Howard was a product of the Baby Boomers era and was
born in Queens in New York. He graduated from Forest Hills High School,
around five years after Simon and Garfunkel, but Mrs Robinson was not in
his class either!
Unfortunately,
his parents divorced and his mother worked two jobs to keep her son in
college. Fortunately, Howard was a good student and he studied Arts and
Sciences at Cornell University as an undergraduate and then went on to
their law school.
After graduation the young lawyer moved into a large
law firm. A very large law firm which employed more than 400 lawyers. The
kind of firm that to even fast track his way to becoming a partner would
take over 15 years.
So was life in “The Firm” like Tom Cruise’s in
the celluloid version of the book? Not at all, according to Howard Greene.
His work involved interpreting newly drafted banking regulations and
statutes for the clients of the firm. In his words, “The driest and most
boring aspect of lawyer life.”
This work was so less than enthralling that he
described the following 20 years as, “... pretty much of a blur. It was
more of the same.” He was working 80 hours a week over six days. He
became engaged to be married twice, but each time the girl in question
could not understand that the work came first. However, there were some
tangible rewards. He had an apartment on the East River; there were
BMW’s in the garage and Arabian horses in the corral.
It was the horses that led him towards photography, as
he wished to get some good shots of them. Over the next five years, he
graduated from a Fuji point and shooter to professional cameras such as
Nikons and Mamiyas, and then threw in his resignation to the firm. The man
who was a lawyer left the dusty books indoors for the dusty plains of the
Arizona outdoors. And why not? He had no wife, no kids and no family, his
mother having died when he was 22 years old.
For Howard, Arizona was a place where he could
photograph real life. “Arizona is sunny for 310 days a year - a unique
environment for a photographer. I opened up a little photography business,
which grew into a large photography business.” Over the next three years
he photographed everything from socialites for magazines, interiors for
architects and golf for tournament promoters.
The next turning point for him was a friend in an
advertising agency who made him an offer he couldn’t refuse - to go on
the road, around the world, and shoot film. The plan was to send the film
back to America, where they in turn would deposit money in his bank
account. With his photographer’s jacket on, Howard visited Greece,
Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, Bali and Belfast.
He enjoyed Belfast, staying with some friends during a
two month cease-fire period, so Howard did all the shooting instead,
getting some evocative black and white shots of performers in the blues
clubs, “In Ireland, everyone’s a musician,” Howard mused.
However, the tranquillity of the cease-fire was broken
by the domestic squabbling of his friends so he hopped on a plane for
Thailand in June last year. Howard had experienced Bali and felt that
Thailand might bring the serenity he was looking for. This initial foray
was a 25 day holiday and the Thai people left an immediate mark on him.
“I appreciated those who could hear the whisper above the shout, as
contrasted against the holidaymakers who welcomed the sheer blessing of
another human being’s embrace.” He returned to Belfast, packed his
gear and bought a one-way ticket to the Kingdom.
Twelve months ago Howard walked past the TQ Bar on
Beach Road and saw notices about the Jesters Children’s Fair and spoke
to Lewis “Woody” Underwood. Howard’s first words were, “I’m new
and I have a camera.” Woody’s reply was typical. One word only,
“Hired!”
From that chance meeting, this led to Mike Franklin,
who introduced Howard to Tesco-Lotus and the Thai Country Club. From
there, photography has snowballed, following Howard’s avowed storybook
formula - “No two shots are alike.”
Howard has a forthright opinion on success too. “In
the 21st century money is the measuring stick of how good you do what you
do. There is no contract without consideration.” As a professional
photographer he knows the first rule too, “When you are being paid you
can not screw it up!” Howard takes that concept further, believing
implicitly in excellence and professionalism. Bad photographs he describes
as, “Insulting the human race.”
One
of Howard’s favourite photos - a lifetime of hard work in Bali
He admits to a need to succeed. “I want success in
Asia. I have (already) been successful as a lawyer and as a photographer
in Arizona.” One of his few regrets in life was that his mother never
lived long enough to see these successes that she had worked so hard to
make happen. He is certainly driven in his pursuit of excellence. Recently
he has formed a partnership with Ron Keeley and Jason Payne of Odyssey
International, web site designers and marketers, for whom he supplies the
photographs (You can see Howard’s work at www.odysseythailand.com).
When I asked the lawyer photographer what his advice
would be for the youth of today, it was a typical droll Howardism, “The
accepted thing is to pick something you like to do and work hard, but this
isn’t real life. Realistically, work hard and pray for a little luck!”
Howard Greene must have spent quite some time on his
knees over the past three decades. Welcome to Pattaya, Howard Greene!
