In May of 2022, I met Nate Brooks for lunch one day at a Korean-style seafood restaurant on Richmond Road in Lexington to discuss a large-scale photo book project that he had in mind. The seafood restaurant was a bit much, but the book project turned out to be one of the greatest photographic projects that I've ever done in my life. Nate and I are both from Powell County, but a generation apart. I went to school with his mother and have been great friends with both of his parents, Troy and Deana Brooks, for many years. It was kind of bizarre to be involved with a multi-year project with so many moving parts, with a kid that's the same age as my kids, and someone I've known, literally since he was a newborn. I'm not sure if it was bizarre because he's that young or because I'm that old, HA!

At the time, Nate was about to finish a podcast series that he did for the Powell County Health Department titled The Local Lens. The podcast was funded through the CDC in Atlanta and Nate used it as a tool to explore and to educate on all aspects of the drug epidemic. Ultimately, he did 74 episodes and interviewed over 100 people. Here are my opening comments in the book...

When I began this book project with Nate Brooks in 2022, I truly didn’t understand the depth of Powell County’s drug problem. I grew up in Powell County, specifically on Black Creek in Clay City, during the 1970s and 1980s, and was a photojournalist there in the early 1990s. There has always been a drug problem in Powell County, but it wasn’t until I came back home for a couple of months during the summer of 2020, when my father was dying of cancer, that I got a small glimpse of just how much the problem had grown since I had moved away in 1995. I realized then that something had changed and my little hometown had changed with it.

One day during that summer, I almost ran over a man who had passed out in a sharp curve beside the road with his head lying about a foot away from the white line. With a population of only 1,200 people, Clay City had over 100 homeless people living within its borders that summer, mainly because of the drug epidemic. At the same time that I was witnessing all of this, Nate was beginning to produce a podcast called "The Local Lens" highlighting the different aspects of the drug epidemic that not only had infested Powell County but Appalachia as a whole.

I soon made a correlation between addiction and a ripple. At the epicenter of the ripple effect caused by drug abuse is the user. Immediate family members are located somewhere in the first two rings of the ripple, with first responders and police officers occupying the third and fourth layer of rings. Spiritual warriors providing faith-based rehab programs and resources serve as a bridge between the user and the road to recovery in rings five and six.

As the rings of the ripple gravitate further away from the epicenter it becomes less personal, but no less important, with healthcare professionals fighting the epidemic in rings six and seven. Professionals in Frankfort, and Washington D.C. may not know the user, and the user may never know them, but they still feel the effects and they occupy the outer rings of the ripple. They too are an integral part of the road to recovery.

Then multiply all of the rings times every user in Powell County. Then multiply the rings of every user in Kentucky. Then Appalachia. Then the United States. Many of the rings overlap and share similar threads of the story. It’s overwhelming to think about all of the people who are affected by this monster and the countless toll that it has taken on so many lives.

For me, creating this photo book was extremely personal. I haven’t lived in Powell County for nearly 30 years, as Richmond is where I live, but Clay City will always be my home. My genuine hope is that this book will somehow make a difference as we tell the story.

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Photo by Tim Webb

Photo by Tim Webb This photo of Misty Dehart standing in a field of mustard flowers, in an area of Powell County known as Turkey Knob, became the signature photo and cover for the book. Misty, who has been in recovery for several years and is now a nurse, represented freedom from addiction. I called it the Titanic pose. Photographically, I wanted to create an angle that people weren't used to seeing. People are used to driving down KY HWY 15/11 looking out at the flowers, but not in the flowers looking back.

Photo by Tim Webb Powell County minister Brad Epperson helps inmates transition back into life outside of jail with the Substance Abuse Program (SAP) at the Powell County Detention Center.

Rebecca Stone analyzes suspected drugs that have been confiscated by local police departments in Central Kentucky at the Kentucky State Police crime lab in Frankfort.

Photo by Tim Webb The needle exchange program at the Powell County Health Department.

Photo by Tim Webb Nate interviewing nurse practitioner Heather Deel during the series' last episode at WSKV radio station in Stanton, December 2022.

With Powell County having one of the highest overdose rates per capita in the country, Jazmen Thorpe is one of many of a generation of children who have grown up witnessing the terrible effect and the grip that drugs have had on their parents. 

Responding to the drug epidemic can be extremely expensive for a small rural community with law enforcement and first responders. Former Powell County Judge Executive James Anderson advocated a proactive approach to the problem, such as the Syringe Service Program at the health department. Sadly, Judge Anderson died in an accident before the book was completed. 

Photo by Tim Webb
Stanton Police Officer Ian Morton, above, and Clay City Police Officer Rob Williams, below, are on the front lines of Powell County's drug epidemic. 

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb
Oshia Haddix runs the Powell County Homeless Coalition in the Bottoms of Clay City.

The book expanded beyond Powell County by looking at programs in neighboring Montgomery County, with Tabitha and Tony Barrett leading Recovery Montgomery County, top, and Angie Gregory, above, with the Montgomery County Health Department, running a program that works with women in the Montgomery County jail who have been arrested on drug charges, which is about 85 percent of the women there.

Photo by Tim Webb I didn't want all of my healthcare professional photos to look the same, so I asked my childhood friend Dr. Julie Kennon to roll her pant legs up and wade out into Hardwicks Creek in Clay City with her white coat and stethoscope, because her medical career was literally born out of Hardwicks Creek, where she fell out of a tree in middle school and broke her back. Dr. Kennon still practices in her hometown of Clay City.

Photo by Tim Webb  Dr. Taufik Kassis at his clinic in Stanton. 

Photo by Tim Webb Nurse Practitioner Scott Seitz in Winchester.

Nurse Practitioner Heather Deel at her clinic in Stanton.

Photo by Tim Webb Husband and wife team John and Donna Isfort at their clinic in Irvine. 

Jenell Brewer is at the epicenter in the battle against addiction in Powell and several surrounding counties with Casey's Law and SPARK Ministries. 

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Estill County coroner Jimmie Wise and his wife Sheila have seen more than their fair share of overdoes in neighboring Estill County. 

Photo by Tim Webb Lisa Coffey and Jeanette and Wayne Ross, affectionately known as Pastor and Momma, lead a very effective faith-based recovery program at Shepherd's Shelter Ross Rehab in Mount Sterling. 

Paula Adams of Irvine, holds a picture of her son Dalton, who died of a drug overdose in 2019.

Van Ingram is the Executive Director of the Kentucky Office of Drug Policy in Frankfort.

Jerrica Brandenburg, an alcohol and drug counselor at Marcum & Wallace Hospital in Irvine, holds a box of Narcan that is somewhat of a miracle-drug that has saved so many people from dying of an overdose.

Photo by Tim Webb Marti Hackworth, Laura Helvey, and Rebecca Wolfinbarger lead a Narcotics Anonymous (Nar-Anon) meeting for mothers of kids suffering from Substance Abuse Disorder. 

Neil Hamilton and David Howard of the Powell County Detention Center see the revolving-door effect of repeat offenders.

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Powell County native Will Arvin, who went from a hardcore drug user to an evangelist and church pastor, had an incredible story to tell. Will, who now lives in Fort Gay, West Virginia, just randomly raised his Bible into the air as I was finishing his shoot in the rain, near a crossroad with two iron bridges. It was a great impromptu moment!

Photo by Tim Webb
Powell County Health Department Public Health Director Stacy Crase approaches the epidemic with a concept known as harm reduction, which accepts the fact that, for better or worse, drug use is part of our world, and works to minimize the harmful effects of drug use rather than just ignore it or condemn it. 

What started in May of 2022 finally came full-circle August 21, 2024, with a celebration and launch of the book in Stanton. 

A few behind-the-scenes, top, working down...Nate's Mom Deana helped me with some of the early photo shoots while Nate was off hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Nate and I had an all-day design session in the basement of his parent's house when he came home from graduate school in May.

The funniest thing happened in June...we decided to order a few books to proof one last time before making the large run later in the month. Nate was working an internship in Washington DC and I was in DC for the Washington Youth Tour when the books arrived. While my copy was home in Richmond on my desk, Nate brought his copy to my hotel and we looked at it together in the lobby of the Crystal City Marriott. Looking at the book together like that, after so much hard work and time was very gratifying.

Photo by Tim Webb Like I said in my opening...working on this book was extremely personal. Richmond is where I live, but Clay City will always be my home.

I recently found a lady in Waco that will do small-run t-shirt orders. So I had her make a t-shirt with a K1000 on the front of it. I love it because it's old school!

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The camera and the shirt.

One of my early mentors was a guy named Bimbo Reed. He taught me a lot when I was in high school. He even had a color darkroom set up in his trailer. He was the one who told me that it was okay to take a vertical picture every now and then, ha! Bimbo took a picture of me with my k1000 on his couch, New Year's Eve 1990. A much skinnier version of myself snapping a few shots at Daytona Beach with my K1000, June 1988.

The Clay City Times, 1991-1994

I kind of laugh at this cheesy picture now, but, let's just say, I took my job as a journalist seriously. My trusted K1000 is beside me, October 1992. I ran several hundred rolls of black and white film through it while I was working in newspapers. It and a police scanner never left my side. 

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Photo by Tim Webb

The trip always starts with a visit to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia. Locals pronounce it Monti-chello, but I have yet to find the H in Monticello. I'm sure the folks in Wayne County could correct them on the proper pronunciation of Monticello.  

Photo by Tim Webb Next on the agenda was George Washington's home at Mount Vernon. 

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb The Sunset Parade at the Marine Memorial (Iwo Jima statue). 

Photo by Tim Webb The Kentucky students come together with several hundred other students from all across the country during the NRECA Youth Night. Our Kentucky kids never disappoint!  Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

For years, I sat up a complete light system to do the cover shots, but the last couple of years I've gone with a small speed light (a flash) on a remote and used one of the other chaperones as a human light stand, which you can see Joey Frakes' shadow on the ground in front of me. If I start early enough in the day while the light is calm it works. 

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb I have photographed the WYT for several years with my good friend April Burgess, who works for Inter-County Energy in Danville. She brought her husband Rudy along on the trip this year. They were so funny, and really good people to hang out with! April is easily in the top five of my favorite chaperones (inside joke, ha!).

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb I don't care if you're a Democrat or Republican...what a great moment when Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader takes a few minutes to come outside and talk to you on the steps of our nation's capitol. I told the students that they will appreciate this photo more and more as they get older in life.

Photo by Tim Webb The Great Shoe Exchange of 2024: Blisters are a real thing when walking 5-6 miles in dress shoes. 

