Man of the Year

There is a famous news magazine that has published a person of the year issue for decades. In its heyday, this issue included photography of the honoree that spared no expense. In the realm of editorial photography, this was a big deal.

Some say that selections for those issues were biased for all sorts of reasons, as if that never happens in media or any aspect of real life. Others say that it’s an unimportant recognition. That’s usually sour grapes by a person not chosen or by someone caught faking the honor.

Like that magazine, I also recognize a person of the year. Unlike “deciders” on a stodgy editorial board, I don’t shy away from my bias.

This year I choose my favorite nephew as my man of the year. It was a unanimous decision. Maybe that’s because any nephew named after me is going to have a leg up on being my favorite.

One thing I have in common with current top-drawer magazines is that no expense was allocated for photography. The publishing industry and I are now equal in our poverty.

This necessitated reaching into the archive for a portrait.

Even in boyhood, you can see the spirit of the future young man as he exists today.

About the author: I am Stephen Kennedy, an experienced photographer with more than 2500 completed sessions in all 50 US states.