We’re looking forward to introducing you to Stephen Kennedy. Check out our conversation below.
Stephen, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Time shifts when I’m holding a camera. To a photographer, time is component of the creative art. A photographer works in fractions of a second. This means that time is the primary tool of the craft. What can be done in the blink of an eye is nothing short of magic.
But there are also other aspects of photography that take place after the session. This post-production stage is another aspect of the creative process that can be a rabbit hole of time-spending. At least it is for me.
I’m often surprised at how I can start this process and emerge an hour later feeling as if only a few minutes have passed.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Stephen Kennedy. I’m an American artist who creates documentary, reportagé, and long-form visual works. Since becoming a freelancer at the age of 15, I have completed more than 2700 photo assignments in 50 US states and 26 countries. I have published dozens of photography books, zines and monographs.
I am based in St. Louis, Missouri which is almost the center point of North America.
My specialty is long-form documentary photography. My biggest project at the moment is called Cross Country Camera. It documents artist at work in their studios and in their places of inspiration. It started in 2021 and since then I have photographed 163 artists in 48 US states.
I have a local project that is an ongoing look at the 100 municipalities that are contained within my home county of St. Louis, County Missouri. I’ve been to all 100 towns twice and I’m now on the third pass. This project started in May of 2024. I have two street photography projects. One is called Urban Corps and takes place in downtowns of various cities I have traveled to in the last 18 months in the USA and England. The other street project is focused on the corner of Tucker and Washington in St. Louis, which is in the shadow of my old studio.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
Seeing my first professional published photograph in print from a freelance gig was an emotional jolt that still makes me tingle.
Knowing that tens of thousands of other people would also be looking at that very same picture in that publication was a powerful feeling beyond compare.
This was in September of 1980, just a few weeks after I turned 15 years old.
What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
I learned early on that even if you do everything right, something unexpected can emerge to turn a win into a loss.
It’s almost always an outside force, circumstance or event. A human error, either by me or someone related to the process, can be factor.
Sometimes, it’s just bad luck. Then again, the more I prepare and focus on what I can control, the luckier I get.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
There are a lot of smart people going all in on the attention economy, mostly via social media.
Trying to please an audience instead of themselves is unsustainable for the long haul.
Anyone that can be influenced by an influencer isn’t worth the valuable and finite time of an artist.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
The reality is that none of us have enough time on the clock. For me at age 60, this is more than a passing observation.
As such, my focus is on family, artistry and on the few things that I can control.
I don’t always succeed in tuning out the noise. But I am hyper-aware of the benefits of artistic focus.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.stephenkennedy.com/
Image Credits
Photography by Stephen Kennedy
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