Manuello Paganelli grew up in exotic locales such as Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico and Italy. After attending a small college in Chattanooga, Tennessee studying Biology and Chemistry to pursue a career in medicine, his life took a turn of fate. Shortly after purchasing a camera he read a magazine article about a great photographer. He was so astonished by this man’s life and work that, just like that, he decided to call him. Manuello dialed information for Carmel by the Sea, California and called the photographer. Thus began his friendship with Ansel Adams. A few weeks later Manuello got his first break, at the Chattanooga Times, and began his long and exciting love affair with photography. After a few years of assignments at home and on the road he went to work in Washington, DC, and after that moved to Virginia, where in addition to his editorial assignments he began to do his own self-commissioned work. In the early 1990s he began to explore Cuba, its land, its people, and its complex relationship with the USA. This work culminated in his first exhibit in 1995, which earned him a fellowship award from the Virginia Commission for the Arts. On reviewing the exhibit, a columnist for the Washington Post wrote “Manuello Paganelli’s Cuban photographs are a brilliant window on a land and people too long hidden from North American eyes. Working in the tradition of Cartier-Bresson and Robert Frank, Paganelli brings an artist’s eyes and a native son’s sensibility to his superb photographs.” Manuello now lives in Los Angeles, California. Though he makes his home in Westwood, he travels the USA and the world on freelance assignments. When he is not on location or at the studio, he enjoys spending time with his family, hiking, riding his vintage 1961 Vespa and practicing martial arts, which he learned as a child from master Bruce Lee. Paganelli performs freelance photography services to suit any needs. His award-winning work has graced the pages of many well-known magazines including TIME, NEWSWEEK, PEOPLE, FORBES, ESPN, MEN’S JOURNAL, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, LIFE, and many foreign magazines. He has photographed celebrities, business icons, top sports figures and many other well-known public figures. Despite his years of experience, his passion and determination are as great today as when he first picked up a camera.

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Manuello Paganelli