Born in Chicago in 1947, Pagnano grew up in a district of Italian immigrants. After studying Photography at Columbia College Chicago, he first worked in Chicago, before moving to New York City with his wife Kari in 1974. In addition to commissioned work, portraits and documentary photography, his principal theme was street photography. In 2002, he published the photo book Shot on the Street, with colour pictures taken in the seventies and eighties. He passed away on October 7, 2018.
