Joel Pacheco started his photography career when he was about eight years old. When his father would be writing articles for the New Bedford Standard-Times, he would rush upstairs to hang around the darkroom.

Before long, he had learned to develop photographs with the generous help of staff photographers such as John Sheckler, Hank Seaman, Ron Rolo and Milt Syliva. Before long,he was tagging along on assignment with them.

When he was 12, he got his first paid assignment for the newspaper, to accompany his father on Memorial Day to the parade in Marion, MA, where he took a photo a World War I Veteran which was published in the newspaper and for which he received his first check.

A habit was born. And a career.