Post Journalism: Personal Work from former Providence Journal Photo Staff
This group exhibition presents ten former Providence Journal photo staff members pursuing their own photographic visions, as they turn the page on their tenure at the ProJo to pursue their own photographic visions. The collected work represents personal interests and observations of the photographers, work created to capture a moment, or explore a passion. We are pleased to have the opportunity to present this exhibition of work, created without formal assignments or deadlines from; Denise Bass, Sandor Bodo, Ray Capobianco, Mick Cochran, Kris Craig, Gunnar Johnson, Bill Murphy, Gail Hartnett Roderigues, Frieda Squires & Steve Szydlowski
Exhibition Statement:
A newspaper photographer’s job is to document and illustrate stories within the confines of a daily periodical. Producing quality work under demanding and restrictive circumstances can be arduous, rewarding and sometimes frustrating. This show illustrates what ten former Providence Journal photo department staff members have done after leaving the confines and deadlines of the paper and discovering the challenges of having no one to answer to creatively but themselves.
– Gunnar Johnson
Post Journalism: An exhibition to feature personal work from former Providence Journal Photo Staff Members: Denise Bass, Sandor Bodo, Ray Capobianco, Mick Cochran, Kris Craig, Gunnar Johnson, Bill Murphy, Gail Hartnett Roderigues, Frieda Squires & Steve Szydlowski
Denise Bass
About: Denise Bass
Denise Bass is a Rhode Island-based photographer and former member of the Providence Journal photo department. As a lab tech, she specialized in ensuring images retained their integrity in the transition from camera to press. She also photographed and authored “The Collection Corner,” a series documenting local collectors and their prized possessions.
While her broader practice focuses on visual storytelling featuring diners, graveside memorials and religious lawn shrines, this specific series explores form, color, and mood by viewing Providence through an installation of rotating prisms. Though the results may appear digitally altered, these effects were achieved in-camera through the unpredictable refraction of light.
The technical and storytelling skills Denise developed at the paper continue to evolve. This group show is a testament to the enduring craft and camaraderie of the newsroom and a shared commitment to the goal of finding and telling stories. She is proud to be part of this collective effort.
Sandor Bodo
About: Sandor Bodo
Born in Budapest, Hungary of artist parents, the young Sandor was carried under wraps and on shoulders as the Bodo’s fled Hungary during the Uprising of 1956, eventually to resettle in Nashville, Tennessee.
Sandor has lived and worked in Providence and has been a staff photographer at the Providence Journal for over 30 years. As the ProJo diversified its visual news coverage Bodo also made videos on a variety of subjects ranging from blizzard conditions in RI to a three day ride underwater in the nuclear attack submarine USS Mississippi.
Since retiring from the newspaper in 2020 Bodo has been making photographs in stereo and mono as well as his own films and showing them at film festivals such the SENNA Festival and other places. In 2024 he exhibited a body of photographic work at Brown University’s Watson Center and has helped form Artistic Ex-Press, a group of former Providence Journal staff members who are pursuing their own artistic paths.
Ray Capobianco
About: Ray Capobianco
I am a photographer and visual editor whose career spans the evolution of photographic production from analog film to digital imaging. A graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Photography, I have built a deep technical and aesthetic foundation rooted in both image-making and reproduction.
Before joining The Providence Journal, I worked in the graphic arts industry as a dot etcher, specializing in color correction for film and, later, digital workflows in preparation for final print. In 1988, I joined The Providence Journal as the newspaper transitioned to color publication, I later moved into the photography department, where I served as a photo editor and page designer until my retirement in 2014. In this role, I helped shape visual narratives through the careful editing, sequencing, and presentation of images, my work reflects a lifelong engagement with the craft of photography, the discipline of visual storytelling, and the printed image.
Mick Cochran
About: Mick Cochran
Mick Cochran is a photojournalist and artist who has spent a lifetime working for newspapers including The Providence Journal, Charlotte Observer and USA Today. He was a founding member of the 6th Street Gallery, a photography cooperative art space in Springfield, Illinois and has received national photography and art direction awards from The Associated Press, Society of News Design, Print magazine, and National Press Photographers Association. He is a faculty member of The Mountain Workshops (photojournalism – Western Kentucky University) and lives in Jamestown.
