Kent Kriegshauser has spent 43 years as a photographer — 27 of them as a photojournalist, including many years at The Register-Mail in Galesburg. And after all that time, his conviction about the power of a single still image has only grown stronger.
“A still image is timeless,” Kriegshauser said Wednesday morning on Galesburg’s Morning News. “You can go back and revisit it, get lost in it.”
Kriegshauser joined artist and educator Rich Ankeney and Galesburg Community Arts Center Executive Director Tuesday Ҫetin for a wide-ranging conversation about photography, the craft, and the growing photo community at the arts center. Kriegshauser is the featured speaker at the Galesburg Community Arts Center Photo Club meeting this Saturday, May 9, at 1 p.m. Listen to the full interview below.
How it started
Kriegshauser found his calling at age 14, sparked by two moments in 1972 and 1973 — a Life Magazine cover of Mick Jagger and a trip to the Indianapolis 500 with his aunt after his father’s death, where he watched photographers working the pits and the track.
“If I can’t play for the Stones or drive a car, the camera is going to put me right in there,” he said.
His first experience in a darkroom — watching a print come up in the chemical trays at the Pike Press in Pittsfield — sealed it. He went on to spend nearly three decades in newspapers before launching his own photography business, Kent Kriegshauser Photography, based in Knoxville.
Taking a photo vs. making a photo
Kriegshauser and Ankeney drew a distinction between photojournalism — which they described as “creative documentation” — and the more intentional work of art photography, which involves what Kriegshauser calls “previsualization.”
“When I was in the newspaper business, I was maybe taking photos,” he said. “Now it’s more making the photo — thinking about what I’m going to do before I do it.”
Ankeny added that a digital file or a negative isn’t yet a photograph. “It’s not a photograph until you print it,” he said. “Until you can put it in your hands and look at it.”
Tips for photographers
Both Ankeney and Kriegshauser offered advice for photographers at any level. Ankeney’s tips: learn your tools, study your images, take an art class, and always tell a story. Kriegshauser’s: practice constantly, seek inspiration from other photographers, think before you shoot, and watch your backgrounds.
“If I move two feet or two inches either way, it cleans up the background,” Kriegshauser said. “Practice, practice, practice — and you’ll start to see those mistakes and make less of them.”
The two most common mistakes, according to Ankeney: exposure and focus.
The Galesburg Community Arts Center Photo Club
The Photo Club at the Galesburg Community Arts Center grew out of the dissolution of a previous camera club that met at Knox College. Tuesday Ҫetin said the arts center stepped in about a year and a half to two years ago to provide a home for the photography community — including access to a community darkroom, film cameras, studio lights, and a recently completed print finishing area.
“If you’re interested in photography at all, whether it’s digital or film development, it is good to get with other photographers — amateur and professional — to learn from one another,” Ҫetin said.
Ҫetin noted the arts center also hosts affinity groups for weaving, printmaking, ceramics, and drawing. Intro darkroom classes and open studio hours are available for those who want to try it out before committing.
Kriegshauser said the community darkroom fills a real need — a single roll of film, with processing and shipping, can run around $70 today.
The Photo Club meeting is Saturday, May 9, at 1 p.m. at the Galesburg Community Arts Center. For more information visit galesburgsarts.org.
