange, not as ebullient as you would think after the Berlin Wall. The people looked tired. It made me realize that just because they have their freedom, it doesn’t mean they will have jobs.”

The Death of Hank Gathers, March 4

Gary Friedman

“He had just scored on a massive slam dunk, and I had photographed that vertically. I was thinking about how much he reminded me of Charles Barkley. The next thing I knew there was a thud, and the crowd grew silent. I knew right away that it wasn’t good. I repositioned my camera for a horizontal shot, took this photo, and within seconds, he was surrounded by people.”

Santa Barbara Fire, June 27

Bob Carey

“It was very eerie watching the residents leave and seeing the roofs cave in, then the walls. We were driving around to different neighborhoods; this was shot on Modoc Road, near the Hope Ranch. We were about 40 minutes behind the fire, and by the time we got here, it looked like a war zone. I went back the next day, and everything was ashes.”

Mourning a Fellow Gang Member, Feb. 20

Anacleto Rapping

“The original assignment was to shoot Father Gregory Boyle riding his bike around his East L.A. neighborhood. But at the last minute, he called to tell me his plans had changed. He promised some guys he’d go to a cemetery with them; their friend had been killed in a drive-by. I asked to go along, and I saw something you don’t usually see with gang members: what happens when they’ve lost one of their own.”