by Rosalind Smith

Cows roam randomly over dirt roads. It's a long way from Broadway. David Michael Kennedy life is too short to fritter it away in a place where he can not fulfill his dreams-even if he's making a bundle of money. A top celebrity photographer in New York for 18 years, with numerous CEBA and CLIO awards under his belt, Kennedy gave up his album covers, posters, and major editorial work, burned his bridges and headed for New Mexico, the land of enchantment.

Raised in northern California, Kennedy went to New York in the early 1970s to have back surgery and stayed for close to 20 years. "I kept meeting more interesting people and getting more interesting jobs," he says, "and I had a tremendous amount of freedom in my work. A client might send me a tape of Muddy Waters and say, "listen to it and make a photo of him." The photograph of a mellow, smiling Muddy Waters was followed by Bruce Springsteen quietly seated at the far end of a kitchen table, Isaac Stern peeking mischievously from behind his violin, Willie Nelson, baseball's Mickey Mantle, and numerous other notables.

reprinted with permission of:
Shutterbug Magazine

www.shutterbugmagazine.com