Kris Craig
About: Kris Craig
Kris has spent a lifetime documenting New England and beyond as a photojournalist for various newspapers, magazines or anyone else who asked nicely. He has spent the last 40 years exploring the nooks and crannies of Rhode Island as a staff photographer for the Providence Journal.
Gunnar Johnson
About: Gunnar Johnson
Gunnar studied art at the University of Connecticut and graduated with a BFA. His work has appeared in many publications including Mad and Reader’s Digest. He worked for 25 years at the Providence Journal and four years at the South Florida Sun Sentinel and has had numerous recent art exhibits in Rhode Island and Connecticut including The Homer Babbidge Library at UConn, the Rhode Island Watercolor Society, Ritual Spaces Gallery and the Mystic Museum of Art. His photography depicts the big, bizarre, wacky, quirky, weird, funny, unique and mundane sites you see traveling cross-country by car in the USA, where getting there really is all the fun.
Bill Murphy
About: Bill Murphy
Do I get credit for taking my first photograph at my first Red Sox game in 1968? If so, I’ve been a photographer for 58 years. If not, well… don’t worry about it. After stumbling around with a camera since that Sox game, gaining knowledge from Providence College, The University of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island School of Design, I began my photography career in the advertising department at the Providence Journal. Seven years later I moved into the Journal’s news department, joining a staff of 14 gifted photojournalists. After leaving the Journal I joined the hospital network Lifespan as their corporate photographer. Along the way I have also been fortunate enough to work for many other companies and organizations, including the Valley Breeze Newspapers, East Bay Newspapers, Benchmark Senior Living and The Joseph Kiely Foundation. In 2024 I retired from the daily grind, and now take photos of what I want, when I want. It’s an activity I highly recommend.
Gail Hartnett Roderigues
About: Gail Hartnett Roderigues
After retiring from nonprofit grant coordination, I returned to my roots as a multidisciplinary visual artist working across photography, illustration and public art. I am a children’s book author, Women of Westport, and I illustrated The Environmental Justice Journeys, a children’s book exploring climate change. I hold a B.F.A. from the University of Rhode Island and live and work in Southcoast Massachusetts.
My recent work explores reflection, transition, and healing through experimental photography. Using light, surface, and material intervention—rather than digital manipulation—I create images that absorb the palette of nature and hover between documentation and abstraction.
Frieda Squires
About: Frieda Squires
I spent 33 years working at the Providence Journal as a Staff Photographer, best job ever! Started my photography career in the US Navy as a photographers mate, stationed at the Newport Navy Base. Then four years working at my hometown newspaper, The Ada Evening News in Oklahoma. Returning to R.I. in 1979. At the Journal we covered all kinds of events, sports, news, features and one of my very favorites was covering the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals. We were allowed to shoot in a pit, right below the stage and able to get fantastic photos. So many favorites over the years. These three are just a few of wonderful artists I got to see and hear.
Steve Szydlowski
About: Steve Slydlowski
As a Providence Journal photographer, Steve Szydlowski spent more than 30 years documenting news, politics, sports, and studio assignments throughout Rhode Island and beyond. After retiring from the Journal, he continued his passion for photography in the studio, where he now specializes in automotive photography for the Newport Car Museum, capturing the design and character of classic and modern automobiles.
View the Exhibition in full 360˚— Coming Soon
Opening Reception: May 21st 5:00 – 8:00pm
On View: Thursday, May 21st – June 12th
All of our exhibition catalogs are available for home delivery…
The RI Center for Photographic Arts, RICPA 118 N. Main St. Providence, RI 02903
Located in the heart of Providence, RICPA was founded to inspire creative development and provide opportunities to engage with the community through exhibitions, education, publication, and mutual support.
RICPA exists to create a diverse and supportive community for individuals interested in learning or working in the Photographic Arts. We strive to provide an environment conducive to the free exchange of ideas in an open and cooperative space. Members should share a passion for creating, appreciating, or learning about all forms of photo-based media. We work to provide a platform for artistic expression, that fosters dialogue and drives innovation in the photographic arts.
The Gallery at the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts is a member of Gallery Night Providence https://www.gallerynight.org/
Questions: Contact gallery@riphotocenter.org To learn about other RICPA exhibits and programs, visit https://www.riphotocenter.org/.
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