Max grew up in a house full of books and music, to parents who survived the Holocaust and ended up settling in small-town Alabama. His father, a child prodigy who first performed with The Warsaw Philharmonic at the age of nine, prodded Max to embrace the arts and suffused their home with the curiosity born of generations of rigorous intellectual and artistic pursuits.

Six years as a staff photographer with The Smithsonian Institution and a career-altering week at the University of Missouri photojournalism workshop in 1977 propelled Max into over fifteen years of commercial photography before a trip to Poland accompanying his mother on her first return in 46 years gave him a new appreciation for the power of his vision and helped add a new dimension to his work.

Translating this passion into an innate sense of how to render the world in classic two-dimensionality, Max's images are laden with a strong respect for the great traditions of documentary photography wedded to a deep love of humanity. Max's work has been featured in Communication Arts, American Photography and Eyemazing.

Almost thirty years of advertising and editorial photography in the studio and on location coupled with his vibrant yet emotional personal work has made Max one of the best photographers working today. His portraits have been seen in Rolling Stone, GQ, Time, Forbes and Vanity Fair and in campaigns for Amtrak, Ikea and The US Mint.