Welcome to the Webbpage Blog. Home of Tim Webb Photography. Here is where you can see what really goes on in my life. Enjoy!
In a March 31, 2022 blog post titled Jones 305 #2, I wrote about one of my former student photographer's Kevin Martin. Kevin recently became the Deputy Director of Photography at the Boston Globe. Kevin is a rarity in that he chose the photo editor's path a long time ago and stuck with it. I doubt Boston will be Kevin's last stop in this industry because he's good at what he does. Kevin and his family came back home to Mt. Sterling over the holidays, and we turned it into a reunion of Central Kentucky photographers who worked with Kevin 20 years ago.
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 usually get a few national jobs each year, meaning clients outside of Kentucky who need photos inside Kentucky. I did a job back in August for Bucknell University, located in Pennsylvania, on one of their alums, Kevin Fitzgerald, who now lives in Central Kentucky. He blew the whistle on the company he worked for at the time for faulty design of automotive airbags. It ultimately triggered the largest safety recall in automotive history. I photographed him at Jacobson Park in Lexington.
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!
Here are a few shots from the Lexington Christmas Parade of LinkBelt's hydraulic boom crane that's the largest of its kind manufactured in North America.
I'm a little late in posting this. This selfie was taken at UK's End of Campaign event a few weeks ago, when UK officially ended their $2 billion capitol campaign. This is myself with David Stephenson and Mark Cornelison. Combined, there is over 130 years of experience in this photo because all three of us started doing photography when we were really young. Both David and Mark are former staffers for the Lexington Herald-Leader, but now work at UK. David is an assistant professor in the journalism department and is the photojournalism adviser for the Kentucky Kernel, and Mark is the University Photographer. It's never a dull moment working with these guys.
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Since my last blog post was about Kevin Osbourn and his Daniel Boone painting, I think I’ll keep the artist vibe going by showcasing another painter that I do copy work for, Kim Perry of Kim Perry Studio in Louisville. I first met Kim in early 2021 when her husband Chris, who I work with at the Kentucky Electric Cooperatives said his wife was beginning to paint and asked if she could paint one of my lineman photos.
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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