AP Photographer Kathy Willens retires after nearly 45 years
Photojournalist Kathy Willens began her career by covering sporting events as a freelance photographer for suburban Detroit newspapers in the mid-1970’s.
Starting as a photo lab technician at the Miami News, she landed a full-time position after shooting a string of front-page pictures and self-generated feature stories. In 1976, Willens joined the Associated Press in Miami as one of their first female staff photographers. In 1993, she moved to AP's New York headquarters.
Specializing in sports photography, Willens covered the summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney and Beijing, as well as the Nagano winter games. She’s also covered multiple World Series, the NBA playoffs and finals, NCAA Final Four and 11 Super Bowls.
Reporting and photographing for AP in the mid 90’s, Willens broke new ground with an eight-month long documentary photo series on prison mothers in New York state. From 2001-2019, working as an adjunct professor, she taught photojournalism to undergraduates at New York University.
Yankees’ Aaron Boone presents an autographed picture to Kathy WIllens Monday, June 28, 2021, in New York, of her picture of New York Yankees pitcher David Cone after Cone threw a perfect game. (Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post via AP)
Willens’ photos can be found in “New York Yankees 365” (cover), "150 Years of Associated Press Photography," "Heroes of 9/11," "Baseball's Greatest Shots," and "Brooklyn: A State of Mind." In 2004, several of Willens' Haitian refugee photos were part of "Assignment: Miami," an exhibit by the Historical Museum of South Florida and a student photo is in the permanent collection at the San Francisco Museum of Art.
Willens is a three-time winner of the Newswomen's Club of New York "Front Page Award," a two-time winner in the Baseball Hall of Fame photo competition, and winner of the Pro-Football Hall of Fame photo contest. She was honored with an Associated Press Managing Editors Award for Reportorial Excellence and is a ten-time winner in the New York Press Photographers Association's annual photo contest.
For relaxation, Willens, a Brooklyn, New York resident, is an avid birdwatcher who spends time in nearby parks with binoculars instead of her cameras.
Here is a gallery looking back at her work for AP through the years:
People walk past ruins in the Culmer section of Miami May 19, 1980 after rioting over the acquittal of four police officers charged with the 1979 beating death of Arthur McDuffie, a black motorcyclist. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Presidential candidate Ronald Reagan and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Paula Hawkins look up toward the sky at a plane carrying a sign that reads, Florida loves Gov. Reagan during a Reagan for President rally in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 1980. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, wave to youths at Nassau's Clifford Park after their arrival in Nassau, Bahamas in afternoon on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 1977. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
World heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali has his head gear adjusted by Chris Dundee, boxing trainer from the well-known Fifth Street Gym on Miami Beach on Dec. 21, 1977. Ali is preparing for his upcoming fight against Olympic gold medalist Leon Spinks slated for February 15 in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
A Border Patrol officer clubs a Haitian refugee who broke through gates of Krome Detention Center, Miami,1981. (AP Photo/ Kathy Willens )
Two men help a mourner at the funeral for Haitian drowning victims, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,1982. (AP Photo/ Kathy Willens)
Haitian demonstrators run through tear gas at Krome Detention Center, Miami,1981. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens )
A man walks by a sign in "Little Haiti" Miami, 1981. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
An elderly man is helped ashore by a U.S. Customs agent and a medic from the crowded shrimper Olympian after it arrived on May 6, 1980, in Key West with over 200 people aboard, all refugees from Cuba. (AP Photo/Willens)
Three year-old Yamile Ponce sucks on an orange at the U.S. Navy pier minutes on April 26, 1980, after she and about 250 other Cuban refugees disembarked form La Abella, a snapper boat normally used for fishing. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Al Garcia holds his granddaughter Kristen, 13 months, as he contemplates damage done to his Greenhouse in Mexico Beach, Fla., on Friday, Nov. 22, 1985, in the wake of Hurricane Kate. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Bruce Springsteen, belts out the title tune from his hit album Born in the USA, during a concert at the Orange Bowl Stadium in Miami, on Sept. 9, 1985. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Waves splash President-elect George Bush as he casts a line while surf-fishing in Gulf Stream, Fla., Nov. 12, 1988, shortly after winning the 1988 Presidential election. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Jane Fonda (44) leads Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, center, not wearing cap, and baseball players and camp participants in stretching exercise at the team's Dodgertown training facility in Vero Beach, Fla., Nov. 13, 1986. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
