Cameron Sterling ~ I grew up in the 1980s and 1990s in Connecticut with photography labs in schools. I earned a history degree at Kenyon College in 1998, worked as an editor for Ski and Skiing Magazine’s first website at the turn of 21st century, and then returned to school to study at Brooks Institute of Photography in 2001-2003. This was the moment in time when film based learning was at full capacity and digital technology entered the classroom.

From Brooks I went on to work for Richard Avedon in New York where I kept the dark room chemistry ready, assisted on sittings, and helped with archive projects. After Avedon died I worked under my own LLC for Hiro for fifteen years, The Richard Avedon Foundation, Adobe Stock, Ellen Graham, and other professional artists and art organizations.

Professionally I work with photographers, visual artists, art archives, and art organizations. Making images is a personal interest and passion.

For my personal photography practice I primarily use medium format film cameras and a 4×5 camera I bought with a student discount program in 2004 at Samy's Camera in Santa Barbara, CA. These are the Mamiya RZ67 Pro II, Contax 645 AF, and Sinar F2.

A decade later I found a Rolleiflex T at a used camera store in Paris, France. I have also enjoyed using a Nikon F100 since 2001 at Brooks Institute of Photography. In the mid 2010’s I began to use digital cameras for some of my own work and assisting other photographers projects. I was recently given a Leica IIIf from a relative with and studio equipment from Hiro’s estate. What may be most significant to me is the gift of time with mentors and their archives.

After moving to Connecticut in 2012, my creative focus shifted to capturing the fleeting moments of my family’s young life. In 2020 I began exploring subjects of nostalgia, family history, and legacy. Now in 2026, the photography landscape looks very different from the one I knew up to the early 2010s.

These are a few notable moments of my photography timeline.

Connecticut childhood 1975 - 1990

Kenyon College, Ohio 1996-1998

Ski Magazine, website editor, Boulder, CO 1998-2001

Brooks Institute of Photography, Santa Barbara, CA, 2001–2004

Richard Avedon, New York, NY, 2003-2004

Hiro, New York, NY, 2004-2020

Parenthood, 2012-present

Richard Avedon Foundation, New York, NY, 2014-2016

Adobe Stock, New York, NY, 2015-2017

Wonderful Machine, consultant, 2018-2020

Ellen Graham, New York, NY, 2017-present

From my earliest days photography resonated with me in 1980s Connecticut. First it was with Polaroid cameras, then black and white 35mm film cameras. Initially I used automatic cameras that set the aperture and shutter speed for me. My input was the subject, focus, crop, lighting, perspective, focal length, and film choice.

In my early teens I became drawn to visual story telling by making photo albums from my summer experiences. This led me to school yearbook and publication positions.

At Kenyon College I earned a BA in history while I contributed photographs, wrote, and edited for a school publication. The next fall I moved to Boulder, Colorado in 1998 and found a job editing the first website of SKI and SKIING magazines.

PDN, B&W Magazine, and my work peers gave me a window into the photography universe. This was several years before online courses and the final years of film photography's primacy.

After working for the online ski publication for three years I returned to school in the summer of 2001 to study photography and creative business at Brooks Institute of Photography.

The program in Santa Barbara, CA used 4×5 and 35mm color and black and white film for critiques by projection or dark room prints. Some assignments were simply with 4×5 camera and instant film. Results came from planning, lighting, and camera work. Digital capture, digital post, and pigment printing were integrated in the second and third year.

As a result of my interest and commitment I earned the Brooks first year student award and graduated with a BA magna cum laude. The esteemed family owned school was in its final years of peak operation before an unfortunate financial decline and closing in 2016.

In 2003 after interviewing with Richard Avedon’s studio and Irving Penn's studio I was offered an internship with Avedon (1923-2004) that led to a full time position. I worked in all areas of studio operations and photographic process.

A year later after Avedon died photographer Hiro (1930-2021) hired me to help with digital production and archiving. My role with Hiro expanded to all areas of the creative process for his advertising, editorial, and fine art projects. Film, digital, and all light sources integrated into his process. Critiqued printmaking and image editing were integral to both Avedon’s and Hiro’s work.

I went on to work with Hiro weekly for 15 years in various capacities until the 2020 covid pandemic. Gradually I began to work with other photographers, artists, companies, and foundations.

From 2014-2015 I had the unique experience of returning to work on Richard Avedon's archive at his legacy foundation ten years after his death. I alternated days of the week between work with Hiro and Avedon's foundation before the foundation closed for a location relocation.

In 2016 I took a freelance position as one of the first two image curators for Adobe's entry into stock photography that launched Adobe Stock in 2017. This time I alternated days of the week between Hiro and Adobe.

After my contract ended at Adobe in 2017 Wonderful Machine hired me to remotely consult their photographers’ portfolios. This was also the moment when I began consulting professional photographers under my own business. All the while Hiro's projects were a consistent part of my weeks.

In 2017 I began helping portrait photographer Ellen Graham (b.1929) inventory her fine art photography prints. She worked editorially with 35mm and 6×6cm film and natural modified light. Gelatin silver fine art printing became important in her later years. I help her with all areas of her legacy building work.

After moving from Greenwich Village NYC to Connecticut in 2012 the focus of my photographic activities shifted to capturing the fleeting moments of my family’s young life. In 2020 I began exploring subjects of personal nostalgia, family history, and legacy. Now in 2026 I am beginning to explore my experience with the medium I lived in, the present moment, and its future.