Paul Schmidt:  

Born: June 24, 1950 Died: August 31, 2008 Paul Edward Schmidt, 58, died unexpectedly at his North Port home on Sunday, Aug. 31. For almost three decades he was the photo editor at the Charlotte Sun newspaper group and the Venice Gondolier weekly paper. Schmidt was the driving force behind most of the award winning photographs that appeared in both papers over the years. During these decades he mentored many young photo journalists who honed their photographic skills under his tutelage and then went on to other publications. Schmidt and his family moved to Venice from the Chicago, Ill. area in 1979. He started at the Gondolier as a part-time photographer and press repairman. Within a year he was appointed the paper's full-time photographer and eventually photo editor. In the mid 1980s he left the Gondolier and went to work for several years as a photographer for th...Expand for more