“A lot of waiting, a couple of intense moments, and then it’s done.”

Chuck Berman was describing a typical photo assignment, covering the rough-and-tumble world of city politics for the Chicago Tribune. He also could have been talking about his entry to photojournalism while an NIU student in the early 1970s.

A native of Chicago’s North Side, Chuck came to NIU undecided about his career path. “I grew up reading newspapers and loved them, but I had never really thought of it as a career,” he said. Two years later, he still wasn’t sure. But he’d picked up a Kodak Instamatic camera, and discovered he liked shooting pictures. So, he tried to get into the NIU art school’s photo program. No luck. Then industrial technology. Nope.

The only avenue left was a class called Beginning Journalism Photography, taught by Hallie Hamilton. Chuck tried to sign up, but Hamilton turned him away because all of the slots for non-majors were taken.

“So I said, what the heck, I’ll declare myself a journalism major. And I literally came back within a half hour. Hallie looked at me and I said, ‘I’m now a journalism major.’ And he said, ‘Oh, you want to play that game.'”

“I’d never picked up a real camera before Hallie’s course. I said, ‘What are all these numbers?’ But I loved it. I wasn’t his best student but I worked pretty hard.”

Not long after that, Chuck applied for a job at the Star and was hired. “I didn’t have a great Northern Illinois experience, but working at the paper gave me that joy of working and cherishing a job. I remember thinking, ‘Wow, this is fun. Look what you get to do.'”

After graduation and stints at daily papers in Freeport, Woodstock and Waukegan, Chuck landed at the Suburban Chicago Tribune in 1978. He transfered to the downtown Tribune in 1983 and has been there ever since – though he’s currently working out of Oak Brook for the paper’s “Chicagoland Extra” section.

The night after Chicago Mayor Harold Washington died in 1987, the city council debated until 4 a.m. about who would replace him. One of Chuck’s images from that chaotic night – of Alderman Richard Mell standing on a desk at 2 a.m., gesturing and shouting – still hangs near the Council Chambers in City Hall.

The other image that stands out for Chuck: Tiger Woods on the 18th fairway, about to win the Western Open. The entire gallery had crossed over the ropes and swarmed behind him. “It looked like the Israelites following Moses,” Chuck said. “I couldn’t believe this was all happening as I was standing right there shooting.” The photo ended up as a two-page spread in Sports Illustrated.

Chuck is married to Tribune reporter Barbara Brotman. They have two college-age daughters.