 Photography
as my life
So
much of the way we view our world is visual. No one knows that
more than a photographer. That is what I am.
For
more than 20 years, I’ve taken photos... of people, of
things, of the world. I’ve captured special occasions
and the joy behind those events, be it a wedding or a religious
ceremony announcing adulthood. I’ve been there when the
news happened, helping alert people about what has happened
in their neighborhood or city. I’ve also recorded the
drama in sports.
I’ve
helped sell products with my advertising photography and have
presented beautiful people of the fashion world and the grandeur
of architecture. I’ve taken my camera into the sea, immersed
in another world of color and creatures, and I’ve flown
above the earth, shooting a mosaic of landscapes to help interpret
our planet.
I
have the fortunate life of a photographer, and it takes effort
for me to remember when I wasn’t one.
It
was a college professor who first awakened my interest —
that, and a camera my father asked me to teach him to use. As
I taught myself in order to teach my father, the professor saw
my work. “You have a good eye... a good photographic eye,”
he said.
That’s
all it took to get me started in this profession.
I
graduated from Central Missouri State University with a BS in
Aviation Technology and a minor in photography. I still love
to fly, and I love to take aerial shots. It’s a combination
of adventure and creativity that — other than my family
— makes me the happiest.
In
1994, I founded Kevin Blayney Photography. I sought a variety
of clients and assignments, both from a practical business standpoint
and to continue to refine my creative approach to photography.
My
philosophy is built around talking and listening to the client.
I want to fully understand their needs and then see how we can
both approach the assignment successfully. Call it a “custom
design” based on listening to the client.
For
assignments that are on a more personal level, my artistic approach
centers on composition — to try to catch people naturally,
thereby capturing the moment. Commercial assignments are more
controlled, the environment sometimes static. Both personal
and commercial projects test my skills, particularly in lighting
situations. I prefer natural lighting in completing my assignments,
and favor location shoots to studio work.
Personal
satisfaction comes from satisfying the client. Sometimes that
satisfaction touches me later.
I
remember one photo shoot for a Kansas City publication concerning
a story about a young man with AIDS. He was traveling the country
talking about the disease and its effect on him and others.
I was documenting his talks and took “candids” of
him being himself.
A
few years later, his mother contacted me. He had passed on.
She told me how lucky she was to have “all these wonderful
images” of her son’s last moments in life. She said
that I had captured his spirit and that he continues to live
through my photos of him.
Few
things in life have given me as much satisfaction in being a
photographer as that mother’s thanks.
—
Kevin Blayney
Contact
Kevin Blayney |
