Hal France, Executive Director of KANEKO, talks with the students about the upcoming exhibit.

This last week, we were so excited to host a conversation between UNO students and the photographer, Jim Krantz.  Originally from Omaha, Krantz has spent much of his life behind the camera, capturing the world.  His show, currently up at the KANEKO, is entitled “Homage: Remembering Chernobyl.”  On Friday, he sat down to talk with art students from UNO about his creative process and techniques.

Jim Krantz discusses his techniques for approaching subjects with a camera.

The conversation, directed by the students questions, ranged from how to approach a subject with a camera when you don’t speak the same language to the best f-stops to how to make a career out of photography.  Krantz proved himself to be a insightful thinker who approaches photography from both intellectual and physical levels.  To avoid intimidating a Russian villager, for instance, he would take his photographs with his camera at mid-chest height. This way, the camera does not block his face and eyes, keeping visual communication open between him and his subject.

The art students, along with Professors Bob Carlson and David Helm, listen to Krantz describe his view of photography.

The informal conversation lasted just over an hour- and it would have continued on if the students didn’t have to get back to campus! I think both Krantz and the students could have continued to delve into the intricacies of modern photography for quite some time. Before the students left, they were given a sneak peek of the exhibit, including the mysterious poem that inspired the show.

A student takes a closer look at one of the images in "Homage: Remembering Chermonyl." The show is available the rest of this week at KANEKO.

Want to know what I’m talking about? Come see the show! It will still be up at the KANEKO for the rest of this week and you don’t want to miss this glimpse into another world.

Students consider the poem that inspired Krantz.

All the photographs used here are the work of one of the students!  A big thank you to Jordan Oham!