I lost a dear friend yesterday. I was privileged to work with him but for a few years and even though I left Atlanta twenty nine years ago, he remained my mentor and I always
called him boss. He was an innovator in photo-illustration and his work expanded the meaning of that hyphenate for over forty years. If photography was rock-n-roll he would have been Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Pete Townsend and Jimi Hendrix rolled into one. The man could wail!
I came to Atlanta in January of 1979 to attend art school hoping to find my way into studio photography. After a few months, I landed a job feeding film into a machine at E6 Labs. There, I discovered in the catch tray of that machine what the best photographers in town did to make a living day in and day out. I soon learned to discount the beauty shots on poster sized Kromekote. It was Krystal burgers, women's underwear and anything for Coca-Cola that kept the top professionals in their BMWs and bad habits.
But then there was Arington Hendley. This guy was searching for something. A new way of seeing. A way to elevate the mundane and make it heroic. He didn't believe in zero sum. Even when he was taken advantage of, and he often was, he would carry-on as if it were the mere cost of doing business in an extraordinary industry.
I think that it was HE who was extraordinary. I
saw him in good times and bad and he always chose to notice the good in
the situation. He was gifted that way too. Everyone that knew him was affected by him. Everyone that knew him knew
his laugh. A laugh from the belly without reservation. A man of
extremes, he loved fine cognac, competitive pistol shooting and hiking glaciers above the Arctic Circle, just to name a few.
I saw him in November and met his wife and partner, Lynda. He was a happy man. The world wasn't being kind to him and his health was failing yet he looked forward to working everyday. He also revealed to me that he'd once thought about becoming a world-class chef and I believe I remarked that that revelation wasn't lost on me. His work was always a dish made of the finest ingredients poked and prodded to perfection and delivered to the client just the way they ordered.
For me it comes down to this, Arington Hendley was my friend and I am so much richer for it. So long, my friend. There are no more deadlines for you to sweat over so roll one up and order us a pie. I'll see you soon enough.