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb If the World War II Memorial is my favorite site in DC, then the Holocaust Museum and the Pentagon 911 Memorial are right there with it. Maybe someday I'll do a blog post about these two sites because it would be hard to do either one of them justice here in this post. If you ever go to DC these two are definite must-sees! They both are made up of so many moving parts, but yet, so well-done, so intimate, and so sad!   Photo by Tim Webb Back home six days later at Base Camp at East Kentucky Power in Winchester.

I use vertaical grips that have a shutter button on the side, which means the shutter button on my left side is always resting against my hip, and likes to take it's own pictures. Everytime that I'm shooting, I usually come away with about a dozen or so shots of the ground because of my hip. A few weeks ago, I came home after working in Taylor County and downloaded cards and found these. I thought they were pretty cool to be an accident. 

The bottom picture looks a little phallic, but I promise I'm not happy to see you, HA!

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Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb  

I shot my first Derby for the Herald-Leader in 2004, which was the year of Smarty Jones. I didn’t work at Churchill Downs that year, but I covered the Derby at Keeneland in Lexington. Turns out, that place is packed each year for the Derby, and is a great atmosphere if you don’t want to go to Louisville.

The following year, I made it to Churchill and covered the infield during the day, and then the First Turn during the race for the Courier-Journal. The CJ does a piece each year in their print edition called “Around the Track,” which is a series of panoramic photos that show where each horse is during the race, and my part was at the First Turn. Jockey Mike Smith and Giacomo crossed the line at 50–1 odds in 2005 and came within a few feet of me as they made their victory lap back to the winners circle.

I remember it was so hot that year as I sat at my spot on the track, waiting for the race to start, that I paid some kid $5 to go get me a screw top 20 ounce Pepsi. After I drank it, I thought to myself that I may never have an opportunity to sit on the track and photograph the world’s greatest horse race ever again, so I scooped up dirt from the track into the empty Pepsi bottle to take home as a souvenir. Turns out, I made it back to the First Turn nine more times.  

One of the most interesting moments of my entire career came in 2008. Just seconds after Big Brown won the Derby, he was making his way back to the winner’s circle, and instead of staying in the middle of the track as NBC’s reporter Britney Eurton interviewed jockey Kent Desormeaux, Big Brown pushed the outrider to the outside rail. He was literally on top of me, as I pushed as hard as I could against the chain link fence behind me to get enough separation for a shot. Technically, it wasn’t the greatest shot ever, but the fact that the Kentucky Derby winner was within inches of my lens, it was a pretty damn good shot!

But the joy ended there, because once Big Brown got past me, I saw that another horse was down on the track, back toward the back stretch. It was Eight Belles. She had to be euthanized on the track for a broken leg. I had a very graphic photo with the track’s vet pulling off the syringe cover with his mouth as he stood over top of the filly. At first, the CJ refused to run it all, which kind of confused me, but eventually they buried five of my photos in the online edition. I had mixed emotions about that because it was news and it happened in front of 158,000 people and on national television. But, in retrospect, it was probably too much reality for the general public, especially after Barbaro had died just two years earlier. Channel 36 in Lexington did an interview with me that explains it more.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time covering the Kentucky Derby. It was never about the money because I only made $250 for the day, which was a great day-rate for newspapers, but was only a fraction of what I make for the day as a corporate freelance photographer. I always loved the atmosphere of
the Derby because it was such a cultural paradox. In the grandstands you could see dresses, suits, cigars, and hats, that literally cost thousands of dollars, or you could go to the infield and some girl in a tank top and a pair of cut off jeans would flash her tits…just for the heck of it! You never knew what to expect in the infield. 

I worked a couple of years for Xerox in addition to the CJ and made it up to the fringes of Millionaire Row. While there, I once stood in a buffet line and talked with NFL legend Terry Bradshaw, and once got a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip. But for the most part, I enjoyed the opportunity to photograph and document The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports, with ordinary people on all sides of the economic spectrum. As long as I live, I’ll never forget what it felt like to stand on the dirt, on the track of this famed venue, listening as they sang My Old Kentucky Home each year. It was one of the greatest treasures of my career! There’s nothing else like it. Weep no more my lady!!!

Eventually, my kids grew up and started going to prom, which was always on the first Saturday in May at their school. As much as I love photography, it’s like a mistress that is constantly pulling me away from my family. I decided that I had been there and done that with the Derby long enough, and that it was more important to be a Dad in Richmond than it was to be one of hundreds of photographers working the Derby in Louisville. With that, I shot my last Derby in 2014, and I now enjoy watching it on my couch, in the comforts of my own home, with a cold beer that didn’t cost $12!

And they're off....

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Photo by Tim Webb

2014 First Turn

Photo by Tim Webb

My first First Turn, 2005

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Jockey Mike Smith celebrating after winning the 2005 Kentucky Derby with Giacomo.

I still have that Pepsi bottle with dirt from the track in my office.

Photo by Tim Webb EQUINE EQUINE EQUINE EQUINEStanding at the rail, covering the Kentucky Derby for the Louisville Courier-Journal, May 2006.

The Eastern Progress Photo Editors Club working the Derby in 2009. Left to right, Kevin Martin (2000), myself (1991), Mark Cornelison (1989), & Rob Carr (1986).

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Kentucky Derby 2011. I picked up Xerox as a client for Oaks and Derby and got to spend a little time in the suites.

Working for Xerox in 2010.

EQUINEWorking the infield during the Kentucky Derby, 2007. Working the infield.
Standing with the Spires, Kentucky Oaks, 2010. Photo by Dan Dry

EQUINEBig Brown inches away from my camera lens, just minutes after winning the 2008 Kentucky Derby.
Big Brown stuck his nose in my lens just a few seconds after winning the 2008 Kentucky Derby.

EQUINEFilly Eight Belles goes down and is euphemized near the back stretch, after breaking her two front legs, after placing in the 2008 Kentucky Derby. Eight Belles went down during the 2008 Derby.

Photo by Tim Webb   Photo by Tim Webb
The parade of owners and trainers before the race is always a specitale at the First Turn!

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Scenes from the infield at Derby 139.
May 4, 2013 Eric Vernenberg, front, and Eric Doolittle, slide on a tarp in the infield, during Derby 139.
May 4, 2013 EQUINE EQUINE EQUINE EQUINE EQUINE EQUINE EQUINE EQUINE EQUINE EQUINEPhoto by Tim Webb Calvin Borel celebrates with Super Saver after winning the 2010 Kentucky Derby, in a mudfest, seen below. EQUINE This guy from Chicago got creative with sneaking liquor into the infield. Is it a loaf of bread, or is it a pint of bourbon? Hard to tell!

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The media center was the largest that I have ever worked in, with about 300 credentialled photographers. But you notice I'm up top looking down on the commoners, ha!, with the Courier-Journal, the Herald-Leader and the Associated Press. And the food there was freaking awesome!!!
Two Louisville Courier-Journal legends here. Michael Clevenger, left, and the venerable Bill Luster, right. 

EQUINE Photo by Tim Webb Self Portrait My last view from the office, 2014.


My 2008 Interview with Channel 36 about the Eight Belles tragedy. 

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In 1941, then-secretary Harold Ickes commissioned Adams to produce a series of murals of the American Southwest to hang in the department's new building. Although, oddly enough, becaue of World War II they cancelled the project and didn't install them, even though Adams had made over 200 photographs for it, including my favorite "Moonrise Over Hernadez, New Mexico." The murals were finally installed in 2009, and it was stunning to finally see these life sized images in person. 

As I said in my 2022 post, I have been influenced by so many photographers during my career. And I feel like I've taken or borrowed a little bit here and a little bit there from each of them, but no other photographer has ever had an impact on me as much as Ansel Adams has.

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Here is my post from March 2022...

I finally learned that the best photographers were the ones who sought me out. The ones that I recruited never seemed to work out. I took it as a God-thing and would just let the Good Lord send people to me. Somewhere around 2001 or 2002, a kid from Mount Sterling emailed me saying he was leaving Western Kentucky University's photojournalism program to come to Eastern, which was unheard of. He said he felt like he was just a number at Western. I told him how myself, along with Mark Cornelison and Rob Carr had come out of Eastern and succeeded when Eastern truly didn't have a photo program to speak of. But, I told him Eastern would give him one thing and that was opportunity.

Opportunity to be a Big Fish in a very small pond. Myself, Corn, and Carr were all examples of what hard work and perseverance could do for you at a place like Eastern. Kevin took my advice, transferred, and worked for me, The Eastern Progress and the Lexington Herald-Leader. Kevin took some criticism for leaving Western, but he proved his critics wrong by going on to get a masters in photojournalism from Ohio University, served on the board of the National Press Photographers Association, and eventually worked at newspapers in Boston, Augusta, Baton Rouge, San Antonio, Knoxville, The Associated Press, and is currently freezing to death as the Visuals Editor at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, where he was recently named the national visuals editor of the year.

The EKU Group: Chris Radcliffe and Kevin, who both worked for me as university photographers in 2001-2003, myself, and Mark Cornelison.

We had lunch at Joe Bologna's in Lexington. Back row standing, left to right, Mark Cornelison, Amy Wallot, Charles Bertram, myself, Chris Radcliffe. Front row left to right, David Coyle, David Stephenson, David Perry, Kevin and his father Steve. (I was the odd man out by sitting at the David Table with the three Davids).
 

I've said this before, there's something special about making the cover of a magazine. I've always told the editors of Kentucky Living Magazine that if a photographer ever tells you that they don't care about making the cover, then you should fire them, because that means they're either lying to you or they're not passionate enough about their work! I didn't know how Bucknell would treat the photos in their alumni magazine, but turns out I made the cover. That was a nice surprise! 

COM-MAG-FALL23.indd Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

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They had taken a trip to Ireland and Kim took a painting class while she was there and was a natural at it. For someone who took a class on a vacation whim, Kim has grown and matured into a thriving artist. I’ve enjoyed talking with her about the artistic side of being a creative as well as the business side, which is the hardest part. When you’re creative that part comes from instinct, paying the bills is where the real struggle comes from. There’s definitely a learning curve, usually at the school of hard knocks, when an artist of any kind has to actually make a living. I’ve enjoyed mentoring Kim on a few things, mostly business related because I tell her all the time that I had so many great mentors as I was coming up as a photographer. A true mentor will pay it forward by giving you their time, patience, advice, and opportunity for free.

My process in copying these paintings is really high tech! JK! All I do is put them on a card table in my garage and prop it up with a case of water from Costco. Then I open the garage door and let some light filter in. Since I'm cropping to the painting, the background doesn't matter. When you find good light kids, you'll find good photos!

Kim specializes in painting Kentucky’s two favorite children, horses and bourbon. Several of her equine paintings are from my Keeneland and Kentucky Derby photos, which is pretty cool to see my photos transformed into a painting. It’s like…same country, different universe type of thing. You can see more of her beautiful work at kimperrystudio.com.

