Dispatches: Tony O’Brien

Let’s get the main course out of the way.

Tony O’Brien is the Chair of the Photography Department at Santa Fe University of Art and Design.

From 2010 until the present, Tony has held the position of full time faculty at Santa Fe University of Art and Design. From 1999 through 2010, he held the positions of Assistant Chair of the Photography Department, Director of the Documentary Studies Program (2002 – 2009), and Adjunct Professor, Department of Photography (1999 – 2001) at the College of Santa Fe . Tony’s published work includes: Afghan Dreams: Young Voices of Afghanistan – Bloomsbury Press, 2008 and Light in the Desert: Photographs from the Monastery of Christ in the Desert, Museum of New Mexico Press, 2011. In 1990, he was the recipient of the Eliot Porter Foundation Grant for his work in Afghanistan. Among his many collaborations with national and international organizations are the New York Times, Life magazine, Newsweek, National Geographic, the Washington Post and the LA Times.

Now, the real Tony is a guy who is incredibly well respected and well liked in the Santa Fe community. He’s done so much and he’s so cool and humble it’s scary. I can’t imagine going back in my “career” and having someone like Tony teaching at the college level. I know for certain it would have changed my life. Have a look and have a listen to one of the real wise men of photography.