Death of J. Stephen Hicks Reported By His Business Partner

Reports began appearing today on adult webmaster site GFY.com about the death of photographer J. Stephen Hicks. Known to fans of erotic photography, Hicks had a long history in the adult industry that included stints as a photographer for Penthouse, Hustler, Club, High Society and Gallery. His business partner, photographer Jay Allan, sent a note today as a tribute to Hicks. AVN will follow up shortly with more details on Hicks' passing. “Yesterday I lost my mentor, my friend, and my business partner, J. Stephen Hicks,” Allan wrote. “He was a true pioneer in the adult industry. At a time when there were only about a dozen photographers worldwide shooting for the adult magazine market J. Stephen Hicks' work stood out as exceptional. It still does today.” Allan says that one could always pick out Hicks' work because of “the beautiful natural light and calculated composition that his images always contained. “Stephen taught his team to always put 100 percent of their creative energy into every image and video and try to make everything as artistic and beautiful as possible,” Allan said. This dedication made his images popular to collectors. To see some of his work, go to DigitalDesire.com and his page on the CollectorMarket.com site. “As a photographer he had no equal and took every step to artistically and creatively make every girl we shot look her absolute best. I am very lucky to have known and learned from the best and I am at least comforted by knowing that his legacy will live on and his amazing body of work will always be here for us to enjoy,” Allan said. According to Allan, DigitalDesire.com will continue to carry on his legacy, aided by "an amazing team of artists who will carry with his beautiful erotica the way he taught us all since we were young.” Allan signed off with these final words: “I was lucky to have worked with him over the past 20 years. I will miss him dearly.”