A Salvadoran Green Cross medical worker waves a white flag with a cross in El Salvador, April 19, 1981. Exact location is unknown. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Somalis watch as Pakistani soldiers from the United Nations peacekeeping forces in Somalia sweep through their neighborhood on Wednesday, June 9, 1993 in Mogadishu, in search of snipers responsible for the ambush of U.N. soldiers. U.N. forces conducted weapons sweeps and moved U.N. staffers to safer quarters amid reports of an impending reprisal attack against warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid, who allegedly orchestrated an ambush that killed 23 Pakistanis. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Haitians demonstrate in Miami, April 19, 1980. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Amir Ilmi plays with his eight-month-old son Salah, in the Mustahil refugee camp in Mogadishu, Somalia on Monday, June 2, 1993. Most of the campís inhabitants came to Mogadishu in August 1991, seeking relief from starvation and banditry in their native Iturbia, near the Somali border with Ethiopia. Now some say they have been plagued by thieves attacking the Mogadishu camp. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
President Bill Clinton greets Pope John Paul II during ceremonies upon their arrival at Newark International Airport in Newark, N.J., Oct. 4, 1995. Air Force One is seen at background left. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Senior citizens at First Union Brokerage Services, Inc., in the Diplomat Mall in Hallandale, Fla., keep an eye on stock market prices, Oct. 20, 1987, after Monday's market collapse. The stock market recovered Tuesday by 102 points after dipping to a 508 point low Monday. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
New York Yankees fans cheer for their world champion team while waiting for a ticker-tape parade to begin in their honor Tuesday, Oct. 29, 1996, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Al and Tipper Gore embrace after the vice president's speech Aug. 28, 1996, to the Democratic National Convention being held at the United Center in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
New York Yankees pitcher David Cone is lifted onto the shoulders of his teammates by catcher Joe Girardi, left, as manager Joe Torre joins in the celebration after Cone threw a perfect game against the Montreal Expos during "Yogi Berra Day" at New York's Yankee Stadium, July 18, 1999.(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Maria Sharapova, of Russia, serves against Caroline Wozniacki, of Denmark, during the fourth round of the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2014, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
A reporter leans against the United States flag during a press briefing following the arrival of the USNS Comfort, a naval hospital ship with a 1,000 bed-capacity, Monday, March 30, 2020, at Pier 90 in New York. The ship will be used to treat New Yorkers who don't have coronavirus as land-based hospitals fill up with and treat those who do. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Mardy Fish signs autographs after his match against Go Soeda, of Japan, in the first round of play at the 2012 US Open tennis tournament, Monday, Aug. 27, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Two women pose for photographers during the annual Easter parade along Fifth Avenue, Sunday, March 27, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
A Dogue de Bordeaux is presented to a judge in the working group category at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, Sunday, June 13, 2021, in Tarrytown, N.Y. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
New York Mets starting pitcher Marcus Stroman congratulates first baseman Pete Alonso, bottom, after Alonso scrambled to stop a ground ball hit by Chicago Cubs' Sergio Alcantara, who was out during the seventh inning a baseball game Thursday, June 17, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Nana Mu and Chase Che pose for their wedding photos in Brooklyn Bridge Park, Thursday, June 30, 2016, in New York. The couple who live in New York but are both from China, plan to wed in October in Shangdong, China. Mu's comfortable sandals and some flowers are in the foreground. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., riding Creator, celebrates after winning the 148th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 11, 2016, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
New England Patriots strong safety Malcolm Butler (21) intercepts a pass intended for Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Ricardo Lockette (83) during the second half of NFL Super Bowl XLIX football game Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Performers dance to live music at Casa de la Trova, house of troubadors, in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, April 26, 2012. Music is an integral part of Cuban culture, particularly in Santiago de Cuba, birthplace of composer Compay de Segundo, who was well known before, but became an international celebrity when the Ry Cooder film, "The Buena Vista Social Club" was released. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Esa-Pekka Salonen, music director of the San Francisco Symphony and principal conductor of London's Philharmonia Orchestra, leads the New York Philharmonic, whose members performed together before a crowd for the first time since March 10, 2020, at The Shed in Hudson Yards, Wednesday, April 14, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso walks to his position between innings of the team's baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Thursday, June 17, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
