Spanning more than three decades, Paul W Warner’s extraordinary career in photography began at the young age of 17, when he was hired first as a forensic investigator, then as a photographer for the Lake County Indiana Coroner’s office under the direction of Coroner Albert T. Willardo. He would then land his first of several staff positions at the former Midland Communications in Calumet City, ILL at the age of 17, where his work graced the pages of Midland publications The Daily Calumet, The Calumet Day, and the Sun Journal.
That humble start would lead to a much larger audience. Paul’s work is now seen and published world wide. His work has helped raise thousands of dollars for people in need (The Chicago Defender/AP Detroit), raised awareness for the homeless (The Calumet Day), pediatric cancer (Ann Arbor News), and urban blight (Ann Arbor News, AP Detroit), and has been requested by the Clinton White House and been seen in many major publications and news outlets worldwide, from the BBC in England to the CBC in Canada. His work has been published and used by Time Magazine, Fortune, The Huffington Post, USA Today, Forbes, and most major newspapers and news publications worldwide. His images of Erykah Badu have appeared on the sides of buses in South Africa, and his Beyonce images have appeared on billboards for the Grammy foundation and on tee shirts designed by designer John Varvatos, which were sold to raise money for Grammy foundation charities.
He has won numerous awards, with the biggest being named #8 photographer of the year in the Michigan Press Photographers Association’s published yearly award rankings in 1997. He only entered the contest for half of the year, yet still ranked in the top 10. He also is one of few photographers to win multiple awards in one category, with three sports awards in the 1995 POY competition.
Work History
June, 1982 to December 31, 1982-17 year old forensic investigator/photographer for the Lake County, Indiana coroners office under Lake County Coroner Albert T. Willardo, where his work was used as evidence to put murders in jail.
February, 1983 to August 1983-staff photographer at Midland Communications in Calumet City, Illinois. Midland operated three papers that he worked for including The Daily Calumet, The Sun Journal and The Calumet Day.
February 1989 to June 1991-staff photographer for The Times in Northwest, Indiana
June 1991 to March 1992-Freelance for the Chicago Defender
September 1993 to September 1997-staff photographer for The Ann Arbor News
September 1997 to December 1, 2003-contract photographer for The Associated Press, Detroit bureau.
December 1, 2003 to present-Freelance, images syndicated by Getty Images
Professional Awards
Michigan Press Photographers Pictures of the Year Awards Year/Place/Category/Image Title:
1993-Third Place,Sports Picture Story, “A Day in the Life of Michigan Stadium”:
1994-Honorable Mention, General News- “Why”:
1995-Second Place, Sports Action, “Disorientation”:
1995-Honorable Mention, Sports Feature, “Bad Call”:
1995-Honorable Mention, Sports Feature, “Last Second”:
1997-Honorable Mention, Sports Feature, “Jumpin Jube”:
1998-2000/ Did not enter
2002- Honorable Mention, Spot News, “ Tree Trimmer”
*1997-Top Ten Michigan Press Photographers of the Year Year End Clip Winners; 8th place after only entering for 6 months of the year.
Hi! It’s Bailey from the Checker Bar! Glad to have met you!
Hi Bailey. Sorry its taken me 4 years to reply to this. I used to meet a lot of people at that place.