Dateline Greensboro

Book excerpt: Martin's Studio photographers Carol W. Martin and Malcolm A. Miller practiced assignment photography for most of their careers. Unlike freelance documentary photographers, they did not choose the times, places, or subjects. However, instead of working at careers that could have easily become tedious and uninteresting, these former newspaper and studio photographers created a vast and amazing body of work, shooting almost every imaginable aspect of community life. Martin and Miller focused their work on Greensboro and Guilford County, but phone calls and appointments took them to all areas of the state. Included in this book are images from Greensboro, as well as Candor, Cape Hatteras, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Lexington, Manteo, Ocean Isle, Raleigh, Reidsville, and Winston-Salem. Images from the Martin's Studio Collection were first published in Martin's and Miller's Greensboro, also by Catlett, which was created as a companion to the Greensboro Historical Museum's exhibit, which will remain on display through the autumn of 2003. Dateline Greensboro: The Piedmont and Beyond includes entirely different historical images from the archive, and unlike the thematic arrangement for the earlier book, this volume takes readers on a chronological journey-a camera ride-from the 1930s through the 1960s. Three chapters offer readers the opportunity to relive three complete days in the life of the studio, with a timeline of images made from early morning to late night.