Pasquale J. Cuomo is an American photographer whose career spans more than fifty years, a journey that has carried him across the changing face of photography itself. From the quiet ritual of developing film in the darkroom to the fast pace of digital cameras and editing software, Cuomo has lived through every shift. His story begins in his teens, when he first picked up a camera out of curiosity, unaware that it would become a lifelong calling.
By the early 1980s, Cuomo was balancing his photographic ambitions with everyday responsibilities, but by 1985 he had committed fully. With his own lab, professional-grade equipment, and an impressive client roster, his work reached into many corners of the field—fashion shoots, public relations campaigns, architectural studies, weddings, advertising, and legal documentation. His photographs have hung in respected venues including the Queens Museum, the Queens Botanical Gardens, the Alliance of Queens Artists Gallery, and the NYC DCA Gallery at Columbus Circle. Through it all, Cuomo never confined himself to the studio. His work belongs equally to city streets, natural landscapes, and exhibition walls, a body of images that continues to grow with every year.
The Work: Natchez Trail Parkway, Mississippi
Cuomo’s most recent work, taken during a summer road trip, reflects both his technical instincts and his appreciation for the unexpected beauty of the natural world. The photograph was made along the Natchez Trail Parkway, just south of Tupelo, Mississippi, in the late afternoon.
It was not a planned stop. Driving along the road, he noticed the surface of the water shimmering with layers of green and what looked like matting. The texture caught his eye immediately. He pulled over, unsure if parking was even allowed, and reached for his Hasselblad 500C/M. With no time to set up a tripod, he shot handheld, relying on instinct and experience. He fitted the 50mm Zeiss wide-angle lens, loaded with Kodak Ektar film, and chose a shutter speed around 1/250 second to counter the risk of blur. He doesn’t remember the aperture—a detail that matters less than the fact that he was working in the moment, reacting to what was in front of him.
The photograph itself is a meditation on green. Every surface in the frame, from water to vegetation, seems soaked in its tones. The matting on the water gives it a painterly feel, like an oil canvas rendered in nature’s own palette. Cuomo has always pursued subjects outside the ordinary, and here he found something that stood apart from his usual work—a quiet, abstract vision that still feels grounded in reality.
Light, Color, and the Unplanned Moment
What makes this image compelling is not only the saturated color but the sense of immediacy. Cuomo had only a few minutes before moving on, yet he trusted his process. For decades he has shifted between different genres—portraiture, architecture, events, commercial work—but he has always carried an eye for light. In this Mississippi scene, light is less about brightness and more about subtle reflection. The late-afternoon sun filters through the trees, soft enough to avoid harsh contrast but strong enough to give depth to the water’s surface.
The image could almost be mistaken for an abstract painting. The camera records reality, but Cuomo allows it to drift into something more open to interpretation. It’s not simply a record of a place; it is an impression of a fleeting mood, a state of quiet attention.
The Road Trip Spirit
Road trips have always been part of Cuomo’s creative process. They offer him the space to wander, to find new textures, colors, and shapes in unexpected locations. Mississippi was no exception. This photograph joins the long line of works that emerge from his habit of stopping, pausing, and capturing what others might drive past.
The fact that he used film—Kodak Ektar, known for its rich color saturation—adds another layer. In an era where digital dominates, Cuomo continues to work with film as both a challenge and a choice. Film demands patience, discipline, and trust in the eye, qualities that have defined his career.
A Different Subject, A Familiar Approach
Cuomo himself has said that this scene was “a bit of a different subject” for him. That acknowledgment speaks to his constant search for renewal. After decades of work across multiple genres, he remains open to surprise. The photograph is both a continuation of his fascination with light and a step into new ground.
What holds the work together is consistency of vision. Whether shooting a fashion spread in New York or a quiet patch of water in Mississippi, Cuomo approaches each frame with the same combination of instinct and craft. The Natchez Trail image is less about spectacle and more about observation—about what happens when you slow down enough to notice the details of a place.
Closing
Pasquale J. Cuomo’s Mississippi photograph is more than a travel memory. It is the product of decades spent learning how to see. With a Hasselblad in his hands and film in the chamber, he turned an unplanned roadside pause into an image that feels timeless. It reminds us that photography, at its best, is not about perfection or planning but about being ready for the moment when light, subject, and vision align.
