LeRoy Woodson was born in California in 1944. He was the son of a
United States Foreign Service officer and grew up in France where he was educated at École Pascal.[1] After returning to the United States, he graduated from Florida A&M University High School in
Tallahassee, Florida, in 1962. He earned a degree in French from the
University of Wisconsin in
Madison in 1966.[2]
Aside from his editorial work, Woodson was hired by corporations to photograph their employees, executives and facilities. He frequently traveled abroad for photojournalism assignments and by 1982 had visited forty countries.[4] Woodson worked in
Iraq and
Iran. During a three-month stint in
Zimbabwe he used 400 rolls of film covering a change in government. While his profession dictated the types of photography he created, he did not always agree with the publication's point of view.[4]
Woodson took a series of photographs in 1972 documenting the impacts of industrial pollution on the lives of everyday people, focusing in part on people living in residential housing near
North Birmingham,
Alabama's
U.S. Steel plant. The series was part of
Documerica, a photography project of the
Environmental Protection Agency.[5] An image from the series was selected to be part of the 2013 exhibition Searching for the Seventies: The Documerica Photography Project.[6]
Woodson wrote the 1986 book Roadside Food,[7] which included photographs he had taken of roadside cafes in the United States over a yearlong period. The book has 100 photos and writings from various authors about New York hot dogs, American breakfasts, Cajun gumbo and donuts.[8] In the book he describes his dislike of
McDonald's and suggests that the optimal size for a
hamburger is "somewhere around five ounces."[9][10]
Woodson took part in the Footsteps of Champagne Charlie Challenge in 1992.[13] The contest, named after Champagne merchant
Charles Heidsieck, saw Woodson paired with photographer Ana Esperanza Nance in competition against five other teams in a race around the world without flying or using self-driven vehicles.[14]
^
abc"Leroy Woodson" (in French). Voz Image.
Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
^
abEarl g. Graves, Ltd (February 1982).
"The World of Commercial Photographers". Black Enterprise. p. 76.
Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021. 'A lot of times' says Woodson, 'especially when I was in
Jamaica in the fall of 1977 working for Geo magazine, it was very awkward. My sympathies were with the
Third World countries and not in agreement with the point of view the publication was going to project. This is a very compromising position!
LeRoy Woodson was born in California in 1944. He was the son of a
United States Foreign Service officer and grew up in France where he was educated at École Pascal.[1] After returning to the United States, he graduated from Florida A&M University High School in
Tallahassee, Florida, in 1962. He earned a degree in French from the
University of Wisconsin in
Madison in 1966.[2]
Aside from his editorial work, Woodson was hired by corporations to photograph their employees, executives and facilities. He frequently traveled abroad for photojournalism assignments and by 1982 had visited forty countries.[4] Woodson worked in
Iraq and
Iran. During a three-month stint in
Zimbabwe he used 400 rolls of film covering a change in government. While his profession dictated the types of photography he created, he did not always agree with the publication's point of view.[4]
Woodson took a series of photographs in 1972 documenting the impacts of industrial pollution on the lives of everyday people, focusing in part on people living in residential housing near
North Birmingham,
Alabama's
U.S. Steel plant. The series was part of
Documerica, a photography project of the
Environmental Protection Agency.[5] An image from the series was selected to be part of the 2013 exhibition Searching for the Seventies: The Documerica Photography Project.[6]
Woodson wrote the 1986 book Roadside Food,[7] which included photographs he had taken of roadside cafes in the United States over a yearlong period. The book has 100 photos and writings from various authors about New York hot dogs, American breakfasts, Cajun gumbo and donuts.[8] In the book he describes his dislike of
McDonald's and suggests that the optimal size for a
hamburger is "somewhere around five ounces."[9][10]
Woodson took part in the Footsteps of Champagne Charlie Challenge in 1992.[13] The contest, named after Champagne merchant
Charles Heidsieck, saw Woodson paired with photographer Ana Esperanza Nance in competition against five other teams in a race around the world without flying or using self-driven vehicles.[14]
^
abc"Leroy Woodson" (in French). Voz Image.
Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
^
abEarl g. Graves, Ltd (February 1982).
"The World of Commercial Photographers". Black Enterprise. p. 76.
Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021. 'A lot of times' says Woodson, 'especially when I was in
Jamaica in the fall of 1977 working for Geo magazine, it was very awkward. My sympathies were with the
Third World countries and not in agreement with the point of view the publication was going to project. This is a very compromising position!