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Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

I'm proud to have been a part of this project. I'm proud to call Kevin my friend. And I'm happy to see Kevin grow and prosper as a local artist. 

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*I've updated this post with some new photos as Kevin finished the mural. 11-20-23

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb  

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Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

On a sidenote, as I was photographing the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the new sentinel was walking toward me and I realized that it was a female sentinel. I had never seen a female sentinel before. So I looked her up and she is Sgt. Ruth Hanks, and she is only the fourth female sentinel to ever serve at the Tomb of the Unknown, so that was a pleasant surprise. 

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Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb  

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Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

I do a stock shoot for Blue Grass Energy each summer, where we go out and spend the day making a line crew look like rock stars. 

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb The new DaVinci Robot at Baptist Health Richmond.

Best Places to Work Kentucky, for the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. A good time is always had by all at this event.

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Kentucky Bar Association's Summer Convention.

Photo by Tim Webb Airbag whistle blower and Bucknell University Alum Kevin Fitzgerald at Jacobson Park, for Bucknell University.

Photo by Tim Webb UK Graduate School

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Women's Summit.

Photo by Tim Webb Coach Cal speaks to the Kentucky Electric Cooperatives in Louisville.

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

The CASA Gala of Madison and Clark counties, raising money for advocates to represent abused and neglected children in the court system.

East Kentucky Power Employee Appreciation Day at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb UK Healthcare Pharmacy Services.

Transylvania University Spring Commencement.

Photo by Tim Webb The Kentucky Optometric Association Spring Conference.

Here are some shots that I did in Washington DC last week while I was with the Kentucky kids on the Washington Youth Tour. 

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The Marine War Memorial (Iwo Jima)

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

The United States Capitol Building

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's grave at Arlington National Cemetery.

The Thomas Jefferson Memorial

The Metro

The FDR Memorial

Rosa Parks painting at the African American Museum.

The Vietnam War Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial 

The Korean War Memorial

The World War II Memorial (my favorite)

The Washington Monument

The Holocaust Museum (my second favorite)

The International Spy Museum

The White House

During this process, I became paranoid about all of the photos that are just sitting somewhere on a disc or external hard drive in my archive, that should be part of my official portfolio, but would otherwise never see the light of day again. I've literally woken up in the middle of the night, thinking about a decent photo that I took in 2005, wondering where it's at. As a photographer my photos are a lot like my kids. When you create a photo it's like giving birth. You conceive it in your brain and your eyes, and it comes to life through the camera, which is just an extension of your brain. The thoughts of losing a photo is like losing a kid. Even the bad photos, I just can't bring myself to delete them.

"My boys could care less about my archive, but Laura appreciates history like I do. For better or worse, it’s history and it matters to me. She’s my little curator (and my little undertaker). I’ve told her, 'When I die, don’t stress out over what to do with all of my shit! Feel free to get a bottle of wine and have a big bonfire and burn all of it! But in the meantime, I don’t have the heart to let it go, so you’ll have to do that for me.'”

So, about a year ago, I got serious about my updating and organizing my portfolio (Click on the Portfolio button on the home page to access it). If a new client wants to hire me, the slideshow on my home page has plenty to help them decide if I'm worthy or not, but my actual portfolio galleries represent my life's work. They're a body of work that I've been building since I was a kid in 1978. They're like owning a virtual photo gallery. Some photos are in there because they represent my best work. But to be honest, most things are in there because of the story behind photo, not necessarily the photo itself. For example, one of the largest galleries is called Snappers which are behind-the-scene photos of myself and the people I've had the pleasure to work with the last 36 years. I've even added cutlines to several in that gallery, just to add a little context.

It's taken me almost a year to get my portfolio lined out because I still have to go back and edit most of these. Let's just say... I wasn't the greatest in the darkroom. Water spots and dust spots were my nemesis. And with the digital photos, trying to find the full-rez versions has been harder than I thought. My general rule is no photos less than 1000 Kilobytes. Some of the early digital cameras just didn't produce large files. 

I don't know that I'll ever fully retire from photography because it's something I can do as an old man, but I am slowing down some, focusing more on meaningful projects. My OCD can rest easier now that my life's work is organized and preserved. 

If anyone wonders why I end all of my blog posts with -30-, it's because back in my day that's the way they taught you to end your stories, so that the copy editors would know that it was the end. Tradition holds that back in the day with the wire services, New York would end a story with -thirsty- so that Chicago would know that was the end of the story. Thirsty meant it was time to go drink a beer. And that eventually turned into the shortened version of -30-.

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Here are a few Snappers. I'm not sure why it's called Snappers. The former crew at the Lexington Herald-Leader coined that phrase, and it stuck!

My Dad took a picture of me taking a picture of my Mom, Thanksgiving Day 1979.
I had never seen this image before. Then one day in 2017, while I was scanning in some of my parent's photo albums and negatives, I ran across the negative to this photo that somehow never got printed in 1979. Wow! What a hidden treasure! My Dad took a picture of me taking a picture of my Mom on our family farm in Carter County when I was in 4th grade. I had been doing photography about a year at this time. My Dad couldn't have started me out any harder than he unknowingly did. I was using an Agfa viewfinder camera that my Mom's brother brought to her from Germany in the early 1960s. It was 100 percent manual, with no light meter or focus mechanism. So I had to guess at the f-stop and shutter speed settings, as well as the footage between me and my subject. And to boot, he started me on slide film, which has no forgiveness. To this day, my greatest strength as a photographer is being able to recognize and evaluate light. I owe all of this to my Dad who taught me how to read light, years before my time. Thanks Dad!

wegAfter covering the World Equestrian Games at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington for the Louisville Courier-Journal for two straight weeks in October 2010, it was time for a much-needed nap in the media center on the last day. Photo by Jonathan Palmer
After shooting all but two days of the FEI World Equestrian Games for the Louisville Courier-Journal in the fall of 2010, I was ready for a nap on the last day in the media center. 

EQUINEStanding at the rail, covering the Kentucky Derby for the Louisville Courier-Journal, May 2006.
Shooting my first of several Kentucky Derbies for the Louisville Courier-Journal in 2006.

Doing a magazine shoot with the Bluegrass Band Kentucky Wildhorse on my family farm in Carter County, Summer 2007. Photo by Chris Radcliffe I'd love to have a dime for every time I've set up and torn down a light system in my career!

The Eastern Progress at Eastern Kentucky University, Fall 1990 thru Fall of 1991. The Progress gave myself and two other guys the greatest assignment of our lives when they sent us to Daytona Beach to cover spring Break in 1991. The greatest assignment ever! Covering Spring Break 1991 at Daytona Beach for The Eastern Progress.

Jerry Schierman, seen here with me at the All-A Classic in 2014, was one of the most important mentors that I ever had. I mowed the grass at East Kentucky Power during the summers of 1989 and 1990, and on rainy days I was inside the buildings changing light bulbs. Jerry was the communications manager at EKPC, and gave very valuable advice when he told me to switch my major at Eastern Kentucky University from public relations to journalism, because he said it would make me a better writer. Jerry's department always had the brightest lights because I would constantly change them out just so that I could hang out up there and ask questions.

Jerry gave me a very sobering critique of my photography. Things like the importance of being in focus, and better darkroom skills. As bad as it hurt, I really needed to hear that because I was at the point that my parents and friends were telling me how good I was when I really wasn't. Sometimes you need to hear the truth. Jerry was very nice but brutally honest with me, and I worked hard to get better at photography because of Jerry.
Jerry Schierman, seen here with me at the All-A Classic in 2014, was one of the most important mentors that I ever had. I mowed the grass at East Kentucky Power in Winchester during the summers of 1989 and 1990, and on rainy days I was inside the buildings changing light bulbs. Jerry was the communications manager at EKPC, and gave very valuable advice when he told me to switch my major at Eastern Kentucky University from public relations to journalism, because he said it would make me a better writer. Jerry's department always had the brightest lights because I would constantly change them out on rainy days just so that I could hang out up there and ask questions.  

Jerry gave me a very sobering critique of my photography in the summer of 1990. Things like the importance of being in focus, and better darkroom skills. He was brutally honest, and as bad as it hurt, I really needed to hear that because I was at the point that my parents and friends were telling me how good I was when I really wasn't. Sometimes you need to hear the truth and I worked hard to get better at photography because of Jerry.

I did one last film project from 2004-2007, years after I converted to digital. Instead of developing my very last roll of film, I decided to keep it. It has some red buds and dogwoods from April 2007 in the Red River Gorge. It was the official end to my career in film and chemicals.
Instead of developing my last roll of film I decided to keep it.

Photography is like a mistress because you love it, but it's always pulling you away from your family. I worked hard to involve my kids with my photography as much as I could.
Photography is a lot like a mistress. You love it and it constantly pulls you away from your family. So I worked hard to involve my kids with my work as much as I could. 

Photography is like a mistress because you love it, but it's always pulling you away from your family. I worked hard to involve my kids with my photography as much as I could.

The Eastern Progress staff Fall of 1991. Our class was easily the most successful class to ever come out of The Progress, even to this day, thanks to the teaching, nurturing, ball-busting, paycheck-withholding, genuine love, and mentoring of our adviser Dr. Libby Fraas, middle row, far right. Some of the people photographed here went on to work at The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, The Southwest Times Record, The Milwaukee Journal, The Detroit Free-Press, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, a state representative, and press secretary for governors Paul Patton and Steve Beshear. And then there was me. I worked at The Clay City Times and came back to Eastern as the University Photographer. What can I say... I stayed local, HA! 

The general consensus was if you can work for Libby Fraas you can work for anybody in the country. And that was so true. Don't even think about missing deadline. It's not an option. Which was why it was so epic for our last issue on December 4, 1991, that Doc made the decision to hold deadline for me to come back from my native Powell County where I had covered the death of former Kentucky governor Bert T. Combs on that Wednesday. I wrote my story in my head on the drive back to Richmond, and then had a whole host of editors, including Doc standing over my shoulder editing in The Progress office as I wrote it. Turns out, I was the only reporter there that day that mentioned that he died within a few feet of the parkway that bore his name, The Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway. I passed off my film for my assistant photo editor to develop and print. The OCD in me hated to pass off my film, but deadline was deadline! To say that I went out in a blaze of glory is an understatement.

Partying with a group of Argentinians at the Alltech One Conference, May 18, 2015. I got to keep the hat, and finally managed to get my camera back! The group from Argentina kidnapped me and absconded with my camera during the 2015 Alltech One Conference. But a good time was had by all!

