A busy Stern charged in and said he just had 15 minutes for the shoot.

"When he saw the food, he sat down and relaxed," Kennedy said. "He ended up staying for three hours and even playing for us.

"I learned in New York that you always put food out and try to relax the people you are going to make pictures of. Food is a great medium for relaxing people. It creates a homey atmosphere and shows respect for your guest. It works. Stern is a prefect case in point", he said, cutting a second piece of cake.

Since moving to New Mexico, Kennedy has continued photographing famous musicians for covers and also celebrities for Penthouse interviews that have included Eliot Gould, John Candy and Mickey Mantle.

"These commercial jobs are gravy for me," Kennedy said. "I make my living off my personal work that is sold through galleries." He is represented locally by the Andrew Smith Gallery.

Initially, he specialized in black and white photography but grew bored with the process about ten years ago.

"Silver printing is so straightforward that the only challenge in printing was to keep the negatives and prints spotless. I began playing around with the palladium printing method of the 1800s," Kennedy said. (See accompanying story.) "It's an incredibly challenging process. There are variables that are uncontrollable. A slight change in humidity can throw everything off."

"Palladium is constantly challenging. The results beat silver prints in quality, texture, subtlety and tone. By minute changes in chemistry, temperature or developer, you can vary everything - contrast, tone, color, texture or the grain of the final print. And the quality of that final image is fantastic," Kennedy said.

To relax and become part of the community, Kennedy who lives here with Lucy, son Jesse and a couple of dogs - joined the Turquoise Trail Volunteer Fire Department where he is has now risen to the rank of Assistant Chief. The firefighter's cloudscapes, which he took with a Pentax 67 camera, and a body of his other works can presently be seen at the Andrew Smith Gallery.

ACCOMPANYING STORY