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I was born and grew up in Cortland, New York, a small city in Central New York near Syracuse. I was educated at St. Mary’s School and graduated from Cortland High School in 1967. In 1965 as a teenager I joined the American Federation of Musicians and began a musical career that would continue until 1988.The culmination of the music end of my life came with a 1969 album release on ABC Records under the creative direction of Neil Diamond. After not cracking the big time music world I attended Tompkins Cortland Community College in Dryden, New York, graduating in 1975. After graduation I served as an Adjunct Professor in the music department for the next 12 years. During this time I turned my attention to my long time hobby of photography, eventually working for a local portrait studio and freelancing along with my teaching schedule. In 1988, with my marriage to high school friend and classmate, Catherine Bertini, I left Central New York and teaching, moving to Washington, DC and establishing my own photography business: Tom Haskell Photo-works. I specialized in public relations and event photography which
included Presidential events with Presidents Reagan and Bush. In 1992 my wife was nominated and selected to head the United Nations World Food Programme and we moved to Rome, Italy, the headquarters of WFP. I became, as a volunteer, the chief field photographer for WFP and
have visited more than 40 countries including North Korea, Iraq, China,Sudan, Rwanda, Angola, Sierra Leone and Kosovo. This is a long way from the White House but it feels like home to me. My images, including 3 Newsweek cover editions, have been used by every major newspaper and magazine in the world. Among them: Time, Newsweek, US News and World Report, Fortune, Family Circle, Parade, La Tribuna (Spain), Der Spiegel(Germany), Famiglia Cristiana (Italy), Africa Watch (Kenya),The Times of London (England), The Financial Times(England), Der Zeit(Germany), China Daily (China), and news agencies Reuters, Associated Press and Corbis-Sygma.
"FACES OF AFRICA"
I was always amazed in my travels through the African continent how little we really know about it. After some travel there I was surprised how I, and most of the rest of us in the world, had read interpretations into images that were incorrect. I was amazed by the beautiful simplicity of life and the values most African cultures teach. I knew about war and famine and corruption and AIDS but what great lessens I had yet to learn. A very dear friend from Cameroon advised me to go to Africa with an open heart and my photographer’s eyes wide open. I did. I went to learn and I did. After working in 18 African countries I came away with some very strong impressions. The impressions are documented in the images, aided by captions to understand what your American eyes are really looking at, as well as the reason behind many images we see.
