What do these three entities have in common? Both Hemingway and I were photographed by legendary photographer Hugh Bell, and it has been my honor and indeed my privilege to have known Mr. Bell for over 35-years, has a young 20 something year old art director, I first met Hugh Bell in the summer of 1973. At the time he was a renowned and well known photographer living in New York City and though I was much younger, we soon became good friends.
He was well known for his artistry in taking candid and intimate photos of some of the worlds leading celebrities of the day. His studio walls are aliened with photos of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan, Ernest Hemingway, and my favorite a black and white photo of Billy Holiday reclining on a sofa casually holding on to a cigarette as smoke drifts around her, some of these photos have never been published.
One may ask again what does this all have to do with the craft of writing and in particular myself, and the answer is without Hugh Bell, “Journey” perhaps would have never been published, he cajoled me and challenged me to complete my story and when “Journey” was finally complete he gifted me with a series of promotional photos of myself, that now appear on the opening page of this website, and another photo on the back cover of “Journey”, indeed I’m grateful for a friendship that has endured for over 35 years.
More importantly, he’s been an inspiration to me and someone I could always count on for creative input, he’s truly a renaissance man and while we haven’t been in touch recently he once again honored me, by inviting me to his 80th birthday party, which will take place in his studio in New York City, on Sunday, June 24th.
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