214 ☼ Don't Wait For Permission
Coreen Simpson didn't wait for invitations. She gave herself assignments, studied the masters, and documented her own stories
Dear friends,
This week, I want to introduce you to someone who changed how I think about waiting for opportunities. Coreen Simpson worked as a secretary by day, studied photography books, and gave herself the assignments no one else would. Her story is always in the back of my mind to tell me the only permission we to make what we want is our own.
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Why Wait?
“Coreen, check this out. Have you seen this book?”
That was Frank Stewart, chief photographer at Lincoln Center for Jazz, speaking to a young woman in the darkroom at the Studio Museum in Harlem. It was the 1970s, and that young woman was Coreen Simpson.
"I learned so much from him," Coreen tells me when I speak with her at her New York apartment. "He would tell me to study the masters and their books. And once he showed me a book, I would go out and get the book."
Day and Night
Coreen's voice is full of life and instantly communicates both passion and consideration. When we spoke she was seventy-six years old, but full of energy. Full of stories and a passion for photography that has survived five decades.
She started as a secretary. Worked at NBC, at RCA. "I was a single mother," she says. "I had major great jobs, was assistant to the president of RCA and NBC. So I knew about filing and organization."
Alongside her photography career, she would also go on to design jewelry, her Black Cameo collection, as another outlet for her creativity.
During evenings and weekends she picked up her camera.
"I felt that I needed to be more insular and study," she tells me. "Books were the greatest things for me. I would just sit there and look at the books. You don't want to copy exactly, but you want to see the courage of these photographers in the images."
Learning from the Masters
"Composition is everything," she says. "Just composing the photograph, seeing it instantly, and being ready to document on the fly." And about studying the masters: "If you study the books, look at the books, then you will see what inspired them, and it might help you in building up your own style. It's about the rhythms of recognizing an image."
Robert Frank. Diane Arbus. James Van Der Zee. Roy DeCarava. All names now in photography history books. But for Coreen, they were teachers. Sources of inspiration and proof that it could be done.
The Paris Decision
Some years later, something special happened when she received an invitation to take part in an exhibition in Paris, France. Alongside Roy DeCarava, Gordon Parks, and James Van Der Zee. She was the only woman in that group.
"They paid for them to go," she tells me, "but they wouldn't give me a ticket because I was basically not known at that time. But they wanted me to show with them."
She had some money. She could go to Paris. Or she could renovate her kitchen. She chose the kitchen. "I'm sorry I didn't go now," she says, laughing. "But I have the book and documentation on everything."
The Assignment That Wasn't
What strikes me most about Coreen isn't just her talent, though her photographs are beautiful. It's her determination. Her refusal to wait for someone else to give her a chance.
"My life as a photographer has been fabulous," she says. "It's a passport to another world every time. And if I'm bored, I can always pull out my camera and take pictures, and that's what makes me happy."
She tells me about her project with her daughter. Together they photographed the pimps of Chicago. A story that began with an invitation and ended up in a magazine. "We went there and documented that party," she says. "It was fabulous."
Always that curiosity. Always that search for the next story.
Still Going
"You have to be quick and subtle about it," she says about making documentary photographs. "You have to have that camera ready. We didn't have cell phones back in the day."
And now, at seventy-six when we spoke, she's still photographing. With her phone. "The greatest pictures I'm getting now is with my Samsung 7," she laughs. "People don't think it's anything that important, so people are very relaxed." She photographs people she meets on the street, friends, everyone who crosses her path.
The Lesson
One of the major lessons I learned as a photographer was from listening to Coreen:
Waiting for permission is a waste of time. You can find your own stories. A camera, or a phone, is a key to worlds that would be hard to enter otherwise.
"Stay curious," Bruce Davidson told me when we met. But Coreen adds something essential: "Just go. Go and document. Go and make."
No assignments? Give yourself an assignment. Bored? Take your camera and go outside. See something interesting? Document it. Don't wait for someone to give you permission to be a photographer.
She's right. Sometimes you just have to start. The rest follows.
And while I listen to her stories, I think: if you have Coreen's determination, and her refusal to accept no, you can do pretty much anything.
Closing Thought
The photography world is full of people waiting to be discovered or validated by others. Coreen Simpson never waited. She gave herself assignments, sought out mentors, read the books that would teach her, and created opportunities for herself.
In a time when self-assignment has never been easier, when anyone can start a photo project or document their community, her example from the 1970s has only gained in power and relevance. The tools have changed, but the principle remains: don't wait for permission to begin. Just begin.
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Notes:
It’s still a year away, but this coming week, October 14th, Aperture is publishing Coreen’s new book: A Monograph, and I can’t wait. It’s available for preorder here.
This issue is a written adaptation of an audio essay I read on NPO1’s “De Nacht is Zwart,” a fantastic radio program on the Dutch equivalent of NPR. It’s the fourth in an ongoing series of essays about photography. To listen to me read it, go here.
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Thanks for reading. It’s been a crazy and exhausting couple of weeks for me, mostly because of fun and exciting things. Next week, I’ll catch you up on what’s coming up for me, and what I will be sharing with you. Big stuff, scary stuff, and hopefully helpful stuff.
Talk soon,
Wesley
📷 What I Used This Week
For these images I used:
Camera: Pentax 67ii, Pentax 645N
Film: Kodak Portra 400, Kodak Tri-X
My digital go-to: Canon EOS R5 + Canon RF 24-70 mm f/2.8 L IS USM.
This issue is supported by MPB.com, my personal go-to for buying, selling, or trading used gear. Everything comes with a 12-month warranty.
This issue is also supported by picdrop.com, my preferred tool for building online galleries where clients can review, select, and download photos from shoots. Use "PROCESS" at checkout for a free 2-month trial.
Lab: My film is processed by Carmencita Film Lab. I trust them completely for both their work and their humanity. Use code "PROCESS" for a free upgrade on your next order.
🗃️ Browse the Process Archive.
📜 Read the Process Manifesto.
No permission slips. Just the assignment we give ourselves. No apologies. No second-guessing. GO!
This is great Wesley! As much as I'd like to make a living on photography or gain wider recognition someday, I'm realizing that one of the greatest gifts of photography is how it can serve one's local community. Recently, I've taken photos at a local rowing competition then shared them afterwards with the organizers. I did the same when I took my kids out for a day fishing with a fishing club. These small clubs or organizations are so thankful and happy to receive a few nice images that they can use on social media or their website. It's small but significant at the same time :)