When it comes to producing meaningful and impactful photography, long-time Globe and Mail staff photographer Fred Lum’s formula for success calls for a huge dose of curiosity, a healthy dollop of empathy and a dash or two of stubbornness.
It’s an approach that has served him well, whether he is on assignment somewhere across Canada or around the world, capturing compelling photographs that make his work stand out in a competitive news market.
“Sometimes you can’t take no for an answer,” he said. “You don’t want to butt heads, but you always want a bit more time with subjects and more access to make better photos.”
Mr. Lum is celebrating a career milestone this month, as he marks his 40th anniversary at The Globe. He usually prefers to work quietly behind his camera, photographing his subjects. But he sat down recently to reflect on the past four decades, and how he ended up pursuing photography.
Over the years, Mr. Lum has covered a diverse range of photo assignments, from The Globe’s China Rising Project in 2004, which documented that country’s emergence as an economic superpower, and four Olympic Games, to performances by the National Ballet of Canada. He captured the excitement of a Toronto Blue Jays World Series win in 1993 and photographed Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista’s legendary bat flip during the 2015 American League Division Series. That shot earned him a National Newspaper Award.
Being a photographer has its rewards as well as its challenges. Mr. Lum recalled one particular hurdle while on assignment to capture the latest looks at fashion weeks in New York, Paris and Milan, long before digital cameras became available. “It was a logistical hell going through airport security with hundreds of rolls of film,” he said.
Mr. Lum has witnessed some of the most critical moments in time, documenting events such as the 1987 stock market crash, and Canada’s abortion movement in the 1980s led by Henry Morgentaler. He has taken countless portraits of significant newsmakers, and everyday people who shared their heartfelt stories with Globe readers. A master at portraiture, his subjects revealed themselves to his lens. “I want to give people a chance to be seen,” he said.
His path in photography started as a teenager growing up in Toronto when his sister’s friend let him borrow a camera. After that, he found himself shooting high-school sports events and running after neighbourhood fire trucks. He eagerly volunteered to work at the school newspaper and yearbook. The aspiring photographer was on a roll – so to speak. So, he asked his parents to buy him a camera, to which the answer was no.
They told him to get a job if he wanted to get a camera. And that’s what he did – Mr. Lum worked part-time as a baker, busboy and dishwasher at a restaurant, and saved enough money for a down payment on his first camera, a Nikon F2A chrome. It cost $800 for just the camera body and took almost two years to pay off.
In 1981, which was his final year of high school, Mr. Lum photographed a wrestling tournament. He called The Globe and asked if they were interested in his photos. They were indeed, and he landed his first published photo in the newspaper.
A 1981 photo of high-school wrestlers Gus Diagoupis and Steve Kozak would be Mr. Lum's first published work in The Globe.
Mr. Lum attended Photography Arts at Ryerson Polytechnic Institute where he spent more time working at the school newspaper than in the classroom. When a tip for a summer intern opening at The London Free Press came in, he went for it.
A couple years later with a portfolio bursting with photos, he returned to Toronto for an appointment with David Langford, The Globe’s then-photo editor. By the end of that meeting, Mr. Lum felt encouraged when Mr. Langford left the door slightly ajar for the young aspiring photojournalist to submit his work.
Mr. Lum began freelancing for the newspaper until he was hired as staff photographer in September, 1984. He is still with The Globe, and the photographer imparts his wisdom as a mentor in the newspaper’s apprenticeship program.
When asked whether he has any regrets 40 years later, Mr. Lum mentioned just one misgiving.
“I regret not taking my mom for lunch at The Globe and Mail cafeteria. She worked just down the street.”