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My work as a documentary photographer has led me through a varied 28-year career that has ranged from photojournalism to commissioned work and personal fine-art book projects. I’m concerned with finding small stories with larger implications. I’m looking for evidence of change in our difficult world. By photographing the ingenious or courageous efforts of a dedicated few to surmount impossible obstacles, injustice, or tragedy, I hope to bear witness to the meaning they bring to their own lives. In this way I bring meaning and a purpose to my own life.

My work as a photojournalist began in 1981 as an intern for The Washington Post. From there I began a career as freelance photojournalist for Time, Newsweek, LIFE, USA Today, Fortune, and many other publications worldwide. I covered the Ethiopian famine, the Olympics, and the AIDS crisis. I gained exclusive, unprecedented access to the rise of Silicon Valley and the daily lives of its most brilliant innovators, including Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and John Doerr. My portrait assignments range from Mother Tereza to Robert Redford and President Bill Clinton. My work has won numerous awards, been exhibited in solo and group shows, and been featured in nine of the bestselling Day in the Life books.

My advertising clients include global brands such as Chevrolet, Emirates Airlines, McDonald’s, Allstate, Coca Cola, Microsoft, Citibank, Nokia, GE, and Samsung. My success in this arena has come from recognizing the value of staying true to my eye and bringing my documentary approach to all my work. Through this work I’ve been able to create important corporate partnerships to support my book projects. Currently I conduct workshops in at the Center for Photography at Woodstock and Santa Fe Workshops, sharing what I’ve learned about how to find the balance between art and commerce.

My books include the bestseller, 15 Seconds: The Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1989, co-produced with David Elliott Cohen and Ron Tussy, which generated more than $500,000 in relief money for earthquake victims.

Three of my personal fine-art documentary projects have been published to date: Defying Gravity:The Making of Newton; Heaven, Earth, Tequila: Un Viaje al Corazón de México; and Transcendent Spirit: The Orphans of Uganda, with an introduction by Dame Elizabeth Taylor and all proceeds going to the children. Stanford University Library recently acquired for their collection my extensive archive of more than 1 million photographs. I am based in NYC and live with my wife, Tereza, and son, Paolo.

Click here to read all my posts on RESOLVE.

Website: www.menuez.com