I interned with the Kentucky Press Association in Frankfort the Spring of 1992, covering the General Assembly. I wrote a weekly wrap-up story and sent it out to all of the weekly newspapers in the state. It was a great time to be in Frankfort. Brereton Jones was inaugurated governor. Arkansas governor Bill Clinton made a presidential campaign stop. It was the first session after Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990. And the FBI conducted a sting operation that later lead to several arrests in Operation Bop Trot. But best of all was living in the old KPA house on Capitol Avenue, just two blocks from the capitol building, with three other friends from Eastern, and two girls we met at the Legislative Research Commission. It was a great semester!
I interned with the Kentucky Press Association in Frankfort during the Spring of 1992, covering the General Assembly. I wrote a weekly wrap-up story and sent it out to all of the weekly newspapers in the state. It was a great time to be in Frankfort. Brereton Jones was inaugurated governor. Arkansas governor Bill Clinton made a presidential campaign stop. It was the first session after the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990. And the FBI conducted a sting operation that later lead to several arrests in Operation Bop Trot. But best of all was living in the old KPA house on Capitol Avenue, just two blocks from the capitol, with three other friends from Eastern, and two girls we met at the Legislative Research Commission. One of which was Laura Hasselwander, above, who was an intern photographer for the LRC. Laura later hired on fulltime with the LRC.

Pictured below, after being super skinny my entire life, beer, Ale-8s, and college food caught up with me and gave me a gut in the spring of 1992. And unfortunately, it has never gone away since then. But, as I like to say, I have way too much money invested in this Dad-Bod of mine to get rid of it now!

I interned with the Kentucky Press Association in Frankfort the Spring of 1992, covering the General Assembly. I wrote a weekly wrap-up story and sent it out to all of the weekly newspapers in the state. It was a great time to be in Frankfort. Brereton Jones was inaugurated governor. Arkansas governor Bill Clinton made a presidential campaign stop. It was the first session after Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990. And the FBI conducted a sting operation that later lead to several arrests in Operation Bop Trot. But best of all was living in the old KPA house on Capitol Avenue, just two blocks from the capitol building, with three other friends from Eastern, and two girls we met at the Legislative Research Commission. It was a great semester!

Covering the Kentucky General Assembly for the Kentucky Press Association, April 1992. Kentucky House of Representatives, April 1992.

Talking with Dana Estep during my first-ever internship at my hometown newspaper, the Clay City Times, Summer 1991. Check out the little Mac that I was working on.
Hanging out with Dana Estep at The Clay City Times during the Summer of 1991. I turned down an internship at the Lexington Herald-Leader to come back to my hometown community newspaper. People told me I was stupid for doing that, but I got so much experience that summer as both a writer and a photographer that I would have never gotten at the Herald-Leader. I literally lived with a police scanner 24/7. Sometimes it's best to trust your gut feeling, even if it doesn't make sense on paper. 

Don't ever stop working a good angle, even if it means pushing your nose out of the way.

Wading in the Licking River while doing a story on muscles, May 2018. Wading the Licking River in Cynthiana with my camera condom, while photographing muscles, May 2018. 

Chimney Rock, Red River Gorge, January 23, 2005. Enduring sub-zero temperatures in the Red River Gorge, January 2005, just to get some snow shots.

My Dad gave me some valuable advice in 1989, "The one thing in life you can count on is change. You may not like it. But you can count on it." As much as I loved being the University Photographer for my alma mater, it was time to move on in January 2004. I turned over the reigns to my student photographer Chris Radcliffe, who quickly blazed his own trail and took the position to new levels. He's seen here testing firing a remote camera behind the glass in McBrayer Arena with me and my son Nolan in 2006.

Covering the Boys Sweet 16 as the official KHSAA photographer in 2013 with my buddy Mark Cornelison, who was with the Lexington Herald-Leader at the time and is now UK's University Photographer. I didn't realize it until later, but coach Cal and his son Brad were sitting behind us. 

My tribe and I at The Eastern Progress awards dinner, April 1991. I was named Outstanding Ad Rep that night after a year of selling ads in downtown Richmond. The following semester I became the first person in Progress history to win that award in two different categories, when I was named Outstanding Editor as photo editor.

Photo by Tim Webb

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Madison County EMS
Richmond, Kentucky
For Madison County Opioid Response and Empowerment Project (MORE)

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb
Jackson Purchase Energy Cooperative
Paducah, Kentucky 
For Kentucky Living Magazine Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Hyster-Yale
Berea, Kentucky
For Hyster-Yale

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb University of Kentucky Health Sciences student awards and Department of Physical Therapy pinning ceremony.
Lexington, Kentucky
For The University of Kentucky

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb
The venerable Ted Hampton on the eve of his 60th anniversary as the CEO of Cumberland Valley RECC. To 
put that in perspective, JFK was president when Ted began leading the co-op. That's my photo that he's holding,
that was converted into a painting by my good buddy Kevin Osbourn of Winchester.  
Cumberland Valley RECC
Barbourville, Kentucky
For Kentucky Living Magazine

Laura's Stockyard Cafe
Bowling Green, Kentucky
For Kentucky Living Magazine

Alltech Vocal Scholarship Competition
University of Kentucky Opera Theater
Lexington, Kentucky
For Alltech

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb The Super Bowl of Preaching
Crossroads Church
Lexington, Kentucky
For Crossroads Church

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb
University of Kentucky Police Department Portraits
Lexington, Kentucky
For The University of Kentucky

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Safety Allstars
East Kentucky Power Cooperative
Burnside & Maysville, Kentucky
For East Kentucky Power Cooperative

Photo by Tim Webb John May of Licking Valley RECC holds portraits of his father and grandfather who once served on the Licking Valley Board of Directors. John used to serve on the board as well, but is now the manager of administrative services. 
West Liberty, Kentucky
For Licking Valley RECC

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb UK Healthcare Pharmacy Department
Lexington, Kentucky
For UK Healthcare

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Chamber Day is the biggest reception of each year's Kentucky General Assembly, and is Lexington's largest sit down dinner with about 2,000 attendees. 
Lexington, Kentucky
For The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce

Former University of Kentucky basketball player and current investment guru, J.P. Blevins at his Main Street office.
Lexington, Kentucky
For The University of Kentucky Alumni Association

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb
The Great Teacher Awards Dinner
Lexington, Kentucky
For The University of Kentucky Alumni Association

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Transylvania University fans celebrate their women's basketball team winning the national championship in Dallas, during a watch party at the Kentucky Theater.
Lexington, Kentucky
For Transylvania University

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Chasing 300
By Tim Webb

At the beginning of the 2000 football season, as Coach Roy Kidd was inching closer to his 300th victory, I knew that moment would be the one photo that would define my career as Eastern’s university photographer. I could sense that it would be the one image that would still matter a hundred years from now. I just had to make sure I was there when it happened.

Leading up to 300, I did several photos with coach because I knew the university and media outlets would be needing images. One of my all-time favorite photos of him came from a portrait shoot that I was doing with coach and the four consecutive trophies that came from Eastern’s appearance in the national championship game, from 1979-1982. We were casually talking about him being a quarterback during his playing days at Corbin High School and Eastern, when out of the blue, he picked up a football and donned a left-handed quarterback pose with a big smile on his face. For a coach so meticulous in his planning, it was such an impromptu moment.

Counting my days as photo editor of The Eastern Progress, I had been covering Coach Kidd and the Colonels since 1991. During my time as a student at Eastern, players like Lorenzo Fields, Elroy Harris, and Tim Lester were lighting up the record books. I photographed the Colonels last great playoff run in the fall of 1991, that included a 14-3 win over Appalachian State in the rain and mud during Thanksgiving weekend in Richmond, and then a heartbreaking 14-7 loss in the semifinals to Marshall in Huntington.

IslBG

IslBG I was too young to remember the national championship years. But in a lot of ways, as time marched on and I went from a student photographer to the university photographer, I recognized that I was photographing the end of the golden age of the Kidd era. But I also saw it as an opportunity to document the end of Coach Kidd’s illustrious career, and it was an opportunity that I took seriously.

With the 2000 season drawing to a close and coach sitting on number 299, I gave up the opening morning of deer season with my family, to make the long trip to Charleston, Illinois, as the Colonels took on Eastern Illinois and future NFL quarterback and broadcaster Tony Romo. Eastern’s season came to an end that Saturday afternoon, and with it, the quest for 300 would have to wait another year. As I drove back to Richmond, I couldn’t help but be envious of all the deer hunters who were clad in orange, scattered across those Illinois corn fields. But another thought was also weighing on my mind, “Surely they will schedule a home game to open up the 2001 season so that Coach can get his milestone win at home.”

Nope. Chasing 300 wouldn’t be that easy. For me, the 2001 season kicked off with an even longer drive to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, to photograph the Colonels against the D1 Chippewas of Central Michigan University. While the Colonels took a lead into halftime, we left Mount Pleasant while still sitting on number 299. On a positive note, before leaving town, I ran into Walmart and bought a copy of ESPN the Magazine that had ran one of my sideline photos of Coach Kidd, previewing his march toward 300.

IslBG I knew that Coach Roy Kidd’s 300th win was a big deal to Eastern Kentucky University, but I was beginning to see the scope of just how big it was on a national level, as Coach Kidd was in the same conversation with coaches like Bobby Bowden of Florida State and Joe Paterno of Penn State, the only other active coaches at the time with more than 300 wins.

I knew that coach’s chances were going to be good the following Saturday when we were set to take on Liberty University back home in Richmond in the stadium that bore his name. What I didn’t realize on that long drive home in early September 2001, was that the long-awaited number 300 would happen less than 72 hours before the events of September 11th changed our world forever.

As expected, on a beautiful Saturday evening, September 8, 2001, the Colonels beat Liberty 30-7 to give Coach Roy Kidd his 300^th career victory, solidifying him as one of the greatest college football coaches in the history of the game. As the sun fell and with the clock winding down, his players doused him with Gatorade, and then they hoisted him on their shoulders and carried him out onto the field.

For a few seconds I froze and didn’t know what to do because the clock was still running with about 30 seconds, and the game was still going on. I thought, “You can’t do that…you can’t do that…the game is still going on!” All I could think about was how I had driven so many miles and spent so many hours chasing 300. And now, here it was unfolding in my back yard, and I was about to miss it because I didn’t want to be a rule breaker.

Finally, I ran out onto the field and cut into the middle of the huddle as it was still moving. I popped up in front of Coach Kidd and was able to fire off two frames before stumbling backwards out of the huddle. I still didn’t know if I got the shot or not because although I had just converted from film to digital a few months earlier, I played it safe that night and took the money shot on color film. When I got the film back from a local lab on Monday morning, my heart sank when I looked at the first frame because one of the players who was holding coach’s leg was looking directly at me with his tongue stuck out. But thankfully, he had looked away and put his tongue back in mouth for the second frame. And that was the frame of film that will go down in Eastern Kentucky University history.

