Crosby enjoyed music and the arts from a young age. Having a late birthday and being younger than most of his classmates, Crosby took the year between high school and college to attend the Interlochen Arts Academy in Traverse City, Mich. There, he pursued piano studies before enrolling at Furman, where he majored in philosophy and served as the pianist for Furman’s big band. While many of his Interlochen friends had gone on to pursue careers in the arts in New York City, he couldn’t quite bring himself to take that chance. Instead, he enrolled at W&L. “It probably came from not being bold enough to make a big leap,” he explained. “Feeling that I wouldn’t be able to cut it. But toward the end of law school I thought differently. Maybe I could try it for a year, and if nothing pans out, I’ll return to Memphis to practice law.” Making that choice set up the pattern that Crosby has followed to the present day: taking chances on what he loves doing. Sometimes, he created those opportunities. Other times, they fell into his lap. “I wasn’t a driven person; I was a drawn person,” he explained. “Everything was fun and interesting to me and not like work. If there’s any driver, it’s that I get an idea in my head that I believe is worth pursuing, and I will absolutely not let go.”
In 1988, while waiting for the results of their bar exam, Mark Crosby and classmate Daniel Fetterman took a five-month whirlwind tour through Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, India, Indonesia and Australia. Crosby brought back a souvenir plate from Thailand with a photo of himself (right) and Fetterman on it.
It wasn’t long into his year that Crosby saw New York as the place for him, despite letting go of his desire to pursue piano along the way. So he sat for the New York bar in the summer of ’88. While waiting for the results, he and class-
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mate Daniel Fetterman ’87, who had also taken the bar that summer following a clerkship with the Second Circuit, bought around-the-world tickets on Pan Am airlines. They headed east and traveled for five months in Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, India, Indonesia and Australia, celebrating in India their mutual passing of the bar exam. An amateur photographer, Crosby took his camera along. When they returned in early 1989, Crosby accepted a job with the Chicago-based Wildman Harrold’s Manhattan office as a litigation associate, with the majority of his work involving intellectual property matters. His creative side lay dormant until 1996, when Wildman decided to close the New York office. Crosby saw an opportunity. “They gave me 18 months’ lead time,” he said. “So I had all the time in the world to figure out what my next move was going to be.” Crosby had been mulling a New “He is a talented York Christmas photography book pianist. Then he got idea at the time, “largely from having worked in Rockefeller Center for years involved in photography and seeing wall-to-wall crowds of tourand in a short period of ists there every December.” But he time became a knew if he accepted a job in another firm, he wouldn’t have the time or published photographer, freedom to see the book idea through. with multiple books He took a chance and opened a solo of photography, law practice in January 1997. “It was kind of a ready-made practice to step all while conducting into,” he said. “I just maintained those a law practice.” relationships [that Wildman had in — Dan Fetterman ’87 New York] and stayed in close contact with the Wildman firm in Chicago.” Crosby had plenty of work in his new practice, but he was also his own boss, so he could work just as hard at finding a publisher for his book concept. “I was absolutely certain I had a winning idea on my hands. Even though I went through two dozen rejection letters and two years of pursuing it, it never felt like a chore. I just knew that sooner or later someone would say yes.” Universe Publishing liked Crosby’s idea, but with an unexpected stipulation. Crosby pitched the book as Christmasthemed pictures of New York featuring many photographers, himself included. Universe, impressed with his work, wanted to feature only his photographs, which meant another season of shooting to cover the subject in full. In November 1999, Crosby’s patience paid off with the release of New York Christmas. A year later, Universe published his second book, New York: The Ultimate Photographic Journey. Fetterman marvels at the achievement. “He’s tremendous,” the Mobile, Ala., native said. “He is a talented pianist. Then he got involved in photography and in a short period of time became a published photographer, with multiple books of photography, all while conducting a law practice.”
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