Photographer Rosenbaum bids farewell to Cali paper after 32 years

Joel Rosenbaum, staff photographer/chief photographer at California-based newspaper the Vacaville Reporter, has left.

An excerpt from his farewell note reads:

On April 25, 1991, I walked through the doors of 318 Main Street and began my career as a staff photographer for The Reporter. Today, nearly 32 years to the day, I say goodbye.

A lot has changed in the past three decades, but the one thing that has stayed constant is the goal to produce images that not only capture a moment in time but do it with empathy and honesty.

When I initially interviewed for the job (I was still several months away from graduating from Long Beach State where I was studying photojournalism), then-Managing Editor Steve Huddleston asked me a pretty standard question, about where I saw myself in five years.

I am pretty sure that very naive photographer told him that I saw myself working for a major metropolitan newspaper, like the San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, or San Jose Mercury News.

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to travel to places and make pictures that the young photographer could only imagine.

I traveled to Africa and Haiti with the Air Force and have been on the field covering the 49ers, Raiders, Giants, and the A’s. I have photographed legendary musical acts like Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters, U2, and Metallica.

But what I’ve most enjoyed are the times I spent on assignments with my colleagues covering Vacaville and the surrounding communities in Solano County.

I was very lucky to work with very talented photographers during the past 32 years. My photo editors Rick Roach and Greg Trott took the time to mentor me in all aspects of being a photojournalist.

To my colleagues still fighting the good fight. We may have been understaffed and overworked, but through it all, we still produce the best paper in Solano County and perhaps even Northern California despite what obstacles were placed in our way.

While I am leaving The Reporter and journalism, I will be joining the communications department of the Vacaville Unified School District as its Web and Communications Specialist. I’ll be using all my skills developed over my time at the paper to continue to tell the stories of the students, teachers and staff throughout the district.