The celebration on the field that night was unlike anything I had ever experienced. You could tell there was a sense relief with Coach Kidd because the weight of number 299 had been resting on his shoulders for several months. You could see the sense of accomplishment on his face, along with a big smile, as he and Sue embraced on the field. It was as if everything they had worked for all those years culminated that night. And while Coach was celebrating with his family, the students were busy tearing down the goal posts. It warmed my heart to watch as they carried one of posts off of the field like an army of ants, down Kit Carsen Avenue to its final resting place in downtown Richmond at Madison Garden.

I realized that night as I was packing up my gear to go home, that Coach Kidd was never meant to win number 300 on the road. The opposing fans wouldn’t have appreciated it the way we did, and they certainly wouldn’t have torn the goal posts down. It was only fitting that number 300 was won at Roy Kidd Stadium in Richmond, making “Cabin on the Hill” that was sung that night extra special.

Chasing 300 and covering the last half of Roy Kidd’s storied career was an experience that I’ll cherish forever.

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202210 Master.indd

On the night that we were supposed to do the shoot, it started raining. It went between a misting rain and a light rain. To be honest, I was hoping they would call it off because I was being lazy and didn't want to get out in the rain. And I really didn't want to get my equipment out in it, because the weather had reached that fine line between using a towel and plastic bag to keep things dry, and having to go into full-blown camera rain gear mode. I've always joked that I have more money tied up in rain gear than most soccer mom's have invested in their cameras (not that I have anything against soccer moms). But using rain gear for your cameras is like taking a shower with a rain coat on. But on this night, I was able to get by with a hand towel. I was really proud of how the cover shot turned out because the rain and moisture in the atmosphere added another dimension to the color spectrum of a photo. Plus, we even used smoke bombs to add to the effect. The smoke is what caught the yellow light behind the crane. 

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Merry Christmas all!

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Mary Beth Dennis is a phenomenal person and friend who has lead the Washington Youth Tour for the last four years, and is
now the Communications Director at Shelby Energy in Shelbyville. But one of her greatest attributes is that she married
into family from my hometown of Powell County. You can't beat that as a pedigree! 


Back in 2007, I started doing pro-bono work with an organization called Flashes of Hope. They coordinate professional photographers with major hospitals to create portraits of kids with cancer. We all volunteer for this. At the time, Jon Dubins ran the Louisville chapter at Kosair Children's Hospital. He was a UPS pilot who flew internationally, but he still found time to organize these photo shoots. Eventually, Kids Caner Alliance took over the program and created a chapter at UK Children's as well. I ran into Jon this summer at Kid Cancer Alliance's big fundraiser in Louisville. Fifteen years later, we were both still there for the cause!
   

Another pro-bono job that I do is the CASA Gala in Richmond. CASA serves Madison and Clark counties by advocating for neglected kids in court. I also had the pleasure of working with Stephanie Collinsworth Diaj, an old friend from Powell County, whom I charged a cold Ale-8 One in a tall bottle for working the event.


My good bubby Kevin Osbourn and I at the Korean War Memorial in Washington D.C.
during Honor Flight Kentucky in September. 


I've been working the Alltech ONE Conference with Donna Maloney for several years. A fun fact about Donna is that she used to serve as an administrative assistant in the White House for LBJ. When he chose not to seek the Democratic nomination for president in March of 1968, it was Donna who dictated his typed speech, as another person typed it into the teleprompter for the national television address later that evening. I get to work with so many interesting people.


I ran into Taylor Kennon while doing work for Transylvania University back in the spring. Taylor's parents Jared
and Julie Kennon are lifelong friends of mine.
  

I graduated the year-long Leadership Madison County program this summer.
 

Photo by Tim Webb     I randomly sat next to a woman named Ashley Hawkins on the airplane during Kentucky's first all-female Honor Flight in June. I was used to hearing men talk about war, but it was odd hearing two women talk about being 50-cal gunners in Afghanistan and Iraq. But it made sense because that was the first time women were active in combat. Hawkins was the first woman in U.S. history to receive the bronze star for valor, that came from a 2005 battle in Iraq, known as the Palm Sunday Ambush.


You know the Alltech ONE Conference is a top-shelf event when I hire "The Mark Cornelison" as a second shooter. 
 
Agriculture journalist Chuck Zimmerman at the Alltech ONE Conference.

Photo by Tim Webb
My son Nolan got to visit Spurlock Station, East Kentucky Power's Maysville power plant, and help me carry equipment in November. 

  Photographer Ed Roller at the Alltech ONE Conference. Ed's day-job is at Murphy's Camera in Lexington. He and I go way back.

One of my sons, who will remain anonymous, was arguing with me one day in September about the first name of Kentucky's senate president. I ran into Senator Robert Stivers later that evening at the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce's Annual Meeting in Louisville and thought this would be a great way to prove I was right, HA!

Photo by Tim Webb
In Louisville with my two favorite magazine editors, Anita Travis Richter and Shannon Brock of Kentucky Living Magazine, above. Anita, below, is ready to retire in a few days. She and I have been working together for more than 18 years. She's a dandy! I'm going to miss working with her.

*As an editor's note, if you notice the carpet in some of these photos you'll figure out that I'm at the Louisville Downtown Marriott several times a year. It's a great place to host an event. 

Photo by Tim Webb

Then, come July 1st, the corporate world goes on vacation, and so do I. August is usually busy with back-to-school stuff with the universities, and I see the same trend as in January. It takes the Tuesday after Labor Day for them to wake up and realize that summer is over and the kids are back in school, and it's time to get started on projects again. It slows down in November, just in time for me to go deer hunting, but then comes back with a vengeance in December. It then becomes a race to get as much work done as possible before Christmas. In December, I'm back to several jobs a day until December 20th, and then it dies off again for the holidays. 

I'm going to do a few blog posts on some of the work from this year's Salad Days, which I was glad to see, because it was the first normal season that I had had since the pandemic hit. 

Today's post is from the two Honor Flights that I went on this summer to Washington DC. The first one in June was extra special because it was the first-ever all female flight from Kentucky. It was so neat to meet women like Ashley Hawkins, who was the first woman in U.S. Army history to receive the bronze star for valor, that came from a 2005 battle in Iraq, known as the Palm Sunday Ambush. And then seeing so much emotion from the MASH nurses from the Vietnam era lay a wreath at the Women's Vietnam Memorial. It's always a pleasure to go on the honor flights each year.  

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Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb  

Then, come July 1st, the corporate world goes on vacation, and so do I. August is usually busy with back-to-school stuff with the universities, and I see the same trend as in January. It takes the Tuesday after Labor Day for them to wake up and realize that summer is over and the kids are back in school, and it's time to get started on projects again. It slows down in November, just in time for me to go deer hunting, but then comes back with a vengeance in December. It then becomes a race to get as much work done as possible before Christmas. In December, I'm back to several jobs a day until December 20th, and then it dies off again for the holidays. 

I'm going to do a few blog posts on some of the work from this year's Salad Days, which I was glad to see, because it was the first normal season that I had had since the pandemic hit. 

Today's post is from the Washington Youth Tour. Washington DC is one of my favorite places to visit. I guess that's the history buff coming out in me. The Washington Youth Tour is a national program where high school juniors from electric cooperatives from all over the country go to Washington DC for a week. I ride up with them and spend the week. My main job is to produce 22 magazine covers for Kentucky Living Magazine. And, every now and then they let me volunteer as a tour guide and share all of my pointless information about DC. Being a DC tour guide is my dream retirement job. One of my favorite parts of the Youth Tour is being at the Vietnam War Memorial on Fathers Day. They line the entire wall from end to end with single roses. It's very moving! 

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Then, come July 1st, the corporate world goes on vacation, and so do I. August is usually busy with back-to-school stuff with the universities, and I see the same trend as in January. It takes the Tuesday after Labor Day for them to wake up and realize that summer is over and the kids are back in school, and it's time to get started on projects again. It slows down in November, just in time for me to go deer hunting, but then comes back with a vengeance in December. It then becomes a race to get as much work done as possible before Christmas. In December, I'm back to several jobs a day until December 20th, and then it dies off again for the holidays. 

I'm going to do a few blog posts on some of the work from this year's Salad Days, which I was glad to see, because it was the first normal season that I had had since the pandemic hit. 

Today's post is from work that I did at Transylvania University in Lexington this spring and summer. I can safely say summer because Transy's commencement ceremony is always over Memorial Day weekend, a little later than some of the other universities and colleges. This is a combination of some classroom stock work and commencement. I was really happy that I was able to also do some photographs of Taylor Kennon, who graduated in May. His parents, Jared and Julie Kennon are life-long friends of mine, going all the way back to Clay City Elementary in the late 70s and early 80s. Once again, I love when life comes full-circle. 

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Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

Then, come July 1st, the corporate world goes on vacation, and so do I. August is usually busy with back-to-school stuff with the universities, and I see the same trend as in January. It takes the Tuesday after Labor Day for them to wake up and realize that summer is over and the kids are back in school, and it's time to get started on projects again. It slows down in November, just in time for me to go deer hunting, but then comes back with a vengeance in December. It then becomes a race to get as much work done as possible before Christmas. In December, I'm back to several jobs a day until December 20th, and then it dies off again for the holidays. 

I'm going to do a few blog posts on some of the work from this year's Salad Days, which I was glad to see, because it was the first normal season that I had had since the pandemic hit. 

Today's post will be some work that I did with Alltech. I've been working their symposium and ONE Conference since 2004. I also did some social media work this spring for their dietary supplement Acutia. 

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Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

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Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

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I got to go this morning and see the photos for the first time since they were hung on the walls a few days ago.

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One of the best ways to get better at photography is to study other photographer's work, especially the great ones, even if they don't do the same type of work that you do. I used to stand in the grocery store dissecting fashion magazines just to pick up on lighting techniques. I began the habit of studying other photographers back in the early 1990s when I was still up to my elbows in chemicals and the darkroom process, while working as a newspaper photographer for The Clay City Times. I would pour over The Lexington Herald-Leader while eating lunch each day, studying the work of photographers like Charles Bertram, Ron Garrison, Mark Cornelison, David Stephenson, Frank Anderson, and David Perry. I would later become good friends with all these guys, but at the time, I knew each one based on their style of photography.

Although Ansel Adams is somewhat of a cliche today, I can honestly say I have learned more by studying him than anyone else, with former University of Kentucky yearbook photographer and National Geographic phenom Sam Abell as a close second. I never did a great deal of landscape photography but I always admired Adams for being a pioneer and I consider him the father of modern-day photography. He legitimized photography with his previsualization and use of the zone system that he created. I like to think that he created the foundations of Photoshop decades before it was ever a thing. He also inspired a lot of the photography that I did on three hiking trips to the Grand Canyon between 1996-1999.

