I am an established writer and photographer — well over 200 magazine articles and at least 1000 photos have been published under my byline or photo credit. I've worked in journalism, advertising and public relations, and done stints as a statewide business magazine's staff writer and a national nostalgia magazine's managing editor. A mixture of commercial and editorial assignments enabled me to photograph and/or interview three U.S. Presidents, dozens of internationally known musicians and artists, and hundreds of ordinary folks with interesting stories to tell. I am in my 20th year as a full time Photography/Graphics Specialist in the University of South Alabama's College of Medicine, and my 28th year as a regular contributor to Mobile Bay Magazine. I have worked in Adobe Photoshop since 1994, including eight years digitally restoring old, damaged photos.

Correspondence e-mail: contact@adrianhoff.com

People began paying me to shoot pictures in the early 1970s. I quit the day job when freelancing rivaled my restaurant manager's salary — and quickly learned that turning pro required more than an answering service and a pile of photography-by-me business cards. I returned to school in '77 for Daytona State College's commercial photography program.

I opened a Commercial / Industrial / Architectural Photography studio in 1979, in Fairhope, Alabama. The response was underwhelming. I set out to establish a local identity by selling feature photos to The Independent. I proved a good fit for the Robertsdale, AL-based weekly newspaper. My pictures regularly appeared above the fold on page one, peering out from newspaper racks throughout the county. Editor Mike Ryland included six of my 1980 photos in the paper's submission to the Alabama Press Association's annual, statewide competition. Three won awards: 1st place Feature Photo, 2nd place Feature Photo and 2nd place Sports Photo. The resultant publicity helped push my business to the next level. Ad agencies, PR firms, architects, concert promoters, and artists dominated my assignment sheets for the next seven or eight years.

I wrote and sold my first magazine article in 1980. Being published in a national equestrian magazine generated little publicity for my photography business; the return on my time was far below what I made behind the camera. I didn't attempt another until a chance meeting with the editor sparked my series in PTN's Studio Photography (then the nation's highest circulation trade magazine targeting professional photographers). A few months later I met with Mobile Bay Monthly's new editor, hoping to protect sporadic stock photo sales. I left with the '87 assignment that launched my ongoing "Gallery" department.

I joined PMT Publishing in '88 as a contributing photographer. A year later I became the company's lone staff write. I was assigned to Business Alabama Monthly, but also contributed to its other statewide publication, Alabama magazine. I left after two years to participate in the planning and launch of Dobbs Publishing Group's national nostalgia magazine, Down Memory Lane. I served as managing editor until it ceased publication in late '93. I returned to Business Alabama until joining the University of South Alabama in 1995. I remain a Business Alabama contributor.

I've used Photoshop since Version 3 (early 1994). Initially it served as a conduit between scanner and computer. I did little more than crop and resize images and make minor Brightness / Contrast adjustments. For the past dozen years Photoshop has accounted for at least half of my output: day-job and freelance. Photography, writing, page layout (InDesign), and novice-level web work (Dreamweaver) fill out my schedule.

When not working (which as Susan often reminds me, is a rarity), I spend time traveling, backpacking in the High Sierra, and playing grandpa to three amazing little ladies.