McCOOK, Neb. – His accent gives him away as an outsider. But his never-met-a-stranger spirit, humble-yet-proud attitude, tenacity, and love of all people make the California photographer fit right in with a rural western Nebraska community.

Manuello Paganelli visited McCook in early July where he photographed some go-kart racing enthusiasts, a World War II veteran, and several agricultural subjects, as he continues to work on his Midwestern series. McCook Mayor Linda Taylor introduced him to the community and helped him line up interviews and subjects to capture.

Paganelli is of Cuban-Italian descent and came to the United States hoping to pursue a career in medicine. Well, that was his family’s hope. But in his final year of college at Southern Adventist University in Tennessee where he majored in both biology and chemistry, Manuello decided he didn’t want to become a doctor.

On a whim, he purchased a camera to give himself a diversion. “My world was looking so bleak, and I felt like maybe this would help me to forget about how bad my future was looking,” he said. His initial attempts at photography produced “horrible” images according to Manuello.

He found himself in a bookstore and was drawn to the photography magazines where he read an article about legendary photographer Ansel Adams. He was in awe of Adams’ work, describing it as pristine and strong with great contrasts. The article said that Adams was trained as a classical pianist, and his family was disappointed that he had decided to pursue photography instead. Manuello felt the connection, as he too had disappointed his family in leaving his pursuit of becoming a doctor. So Manuello called Adams on the phone, using directory assistance (4-1-1) to find his number.

Manuello said he was seeking advice from Adams about “following your heart”. That first conversation lasted about an hour and concluded with Adams telling Manuello to “call me anytime”. Manuello did and continued a friendship/mentorship with Adams that continued until Adams’ death in 1984.

Shortly after his first conversation with Adams in 1983, Manuello went to work for the Chattanooga Times newspaper for two years, and then moved to Washington D.C. to become a free-lance photographer. His first clients were USA Today, Reuters, and Washington Post. He later began pursuing magazine clients because “the pay was much better”. His first magazine client was Forbes. From there, he began receiving calls from other magazine publishers – Fortune, Time, Life, Sports Illustrated, People, Entertainment Weekly. Manuello said he preferred the one-on-one interaction with his subjects that magazine shoots provided.

In 1989, he was one of the first photographers to be allowed to photograph in Cuba, going back over 60 times over six years. In the fall of 2016, he released his documentary photography book Cuba: A Personal Journey, Photographs 1989-2016 with over 115 black and white images that celebrate the spirit of Cuba.

After meeting a black man in cowboy attire on an airline flight in the early 1990’s, Manuello began a conversation to learn more about black cowboys in America. He pitched the idea of a black cowboy series to several magazines with little success until a small magazine, Emerge, agreed. He traveled across the United States documenting the daily lives of black cowboys for the magazine, and in 2009 his work was shown at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles. In 2012, he was invited to present the series at the Saint Petersburg Manege Museum in Russia. He hopes to create a second book with the series.

Today, Manuello pursues his own assignments, creating photo documentaries about subjects that are of interest to him. He enjoys working with people and documenting subjects that are unique.

He is currently working on a Native American project, as well as a Midwest series. He no longer pitches his work to magazines as his work now appears in galleries — the Obscura Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the Weston Gallery in Carmel, California, which also exhibits works by Ansel Adams.

From McCook, Manuello headed east to Iowa. “I have no agenda,” he told the Gazette. “For many years, I wondered if I had chosen the right career . . . now I get messages from strangers or followers telling me how an image had lifted them.”

Manuello said his parents have since passed, but they did see some of his success as a magazine photographer. He regrets that they were not able to see his work displayed in galleries and museums. But he is grateful for the experiences his pursuit of photography has given him.

More of his images, including his image of WWII vet Dr. Don Brooks, can been seen on his Instagram page, manuellopaganelli, at https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu46Lt5x5UD/