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Athens, OH 45701

Leonard “Len” Vaughn-Lahman Photograph Collection

The Leonard “Len” Vaughn-Lahman Photograph Collection includes photographs taken by Vaughn-Lahman throughout his career as a photojournalist. The collection contains materials primarily from his career with the San Jose Mercury News, where he worked for nearly thirty years, but also includes some of his work as a student and freelance projects. Vaughn-Lahman photographed numerous subjects, but assignments related to the environment, immigration, Silicon Valley, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks predominate.

The majority of the collection includes analog photo formats such as negatives, slides, and prints, but there is some born-digital work as Vaughn-Lahman and the San Jose Mercury News transitioned to digital photography in the early 2000s.
 

“Hope Renewed by a Universal Game Played by the World’s Most Universal Asset: Children,” Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. Part of Vaughn-Lahman’s series, “An Afghan Road to War,” circa 2001-2003.
“Hope Renewed by a Universal Game Played by the World’s Most Universal Asset: Children,” Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. Part of Vaughn-Lahman’s series, “An Afghan Road to War,” circa 2001-2003.

In-Person Access

The collection remains in-process. Contact the for more information about the collection.

The Leonard “Len” Vaughn-Lahman Photograph Collection is stored at the Hwa-Wei Lee Library Annex (205 Columbus Rd., Athens, OH 45701). at least one week in advance to ensure that materials are available for viewing. Researchers may be asked to visit the Library Annex instead of the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections (5th floor of Alden Library).

“United States & Return to Mexico (4th in series of 4).” Panel entry for 38th Pictures of the Year competition by the National Press Photographers Association and the University of Missouri, 1981.
“United States & Return to Mexico (4th in series of 4).” Panel entry for 38th Pictures of the Year competition by the National Press Photographers Association and the University of Missouri, 1981.

Digital Access

The Leonard “Len” Vaughn-Lahman Photograph Collection is not available online. Contact the for information about making digitization requests or more information about the collection.

Protesters gather outside of Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, California to protest Lockheed’s production of weapons and involvement in United States policies, April 2003.
Protesters gather outside of Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, California to protest Lockheed’s production of weapons and involvement in United States policies, April 2003.

About Leonard “Len” Vaughn-Lahman

Len Vaughn-Lahman, on assignment in the Middle East, holding a camera with group of soldiers behind him, unknown location, circa 2001-2003.
Len Vaughn-Lahman, on assignment in the Middle East, holding a camera with group of soldiers behind him, unknown location, circa 2001-2003.

Leonard “Len” Vaughn-Lahman (1953-2009) earned his undergraduate degree from 91̽ before continuing with graduate studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Vaughn-Lahman started his career as a staff photographer at the Los Angeles Times and freelanced for various magazines. In 1981, he was hired by the San Jose Mercury News, where he worked for nearly three decades.

Vaughn-Lahman primarily photographed in California, South America, and the Middle East, covering assignments such as the Rodney King trial riots in Los Angeles, migration and immigration to the United States from Vietnam and South and Central America, the environment and ecological disasters, Silicon Valley, and the United States invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. In 1981, he was awarded first prize in the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for Outstanding Coverage of the Problems of the Disadvantaged for his photo essay, “Faces Beyond the Fence,” which documented Mexican labor migration in California.

Len Vaughn-Lahman died on July 10, 2009 after battling cancer.

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