I had heard from Rosanne Spector, the editor of Stanford Medicine, that our design team had hired an East Coast photographer to shoot for the current surgery issue. It's surgery, so of course we wanted vibrant pictures that tell their own story. But not until I interviewed Max Aguilera-Hellweg for this 1:2:1 podcast did I realize what an extraordinary photographer we hired and what an an amazing career he's had to boot.
At 18, Aguilera-Hellweg apprenticed with famed Rolling Stone photographer Annie Liebovitz. Over the years, he's shot photos for a multitude of international publications including Stern, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Esquire, the Washington Post, National Geographic and The New York Times. And he has one more credit to his name: MD. Yep. He's a physician. At age 43 he received a medical degree from Tulane University with a specialty in internal medicine. He's well-equipped to both shoot photos inside the OR and lend a hand in case of an emergency.
We asked Aguilera-Hellweg to shoot a panoply of photos for the issue, and they're extraordinary. He also shot the cover - one that I think conveys the essence of what surgery is all about: the hands. So listen to this podcast and explore the amazing world of Max Aguilera-Hellweg: photographer, physician, Renaissance man.
Previously: Stanford Medicine magazine opens up the world of surgery
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