If you believe in this sort of thing, Russ Dillingham was probably destined to work at the Sun Journal.

His great-grandfather, Louis B. Costello, was the owner and publisher of the Lewiston Daily Sun and Evening Journal, and his grandfather, who Dillingham is named after, was a staff photographer before becoming publisher.

What began as a part-time gig during college has turned into a 43-year career as an award-winning photojournalist, and Dillingham, who was the featured speaker at Thursday’s Great Falls Forum, is likely the most visible and recognizable member of the press working in Lewiston.

That comes from decades of being on the scene at car accidents, fires, shootings, sporting events, festivals, fairs, graduations and more.

He received some national attention in 2007 after his ability to be at the right place at the right time landed him in a better position than the police during a foot chase, and he tackled the perpetrator.

He, of course, got most of the action on camera, which ended with the person in cuffs, and one of the fieriest looks at a camera you’ll ever see.

Dillingham told a Great Falls Forum audience that some of his most lauded photos have been the result of patience — and a little luck.

“That’s half of the job, taking a chance,” he said. “You have to be willing to fail in order to get those images.”

Oftentimes, Dillingham will find stories while he’s out driving around searching for a feature photo. In August, a photo of a farmer in Turner became the perfect encapsulation of Maine’s ongoing drought — something out of “The Grapes of Wrath.” The quotes he got from the farmer “made the photo sing,” he said.

Dillingham will receive a first place Maine Press Association award this year for a spot news photo he took in 2024 of a man being pulled out of the Lewiston canals after paddling around in the nude. He was named MPA’s Journalist of the Year in 2007, one of only two photographers in Maine to ever receive the award.

Because he’s been on the job so long, Dillingham has become accustomed to rapid-fire change.

Film cameras gave way to digital, and he’s still amazed that some tasks that used to take him hours can now happen at the click of a button. The changes have given him new enthusiasm for the job.

In 2016, he convinced his bosses to invest in a drone, and he obtained a commercial license to pilot it. Since then, Dillingham has captured hundreds of images and videos that give readers a sense of place for the news they’re reading. He’s documented countless building projects and housing developments, giving people a bird’s-eye view of their city’s skyline changing in real time.

While Dillingham is quick to drive to a scene, he’s also so plugged in that he can’t go to the grocery store without getting a news tip — or a complaint.

He said the way newsrooms approach certain events has also changed, with more careful consideration given before running photos of juveniles, or people in mental health situations. He said he has always struggled with photos from car accidents or other events with fatalities, and there’s been a few that have made it into the paper that he would take back.

He told the forum audience that if he was asked five years ago what he’d be doing now, he would not have said photojournalist. But, he said, he believes in the importance of local newspapers as a source of unbiased news, now more than ever.

Asked if he still keeps a police scanner going 24 hours a day, he said Lewiston and Auburn’s now-encrypted system has made that difficult. Instead, he relies on contacts, social media and his own vetting.

“I go down myself and find the real story,” he said.

Dillingham admitted that it’s often difficult to find the proper work/life balance. He always has a camera on him, even if it’s his smartphone.

At one point he showed the audience a photo of the aftermath of a fire on Mount Auburn Avenue in Auburn last year.

“I can’t believe I slept through this one,” he said.