As odd as this may sound, I also learned a few corporate photography tips from Mr. Adams. Which sounds weird, because he's so well known for his landscape photography, few people realize that he did a lot of corporate work as well. It was actually a lot of the corporate photography paying the bills that allowed him to invest so much time in the vast landscape and environmental projects that he took on in the early part of the 20th Century. I fell in love with his autobiography and have read it several times. One of my favorite pieces of advice from that book is to never go on a business lunch with an empty stomach because the client may try to get you drunk and bargain the price. Adams would always eat buttered bread before such meetings to coat his stomach. I also learned how the pressure of being self employed and the fact that photography of any nature is a seven-day-a-week gig and can take it's toll on your body, because at one point Adams was hospitalized for a nervous breakdown.

As much as I had read and poured over the work of Ansel Adams, it was in 2002 that his work totally changed my life. Ironically, my father, who was the one who introduced me to the photographic life in 1978, called me one night and said there is a really good PBS documentary on Ansel Adams playing on KET and I think you would really enjoy it. Just like in 1978, my Dad had no way of knowing the impact that that conversation would have on me. I went on to watch that documentary no less than fifty times. I used to watch it over and over, picking up something new each time. And the documentary's soundtrack had an even bigger impact on my life. I can honestly say that if iTunes hadn't come around when it did that I would have easily worn out my copy of the soundtrack CD. I suffer from panic attacks and high blood pressure, and if I'm ever "stroking out," the Ansel Adams soundtrack can always calm me down. I like to think of it as musical Xanax.

In 2012, I got to check off a major piece on my bucket list when I visited the Ansel Adams Gallery, where he processed much of his major works during his hay-day in Yosemite National Park. I not only got to spend time in the building where Ansel Adams actually worked and built his career, but I was also able to buy a couple of his prints for my office. 

I would be remiss to do a post like this without saying which Ansel Adams photo is my favorite. I'll start with my second favorite, which is the photo of Georgia O'Keeffe and Orville Cox taken in 1937 at Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona. I love that photo because it captured such a beautiful behind-the-scenes moment with his fellow artists. I have devoted an entire gallery on my website portfolio titled "Snappers" to that very thing, behind-the-scenes moments with my cohorts.

So. Drumroll please. My favorite Ansel Adams photo is his 1941 image titled "Moonrise over Hernandez, New Mexico." My reason for loving it isn't because it's one of his most famous prints, it's because of the brilliance behind it. For the man who meticulously calculated all of his photographs, this one was done on the fly. He didn't have time to calculate the light, because the sun was dropping fast, and he was about to lose the light on the crosses in the graveyard, so he quickly set up his camera, and created it based on instinct alone. Remarkably, he was able to read the light! This matters to me because my first camera in third grade was an old Agfa viewfinder camera that had no light meter, and my Dad unknowingly gave me the greatest gift that he could've ever given me, even though it was years before my time...he taught me how to read light because the camera itself was incapable of calculating the light for me. That's why I relate to that photo so much!

Some things are just meant to come from the heart.

R.I.P. Mr. Adams.

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I got to visit the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite National Park in 2012.

Adams' autobiography served as a huge inspiration to my career.

The 2002 Ansel Adams documentary and soundtrack were truly life-changing to me.

 "Moonrise over Hernandez, New Mexico" was so inspirational to me because it reminded me of how my father taught me to read light when I first started in photography in 1978.

Self‑Portrait, Monument Valley, Utah
Ansel Adams (American, 1902–1984)
1958
Photograph, gelatin silver print
*The Lane Collection
*© The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
*Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Joetta Tipton, seen here at her retirement party in 2003, was the administrative assistant and the glue that held our office together. I owe her a great deal of thanks because she was the one who introduced Natalie and I to her granddaughter's baby sitter when Natalie was pregnant with our oldest son Nolan in 1997. We made one phone call and that was it. Daycare was never an issue with us. The same baby sitter and her husband achieved grandparent status in our family by keeping all three of our kids over a period of 11 years. 

It was during my time at Eastern that I started collecting photography books and old cameras. I became like the Statue of Liberty for old cameras because people would show up in my office with old cameras to give me. 

Hiding out in my ultra-cool darkroom that Kodak designed when the building was constructed in 1969 was the highlight of my days. It's so funny that darkrooms and the chemical process are now back in vogue. But, I've been there done that. Time to move on. I'm satisfied to be an old man using Lightroom. 

Karen Lynn joined our staff in September of 2000, and quickly became one of my best friends. I always said that Karen was like the Cal Ripken Jr. of our office because she could do just about anything. She was so versatile. She could write, do photography, and graphic design. I used to joke and say that all you had to do was give Karen a roll of aluminum foil and the internet and she could build you a rocket ship the moon. 

Shortly after Natalie graduated Morehead State in 1995 she hired on at Eastern at the ripe old age of 21, which worked out really well because we had the same work schedule and holidays. She eventually moved over to the student life office and was over student organizations and programed all the fun stuff for New Student Days. Above, she is seen in her office in the Powell Building in August 2001, and with the band Rascal Flatts who was on campus for a concert in April 2002, leaning on a column at the Powell Building during New Student Days in August 2001.  

Below, Natalie and I both worked on the day of the 9-11 attacks. The University cancelled classes that morning as a show of respect, but also so that students and faculty could watch it as it all unfolded on the news. They put several large screen TVs in the student center of the Powell Building so that the university community could come together, and they fed them pizza as we all watched the news, trying to process what was going on. Although all we were doing was taking photos and serving pizza, she and I both understood that we were witnessing history as 9-11 was the Pearl Harbor and the JFK of our generation.

If you've ever seen the movie WE ARE MARSHALL then you're looking at the real life Jack Lingyel, right, who was played by Matthew McConaughey. Lingyel came out of retirement in 2001 to serve as Eastern's athletic director, which coincided with coach Roy Kidd's 300th victory and retirement. The two are seen here at the Oregon State game August 2002, Corvallis, Oregon.
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Ami Piccirrilli was my last director at Eastern. I really didn't get a chance to work with Ami all that long before leaving, but it's funny how so many things come full circle. I hadn't talked to Ami much since 2003, other than on Facebook. But then, when I went out of business at the height of the Covid pandemic in March of 2020, it was Ami, who is now working in marketing at UK Healthcare, who called me out of the blue in April, and gave me my first assignment, post-Covid, when I needed it most. Ami unknowingly, literally helped resurrect my business from the ashes of unemployment.

I now photograph all of her provider portraits for the pharmacy division of the UK Chandler Medical Center. She always brings her laptop to work on stuff when we have photo shoots, but we usually sit around as we wait on people to show up and shoot the bull, and she doesn't get much work done. But...life is short. Why answer emails when you can catch up on things (just don't tell UK). It goes to show, don't ever write anyone off in your life, you never know when they'll be there to lend a helping hand. 

I've really debated on whether I would show this photo and talk about the life-altering story behind it. I'm a man of faith and I don't like throwing anyone under the bus, and I'm a big believer that we're all a "work-in-progress" in God's eyes. But, ultimately, this one photo, and this one singular moment in time, changed my life forever. I appreciate history for the sake of history, regardless of whether it's good or bad, because it'll always be history. 

At precisely 5:36 P.M. on November 18, 2003, the wrath of EKU President Joann Glasser caught up with me. And it was at that exact moment, that I knew with absolute certainty that my time at Eastern Kentucky University was over. A lot of good people had left Eastern because of Joann Glasser, and in the blink of an eye I joined that illustrious crowd. I waited until the next morning to resign, but I knew, even with three young children at home, that I would go work at Walmart if I had to, but either way, I was moving on with my career. It turned out that I was able to stay on a couple of more months, because I didn't want to be unemployed at Christmas, and I really wanted to make sure my wonder-student Chris Radcliffe, who graduated in December 2003, would get my job. And he did. Once again, the rest is history!

Zach Ingram of Elizabethtown, left, and Nick Herrin of Fairfield, Ohio, right, move a mattress from Case Hall to Martin Hall after the power went out in Case Hall. Eddie Portwood, left, Earl Street, center, and Mike Brey, right, with United Electric pull high voltage electric cable through a manhole behind EKU's Student Services Building on Wednesday afternoon.

Like the old saying goes...the more things change the more they stay the same. My first official job as a freelancer with Tim Webb Photography was to go back on campus and photograph a major electrical outage for the Lexington Herald-Leader, that forced the University to put kids up in local motels during cold temperatures. 

Forensic Scientist

Sam Gish I want to end this post in a positive light. Working at EKU was the greatest thing that ever happened to my professional career. It brought me back to my alma mater and to Richmond, where I have lived for over 26 years. I love this photo because the building behind my right elbow was the Donovan Annex Building, which was the building where I earned my journalism degree. And the building directly behind it, near the edge of the photo is the Donovan Building that houses Model Laboratory School, where all three of my kids attended pre-k through 12.

By the time my daughter Laura started pre-k in 2007 they had moved her classroom into the old Eastern Progress office. Her little backpack locker was about 10 feet from where my photo cabinet was when I was Photo Editor my senior year in the Fall of 1991. Literally, her educational career began in the same spot where mine ended. Things really do come full circle if you wait long enough. 

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My very first student was a young lady from Hindman, Kentucky named Shannon Ratliff. I owe Shannon a great deal of gratitude because when she started working with me in early 1995, I had no clue what I was doing, and was working way above my pay grade. But we made a good team and we were patient with each other as we figured things out.

My next student was a fine arts student named Richard Garland. I just thought I was a bonafide Pink Floyd fan until I met Richard. He was a very worthy music fan and a good photographer. Richard came back to EKU and now works for the library. It was also funny how one student would lead to other students. Richard introduced me to Hannah Trustee, who replaced him and worked with me for a while. Hannah completed a really nice photo essay on Eastern Kentucky that went toward her thesis while working for me.

Every now and then you get to experience a defining moment in your life, the type of moment that creates shock waves for decades to come. One day in 1996, a very confident ginger named Brenda Ahearn walked into my office and proudly declared, "I have my Daddy's camera equipment and I want to be a photographer!" I was having a bad day and thought... "Sure you do!" I told her that my two paid positions were currently taken. She quickly informed me that she would be happy to volunteer. And she did. She had the most incredible work ethic that I had ever seen. I usually showed up to work around 8:20 each morning and Brenda had already been there for an hour, filing negatives or whatever needed to be done. Brenda was a rare breed who never questioned anything that I asked her to do. She would knock you down to answer the phone on the first ring because she said her father always told her it was good business to answer the phone on the first ring. It didn't take long for my two paid positions to weed themselves out, which opened up their spots for Brenda. And as they say, the rest is history, because Brenda overcame many obstacles in pursuit of her dream of becoming a photographer. She graduated in 1998 and went on to a phenomenal career in photography. Life has come full circle for Brenda. Her first job was the University Photographer at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. Then she worked for several newspapers all across the country, and is now once again a university photographer at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. 

