A S C R A P B O O K O F S O L U T I O N S F O R T H E P H O T O G R A P H E R
Enhancing the enjoyment of taking pictures with news that matters, features that entertain and images that delight. Published frequently.
7 October 2017
Saturday matinees long ago let us escape from the ordinary world to the island of the Swiss Family Robinson or the mutinous decks of the Bounty. Why not, we thought, escape the usual fare here with Saturday matinees of our favorite photography films?
So we're pleased to present the 208th in our series of Saturday matinees today: Canon Explorers Of Light -- David Hume Kennerly.
This three-minute video is the first in a series by Canon introducing its Explorers of Light, a group of accomplished photographers and cinematographers who rely on Canon equipment.
David Hume Kennerly is certainly accomplished. Over his 50 year career he's photographed every president since Richard Nixon and took some of the last photos of Robert Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel. He won the Pulitzer at the age of 25 for his feature photos covering the Vietnam War, Cambodia, East Pakistani refugees near Calcutta and the Ali-Frazier fight.
'I would never have forgiven myself if I hadn't gone to Vietnam.'
In 2005 he was named One of the Most 100 Most Important People in Photography by American Photo magazine. And in 2007 he was selected the Photography Person of the Year by Photo Media magazine.
But he starts this clip humbly introducing himself. He calls himself a political photographer, he says, but then lists all the other subjects he has photographed.
And that includes some of the most important, he adds: those of his kids.
As he speaks we see shots of him at work plus some of his more notable shots. Moments in which history was made as he witnessed it. Silently, as if he wasn't there, he says.
But there was one assignment that he made sure his presence was known.
"I would never have forgiven myself if I hadn't gone to Vietnam," he admits. "That was my generation's war and I needed to cover it."
Near the end of this short appreciation, he passes along a tip.
He suggests we all try the Kennerly 15-Minute Photo Fitness Workout. "Forcing yourself to see things that you look at every day and make a picture of those things that's interesting."
That's how he keeps sharp, he says. And sharp is the word for it.
Comments
Just want to say "Thank you" for posting this article and video; I like the end tip and will definitely give it a go.
-- Andrew-Bede Allsop