Rodney
was the son of a successful businessman who traveled all over the
world. At one point they moved to Germany and Rodney
stayed with a German couple that took pictures as a hobby. They not
only took all their own pictures but developed them also. This is
where Rodney says that he fell in love with photography.
Rodney's next exposure to photography was on a trip to the Museum
of Modern Art. He viewed the permanent collection, which showcased
pictures by Gene Smith, Minor White, Dorothea Land and more. Looking
upon all these great photographers work Rodney remembers thinking
to himself "I could do that".
After Rodney
finished collage he went to Yale University to study for his masters
degree in Theology, a subject he was very interested in. In his
biography Rodney states "I guess I've always been very intense,
but back then the intensity was sort of manifesting itself as anxiety.
Because of all this intensity I became really introspective and
trying to figure out the cause and the purpose and the resolution
to all that anxiety. "
During his
time at Yale he seriously studied photo techniques. He decided the
best way for him to study his two loves was to combine them.
When Rodney
graduated he struggled for a long time before he got his first break.
A friend who owned an ad agency hired him to shoot and ad campaign
in black and white. Next another big commercial assignment from
a huge company helped make him the photographer he is today.
 
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