I finally learned that the best photographers were the ones who sought me out. The ones that I recruited never seemed to work out. I took it as a God-thing and would just let the Good Lord send people to me. Somewhere around 2001 or 2002, a kid from Mount Sterling emailed me saying he was leaving Western Kentucky University's photojournalism program to come to Eastern, which was unheard of. He said he felt like he was just a number at Western. I told him how myself, along with Mark Cornelison and Rob Carr had come out of Eastern and succeeded when Eastern truly didn't have a photo program to speak of. But, I told him Eastern would give him one thing and that was opportunity. Opportunity to be a Big Fish in a very small pond. Me, Corn, and Carr were all examples of what hard work and perseverance could do for you at a place like Eastern. Kevin took my advice, transferred, and worked for me, The Eastern Progress and the Lexington Herald-Leader. Kevin took some criticism for leaving Western, but he proved his critics wrong by going on to get a masters in photojournalism from Ohio University, served on the board of the National Press Photographers Association, and eventually worked at newspapers in Boston, Augusta, Baton Rouge, San Antonio, Knoxville, The Associated Press, and is currently freezing to death as the Visuals Editor at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, where he was recently named the national visuals editor of the year.

I wish I had thought to take a picture of my student photographer Luke Ramsey on the morning of September 11, 2001, as we sat in my office editing photos while watching the events of 911 take place on a little black and white TV that I kept in my office. Whenever Luke and I see each other today, we both talk about how seeing each other reminds the other one of that Tuesday morning, and watching the second plane hit the South Tower on that little fuzzy black and white television.

Much like with Brenda years earlier, I had another life-altering moment while shooting homecoming portraits on October 1, 2001. My wife Natalie had already told me about a guy named Chris Radcliffe who worked for her at the Information Desk in the Powell Building. She said, "He is a real sweetie and if I could bottle him up and save him for a daughter someday, I would. He's also really interested in photography." As I was sitting in Conference Room C of the Powell Building that evening, bored out of my mind, waiting for homecoming contestants to trickle in for their portrait, I kept noticing this guy walking by really slow, checking out my studio lights. After his third pass-by I told him to come and talk to me. Once again, the rest is history! Chris was my longest tenured student, and he eventually got the University Photographer's position when I left in early 2004. Ironically, I had the job nine years and two months, and Chris was in the job nine years and five months. Just like with Brenda, I'm proud that I was able to give him a start, but he has since then blazed his own trail, having become a lighting guru and what I would consider an expert in Lightroom. After leaving Eastern, Chris has created a very successful freelance business that has literally taken him around the world.

Finally, my last student photographer who was there to help me turn out the lights on my last day was a guy named Chuck Vance. Chuck was the second student who influenced my music tastes when he unknowingly introduced me to a little indie band called Guster. Most people have never heard of Guster but they made a huge impact on me when I reached mid-life and was looking for something new to listen to. Chuck now goes by Charlie and is a CEO in northern Kentucky. 

I was blessed to have some great talent to work with in my nine years at Eastern, and I like to think that I had a positive impact on them as well. Or at least I hope I did. 

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Shannon Ratliff covering EKU Baseball, Spring 1996

I did a portrait with Chris and Brenda in the studio in February 2003, when Brenda came back to Kentucky for her mother's funeral. 

Brenda and I, Summer 2018. She always comes to see me when she's back in Kentucky. I'm proud to have always been her mentor, her impromptu father at times, and always a trusted friend. I don't talk to her often, but when we do talk we never hang up the phone without saying "I love You!" It's just that kind of enduring friendship! She still calls me "Boss Man" to this day. 

Brenda holds her Dad's original Canon camera that brought her into my office in 1996, along with a
copy of Time Magazine from 2016 with one of her photos inside.

Chris Radcliffe was Sigma Chi president while he worked for me, and now my son Cameron is the current Sigma Chi president. I love how things come full-circle. The great thing about having students come and go like a revolving door was they kept me young, not only in how they dressed but also with music. Chris introduced me to the music of Ben Folds. Our running joke is I used to make fun of the shoes that he wore, only to turn around and buy the same shoes a year later. In many ways, Chris was ahead of his time...well, maybe he was just ahead of my time.

Natalie always wanted to bottle Chris up and keep him for our daughter Laura, who was a newborn at the time!

Sometimes I could con Chris into being a model for stock photos. 

 Even after I left EKU and moved onto the freelance world, Chris and I continued to work together. We made several trips across Kentucky, including a couple of magazine assignments to the Red River Gorge, Wise, Virginia, and my family farm in Carter County, above. 

Tim Webb Photography, Kentucky Corporate, Commercial, & Editorial Photographer When Chris worked for me he and Nolan would argue over who actually owned a Sponge Bob Square Pants stuffed animal that I kept there for Nolan. A few years later Chris took this really cool remote-fired photo of all three of us with a camera mounted behind the basket in Alumni Coliseum. 

Richard Garland...the man, the myth, the legend!

Kevin Martin covering EKU Football Media Day, August 6, 2002.

Tim Webb Photography, Kentucky Corporate, Commercial, & Editorial PhotographerMe and Kevin Martin
Photo by Mark Cornelison

Kevin, seen here with Eastern Progress adviser Dr. Libby Fraas, in April 2003. This photo meant a lot to me because Doc, as everyone called her, was not only one of my former advisers, but she was also a good friend and my greatest mentor. She could be a real ball-buster when she needed to be. And believe me, if you were one of her editors and you missed deadline she would dock your pay in a heartbeat. And when you only made $45 a week, that really cut into your beer-budget for the week. Anyone of us who came out of The Eastern Progress was well prepared to work at any newspaper in the country thanks to Doc. This photo meant a lot to me because Kevin was attending from the "University of Doc" the same as I had 12 years earlier. 

Tim Webb Photography, Kentucky Corporate, Commercial, & Editorial PhotographerMe and my fellow former Eastern Progress Photo Editors at the 2009 Kentucky Derby. Left to right, Kevin Martin, Class of 2001; me, Class of 1992, Mark Cornelison, Class of 1989, and Rob Carr, Class of 1986. In May 2009 the four "Big Fishes" from Eastern Kentucky University and former photo editors of The Eastern Progress, Kevin Martin, myself, Mark Cornelison, and Rob Carr worked the Kentucky Derby together. (Never mind the fact that Corn has a spire growing out of his head!)

at the fairgrounds Thursday October 16, 2003. Photo by Kevin Martin. at the fairgrounds Thursday October 16, 2003. Photo by Kevin Martin. at the fairgrounds Thursday October 16, 2003. Photo by Kevin Martin. I held a rare staff meeting with my student photographers on October 21, 2003. Little did I know at the time, that three months later I would be turning over the reigns to Chris Radcliffe, who is seen in the bottom left corner with his Nokia phone. It's also interesting to see the evolution of my office decor over time. It was such a great office to work in each day!

Chuck Vance, center, walking across campus at Horny Corner. Student's today don't have a clue where Horny Corner is located because the center of campus has changed so much. 

Chuck posing with Amber Jones (Kennoy), who is now with WKYT Channel 27, for stock photos in the library, March 2003. 

I graduated EKU on December 12, 1992, with a degree in Journalism. After graduation, I went back to my hometown in Clay City and worked for my hometown newspaper, The Clay City Times. I came back to work for my alma mater almost two years to the day later on December 1, 1994. I was like a kid in a candy store working in a darkroom and office that was designed by Kodak in 1969 when the Jones Building was constructed. 

My time at EKU totally shaped my career as a photographer because I went into the job as a boy and came out as a man, several hundred thousand photos later. I left EKU on January 23, 2004, and dove head-first into my own business as a freelance photographer. I will always love Eastern Kentucky University as both a former student and a former employee, and I will always appreciate the opportunity that Kentucky's school of opportunity gave me.  

My first digital picture with an SLR camera came at 9:02 A.M. on August 2, 2001. I was unpacking and setting up my brand new Nikon D1X digital camera when our graphic designer Don Rist came through to get his morning coffee and stopped for a photo. Sadly, Don past away just a few months ago. 
  My second picture, a few minutes later, was of my computer desk in my office.

Jerry Wallace was the writer and the walking rock-n-roll encyclopedia in the office.

Our director Ron Harrell on the phone in his office. 

Jerry and I got to travel with the football team to Oregon State University in 2002. We got up early the day of the game and visited the Oregon coastline.

I had yet to master the art of the selfie in 2002.

A mere shadow of myself covering the 2003 homecoming parade.

I decided not to shoot the Three Doors Down concert in April 2003, and instead sat next to another co-worker from our office Karen Lynn.

My former editor at The Eastern Progress and roommate in Frankfort during the spring semester of 1992, Terry Sebastian. Terry was back on campus in 2002 as Gov. Paul Patton's Press Secretary. 

Jerry and I helping to plant a tree in front of the Cammack Building.

I was really active with the University Photographer's Association of America, seen here at our annual symposium
at Kent State with a side trip to Cleveland and the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. I brought the symposium to EKU the following year. 

It's funny to think about now, but with one leg still in film and one leg in digital, I really was a pioneer in the Digital Revolution. I literally kept a film camera, left, and a digital camera, right, in my bag for a while in 2001. Where I started in photography at such a young age, I still have more time with film & chemicals, 23 years, than I do digital, 20 years. 

I always wanted to do a coffee table book on the best bathrooms on campus. My personal favorite was the men's restroom
in the Burrier Building because that building had the Home Ec classes and was full of girls, which meant the
men's room was always open.

I got to meet the venerable White House Correspondent Hellen Thomas in May 2002. She gave the best commencement address that I ever heard while at EKU. 

Tim Webb Photography, Kentucky Corporate, Commercial & Editorial PhotographerPhoto by Tim Webb
My last official photo as EKU's University Photographer was of chemistry professor Tom Otieno on January 22, 2004.
The following day was my last day. Ironically, our two sons Chris and Cameron would go on years later to become best friends.
It all comes full-circle!

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Yesterday, shortly after the UK bowl game against Iowa started, the tornado sirens went off and within a few minutes this funnel cloud formed within a mile of my house here in Richmond. Shortly after I shot this video it transformed from a funnel cloud into an EF-1 tornado that hit Union City and other parts of northeastern Madison County. 

