I never dreamed the world would be my office space and people of all nationalities my co-workers.    

The early years I spent in college and as a radio personality helped me hone in on my purpose in life. When I realized that my passion was also my calling, I received the gift of clarity about who I am and what I was meant to do.  

 As a professional photographer, I have traveled the world meeting people from all walks of life, nationalities, and ethnicities. Looking through the lenses of my cameras revealed similarities rather than differences. What I learned is that we have far more in common than I would have guessed. 

Photographing catalogs for National Geographic has placed me in some of the most remote locations in the world. I also have photographed fashion models on some of the slickest, most prestigious runways in New York City including images for the impeccable Vera Wang. It is likely you have seen my images in magazine advertisements. I have climbed mountains and navigated cities and bodies of water on assignment throughout the United States and in Europe, Ireland, Cuba, Asia, and Central and South America. Perhaps most astonishingly, I traveled miles and miles underground in utter darkness to photograph a West Virginia coal mine.   

To date, my most memorable assignment is the work I did for Pope Francis and Friends. In his book, Sharing the Wisdom of Time (Loyola Press, 2018), Pope Francis provided a platform for elderly people all over the world to hand down to younger generations their most significant insights. Their wisdom. My job was to capture portraits that communicated the essence of their personalities as well as the unique aspect of their narratives. During one month spent traveling to 10 countries, I met truly extraordinary people. Even when we didn’t share a common language, I was able to get to know them enough that their stories will live on inside me forever. The book was the inspiration for a Netflix series, Stories of a Generation. 

My first hands on experience was with a camera was a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye at six years old. I remember looking down through the viewfinder from up above. I clicked. What came back wasn’t just a picture. No. It had magic in it.   

Now, my equipment may fill many suitcases but what has never changed is the certainty that something magical happens in the sequence between photographer and photograph, and then again in the interplay between you and me. So thank you for being here. Without you, one of the essential components of my work would be missing. Without you, there would be no connection.   

 I would love to hear your thoughts as you work your way through my Website. Please feel free to stay in touch with my newsletter and by writing to me at info@audiaart.com.   

A. Paul Audia