Sara Krulwich

“No women, children or dogs allowed on the field,” read the press passes for the University of Michigan in 1968. A year later, dogs are permitted onto the field, but what about women? Sara Krulwich takes a risk as the first woman photographer in the photo department at The Michigan Daily and steps foot onto the football field. Threatened to be dragged off the field, she stands her ground, becoming the first woman to stay on the field during a football game at the University of Michigan.

Sara Krulwich has truly changed the protocol at the University of Michigan after her public display as a woman photographer on the football field. Ten years later, she visits the university and sees that there are “women cheerleaders, women in the band, women in the security force, women physical therapists and a woman photographer who happened to be the photo editor at The Michigan Daily” (NY Times).

Krulwich faced hardships finding jobs at local newspapers, but she landed a position at the New York Times as the first female photographer working there. Thirty years later, she has found her niche in working for the New York Times as a photographer for the theater department. Taking unique photographs that in the past were prohibited from being displayed to the public, Krulwich has opened another door to the possibilities for photographers, male or female. For three years she struggled to obtain permission to take photographs at operas and theaters due to the fact that these photographs could not be seen until publication; however, she managed to pull through and now is one of the main photographers capturing the essence of so many works on Broadway.

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/22/essay-first-woman-on-the-field/