About Me

Someone has to write and take pictures for a living, so I do it.

Hello! My name is Earl Steinbicker and I write this blog. Over time I'd like to tell you how an utterly unknown writer (me) had an idea, tried one way to present it that ended disastrously, and then struggled to find a publisher willing to take a chance. And how persistence paid off in the end.

I was born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania. A happy childhood, despite the Great Depression. On reaching age 18 I made my escape and moved to New York City, where I became an assistant to the noted photographer Richard Avedon. This was in 1952. Four years later the draft caught up with me, and I was offered a more appealing service if I would sign up for three years instead of the compulsory two. From January 1957 through 1959 I served in the U.S. Army Security Agency as an information specialist stationed in Tokyo, Japan.

Returning to New York in 1960, I rejoined the Avedon studio, becoming its studio manager in 1962. My dream, however, was to have my own studio, so in 1965 I got together with another photographer, James Houghton, and opened Steinbicker/Houghton Inc., first on East 22nd Street in NYC, then on Fifth Avenue at 28th Street. Among the types of work we did were fashion and beauty photos, advertising for airlines, and record album covers.

By 1979 I became bored and decided on a new career as a travel writer. Finding a publisher was not easy, but in the end I joined the team at Hastings House with my first effort, Daytrips from London. A whole series developed from this, and I'm still at it although I now live in the suburbs of Philadelphia and do most of my work via computer.