One of my greatest photography mentors is Sam Abell, who grew up in Ohio, but had family from LaRue County Kentucky. Sam left Ohio and came to the University of Kentucky in 1967 and produced the greatest two-volume yearbook that the university has ever seen. In 1970, the year I was born, he landed with National Geographic and went on to lay the roots of a phenomenal career in photography. His 2002 book The Photographic Life inspired me to leave my position as EKU's University Photographer and pursue a career on my own. In that book, Abell talks about the influence that his Dad had on him as a young photographer. Our stories are similar in that both of our fathers peaked our interest early in life with make-shift darkrooms in our homes. In the book, Abell also talks about the basic photographic concepts that his father shared with him, one of which, is that bad weather makes good pictures.   

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

I have no idea of how many total stories I've shot for Kentucky Living over the years, other than a lot, because most weren't cover stories. Just know, there's something special about a cover photo! And as I count the 75, I'm not including those from the Washington Youth Tour, because I've done several hundred of those covers since 2009, and they're in their own little category. The 75 are true statewide covers, with the first one coming in July 1992.

It came from an article that I wrote for Dr. Liz Hansen's Magazine Writing class at Eastern Kentucky University in the fall of 1991, about a volunteer rescue team in the Red River Gorge in my home of Powell County. Then Kentucky Living editor Gary Luhr spoke to our class one day that fall and Dr. Hansen suggested that I pitch my story to him. After class, I stood in the back of the room on shaky knees and gave him my spill as a college student who didn't have a lot of confidence at the time. I wish I knew the date because I'm a historian at heart and it turned out to be such a milestone in my life. Gary liked it and told me he would pay me $200 for the story and photos...if I could provide them. I was thinking, "Well hell-yeah I can provide photos!" I was scared to death a few weeks later as I repelled over a cliff in the Red River Gorge to get the said photos, but I wasn't going to pass up my big opportunity to get published in a real-live magazine.

And the rest is history.

We did the shoot early in the spring of 1992 and the magazine cover ran a few months later in July 1992. I was on Cloud 9 when the magazine came in the mail. Along with my parents, I showed it to anyone who would look at it! Forget the $200. I was actually published in a magazine. My dreams had come true! Later that summer, I put the $200 toward my wife's engagement ring.

I photographed several more stories for Kentucky Living in the early 1990s, but it wasn't until I had given my notice and was resigning my job as University Photographer at EKU in December 2003 that the magazine's editor at the time called me one day out of the blue. His name was Paul Wesslund. It truly was a God-moment because I knew in my heart that it was time for me to leave EKU, as great as it had been, but I had no earthly idea how I was going to make a living as a freelance photographer and support my family of a wife and three young kids. So when Paul called and asked me to shoot a cover story on the All-A Classic basketball tournament that was held annually at EKU, I did a little happy dance while I was talking to him on the phone, trying to maintain a sense of coolness and calm. Even though my insides were turning to jelly, I still had to maintain a sense of professionalism, HA!

Paul Wesslund has since moved on to the greener pastures of retirement, but I can honestly say that the staff of Kentucky Living, at any point of my tenure with them has always set the bar for journalistic excellence. The irony of that is, technically, they're a PR magazine, but they have always been the epitome of sound community journalism and cutting-edge design. Editor Anita Travis, Managing Editor Shannon Brock, and their three designers, Katy Hurt, Kacey Harmeling, and Jessica Hawkins continue to set the bar so high! 

Who knows. Maybe I'm making too much out of all of this. If I'm lucky I'll make it to 100 cover photos someday. One of my mentors is the great Annie Lebovitz, who spent her career churning out cover photos for Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair. If I had studied algebra in high school the way I've studied the photographic work of Annie Lebovitz I'd be a freaking rocket scientist! I'm no Annie Lebovitz. But I'll always appreciate the importance of a good cover photo.

202111 Master.indd
November 2021

Tim Webb Photography, Kentucky Corporate, Commercial & Editorial PhotographerPhoto by Tim Webb
July 1992

We were truly blessed to have him in our lives for 73 years. I took this photo of his shadow a few months before he died on one of his last visits to my house in Richmond. I knew exactly what I was doing when I took it because I knew the inevitable was somewhere close in front of us. But I had no idea until after he died just how big that shadow really was. I miss you Dad.

I got to go up recently and do some shots of downtown Lexington with Officer Don. He was a super nice guy. It was the only time that I've never gotten sick, which means he was either a really good pilot or I'm getting better at it. Or both. 

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

After retiring from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, Tim created a cooking show called Tim Farmer's Country Kitchen, along with his wife Nicki and their daughter Kelli Kinman, who is a videographer and editor for the show. The Emmy-nominated show is about cooking, farming, canning, gardening and smoking and preparing meats, and, like Kentucky Afield has risen to the top of KET’s most popular shows.

I had a chance back in April to photograph Tim and company as he "threw together" some fisherman's stew. It was amazing watching him work, while we exchanged stories, and then to actually sit down with him and eat a bowl. And yes, it was delicious.

It never gets lost on me at how lucky I am to meet the people I meet and go the places I go. God and camera have been very kind to me.

202106 Master.indd  

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

This past week I won my second Best of Show with the same organization, this time with a photo that I took for Kentucky Living Magazine of a breed of horses known as Curly Horses playing in the snow in Lawrenceburg in February of 2020. I guess it says something about patience and endurance, and that good things come to those who wait. 

Photo by Tim Webb 202012 Master.indd
2020 Photo by Tim Webb
2017

A few notes about the shoot...
1. The bath tub was her idea. I told her about Annie Leibovitz's famous shot of Whoppie Goldberg in a bathtub of milk. 
2. She didn't exactly get my humor, but I told her on the phone shot to say in a really hick accent, "Sarah, this is Andy can you get me Floyd?"
3. The old trunks in the attic were still full of clothes, shoes, and hats. 
4. Casting her inside her own shadow in the mirror was a complete accident, although, I will take credit. 
5. The dirty foot was also her idea. She said it was a good contrast to the lace.
6. The street photos are in Lexington on prom night with her best friend Paige. Both of these beautiful girls were unfortunately dateless and decided to go eat together in Lexington before the dance. 

And...a few outtakes!

I called this project "The Faces of COVID." I kept the ground rules pretty simple with black and white on a black background. I used all available light with East Kentucky Power, but then I set up a studio for Baptist Health Richmond. East Kentucky Power will feature it in their upcoming annual report and Baptist Health printed 16x20 images and displayed them at their regional COVID vaccination center, and have plans to eventually make it a permanent display inside the hospital. This will make three permanent displays for me inside Baptist Richmond. They already have my 2009 Faces of Madison County photo essay hanging near the emergency room, and I have several Kentucky scenic photos hanging throughout the hospital as well. 

To see the compete collection, please visit my portfolio.

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb  

202102 Master.indd Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

202012 Master.indd  

Minus the two Polar Vortexes from 2014 and 2015, there just isn't much opportunity for good winter shots in Kentucky anymore. 

Photo by Tim Webb 202012 Master.indd

It's only 45 minutes from driveway to driveway between here and my parent's house in Clay City, and I'm sure I missed a couple of days of going over there, but not many! Most of these pictures reflect the priceless two months that I got spend in my old house, getting to experience the dying process with my Dad, and offer what support I could to my mother. 

I'm not going to explain every photo but here a few explanations from the top...getting in some beach time with my girls in Florida. Coming back home to do a little work, thank God, because work has been pretty scarce this year! One job took me to Fort Wayne, Indiana with LinkBelt cranes to set a bridge. Travelling during the COVID-era isn't what it used to be. All I can say is...don't pass up a rest area when travelling. I found a picture of an obviously-possessed baby hanging in my parent's bedroom! I took a picture of my feet one morning after spending the night at my parent's house. It seemed weird to be back there every day and night for the first time since 1993, even to the point that it seemed out of place for me to be back home in Richmond. If I was home, I felt like I needed to be back in Clay City. I love the photo that I took of Dad with Natalie and Mom in his bedroom. I came to realize that his good days were actually measured by his bad days, and the fact that he had a smile on his face made it a good day! A basket of rocks from our travels all over the country sits on the back of our commode and is my view when I pee everyday. 

Cancer really does suck! Even our dog Slinky is dying of cancer right now. 2020 can't end fast enough for me! Dad's temporary grave marker in the Garvin Ridge Cemetery in Olive Hill is really close to a little boy's grave named Gary Carroll who died in 1949. My grandmother Jessie Bell used to take me to the cemetery when I was little and I always loved looking at his grave because he was a little boy like me. So I can't go to that cemetery without looking at his gravestone. 

Lastly, my Dad worked for four different telephone companies starting in 1969 so he had the opportunity to collect several scissor and knife pouches that cable repairmen use during his career, and at the same time, when you deer hunt as many years as we have as a family, you have the opportunity to collect a lot of antlers. 

Dad then gave me an old Agfa viewfinder camera that was 100 percent manual! There was no light meter. Just f-stops, shutter speeds, and a manual focus ring that taught me to judge the distance from the camera to the subject. And with that, Dad unknowingly gave me one of the greatest gifts of my life, he taught me how to read light. Of course, none of us thought anything about it at the time, but to a photographer light is everything!

We'd be driving down the road and he'd say, "Tim Bo, what's your camera settings for that house over there? I'd think about it and say something like, "f-8 at 250???" He'd say, "Yeah, that's pretty close." To make matters worse, he started me out on slide film, so I really did have to learn how to read light at a young age, or none of my photos would've ever turned out right.

Both of my parents supported me as I followed my dream of becoming a professional photographer. Ultimately, they gave me the one thing that no one will ever be able to take away from me...an education!

The photos above are of the Agfa camera that's now in my office, the flooded barn that got it all started, and a photo from a few days later, which is undoubtedly the first photo that I ever took in my life, a photo of the man who introduced me to all of it, a picture of my Dad sitting on the couch in our den in Clay City, Kentucky, during the snowy winter of 1978.

Photo by Tim Webb

Here are a few images and a couple of behind-the-scenes videos of a shoot that I did for East Kentucky Power as we set up a storm scene with Clark Energy linemen Richard Steele and Chad Cline in Winchester a couple of weeks ago. Wet pavement at night always makes for good reflections. I used some yellow and orange gels to play off the caution lights on the truck, and the Good Lord tossed in a few ominous clouds for good measure!

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

Here is the cover story that I photographed for the June 2020 Kentucky Living Magazine.

202006 Master.indd Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb

The wedding was supposed to be in a perfect circle that was mowed out of a hay field at my grandparent's house, with Nolan and Kelsie standing in the middle of the circle, while their family was socially-distanced around them. Because of a couple of rainstorms at the last minute we had to move it a half mile up the road to the church. We were thankful and blessed that we had a solid backup plan. The church worked out beautifully, but we weren't prepared to go there on the fly, so Natalie and I wound up getting ready, literally about 30 minutes before the wedding started, and both of us were drenched! At the end of the day, it all worked out great, and I now have a daughter-in-law! #itheewebb

Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb Photo by Tim Webb