About Debbie Stock

• Born in the Midwest (Illinois)
• Raised in Liberty, Missouri
• Attended William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo.
• Parents: a mom  & dad
• Siblings: brother & sister

Jobs included

• babysitting
• waitress, cocktail waitress, restaurant receptionist, banquet server
• short order cook  - pancakes, eggs, burgers, fries
• sales clerk in women's fashion store
• ice cream truck driver
• computer data entry
• secretary for religion professors, typing their papers
• department store flyer selling lawn mowers, lamps, men's clothing, bedding, women's clothing, shoes, slicing meats in deli
• discount outlet photo department selling film, cameras
• photographer
• news writer
• web designer / publisher
• marketing manager
• travel writer
• driver / photographer for MLS property listings

Lived in Lawrence, Kansas; Appleton, Wisconsin; Lisle / Naperville, Illinois; Quincy, Illinois; Kansas City, Missouri; Lafayette / San Francisco / San Jose, CA; Huntington Beach, CA; Orange, CA;   spent time in Zurich, Switzerland; Santa Maria, CA;

EDUCATION: Debbie Stock graduated with honors from the University of Kansas, William Allen White School of Journalism, holding a B.S. in Photojournalism and minor in Advertising. At KU one of her photojournalism instructors was the famous Rich Clarkson, known for his outstanding sports photography seen in Sports Illustrated and Olympic Games. She and another female student were the only two women among 30 men majoring in photojournalism. There was no politically-correct treatment of girls. Locker room jokes were the classroom norm and women had to toughen up or look for another career if they felt offended or were unable to adapt.

During college, Stock worked on the Daily Kansan as ad photographer under the name and by-line "Debbie Watts". After college, she and her husband, Reid Watts, moved to Chicago where he was hired for his computer science expertise at Bell Labs and she became Chief Photographer for a weekly newspaper for nearly two years.

Working outdoors in the record-breaking 100-year coldest winter was exhausting and took its toll. In addition to  bloody fingers & knuckles, wounds from cracked skin, and numb feet, she witnessed and photographed many weather-related accidents and even death. Before there were cell phones, she was assigned to find a downed plane and get pictures. Her car  slipped and slid on country roads, surrounded by 5 feet snow drifts. She found and went over to the wreckage, saw the dead victim half-buried in snow, and got the eerie feeling she would be next if she didn't leave Chicago. She took pictures of the dead man like she was supposed to do, but decided this type of photography would not be her future." 

Facing an identity crisis, Stock gave up her married name, her husband and her job to re-launch  her career in California, carving a path as  freelance photojournalist Debbie Stock. She would set the terms for accepting work, decline assignments that involved ambulance chasing and never have to face blizzards again. 

Hundreds of newspaper and magazine assignments covering features, sports and in-house reporting provided by-lines but not so much money as she re-established herself on the West Coast. During that time Stock enjoyed photo assignments covering the Grunion Run for Los Angeles Times and in-house reporting at Orange County Register of J.J. Maloney who coined the term "Freeway Killer." The reporter, who served time in prison, published a personal appeal to the serial killer (Richard Bonin) and my story for The Register was about  reporter Maloney  becoming the story with his controversial approach that Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department publicly said was a figment of The Register's imagination.

Another fun assignment at The Register involved a visit to famed psychic, Peter Hurkos, in his Studio City home. Known for providing clues to help solve the Manson family murders and the Boston Strangler case, some said Hurkos was a phony. I went with my sister-in-law, reporter Patty Murphy, to get the real story. 

My very favorite assignments during that era were for The Executive magazine under the helm of Tom Self. He sent me all over California taking photos and writing stories about CEOs, CFOs, athletes and entrepreneurs. The focus was on success.

Long-lasting relationships and the best compensation came from Fortune 500 firms - Edison International and its company, SCE, the Bell Companies and AT&T, oil producers such as Chevron and Shell, car manufacturers Nissan and Toyota. My 2nd husband, Craig MacDonald, and I were a writer-photo team winning countless awards for "the phone company" before we married and spent our lives together in the longest relationship of all. We didn't always agree on politics, religious issues and other things, but our spare time was shared in mutual enjoyment of pursuing great stories.

Highlights:

• Celebrity film premiers & galas, corporate parties and non profit galas
• Photo sessions with presidents & CEOs of Chevron, Edison, AT&T, etc.
• Photo-reporting for public relations agencies and Fortune 500 firms
• Breaking news, features and spot news writing for newspapers and magazines
• Getting down & dirty on oil rigs in the Pacific Ocean
• Climbing in manholes underground
• Using bucket lifts, helicopters and planes to get different angles
• Photography for Olympic Games
• Photographing multi-day conferences for the travel industry, public transportation/municipal bus systems, computer/tech industry, telecommunications, science, medicine & physics associations, plus more
• Fashion shoots with models
• Weddings for corporate clients and their families
• Sports photography - football, baseball, car racing, tennis
• Ad photography for products, brochures, catalogues
• Photo books, photo calendars
• Floor-to-ceiling pictures for museum displays
• Photo/art for corporate interior design decor
• Travel photography

Internet

One of my favorite industries to work with is tourism where "on the road" assignments to California's theme parks, attractions and  popular destinations (as well as destinations elsewhere,) introduce me to lots of smart marketing people such as Barry. The savvy salesman convinced me to place links for hotel reservations on my hobby website. It sounded like more work than fun, but I gave it a shot and my bookings skyrocketed!

Suddenly I was making a lot more money in web commissions than I earned on photo assignments (my day job,) but continued to do both. Gaining a reputation for my success, I've mentored fellow journalists who seek help transitioning in the  digital age.

Clients

Fortune 500 firms such as AT&T, Edison, Toyota, Chevron, and dozens more. Print publications & television: National Geographic, Good Morning America, Time, Motor Trend, Sunset, Los Angeles Times and many more.

In 1998 Stock founded and grew CaliforniaBeaches.com into the primary source for beach travel in California. She has created and launched websites for hotels, Realtors, mortgage brokers, restaurants, concessionaires and destinations. At Visit Huntington Beach (Huntington Beach Conference & Visitors Bureau) she worked several years to launch SurfCityUSA.com brand with a new website and media program.

Contact: PO BOX 947, Sunset Beach, CA 90742