Kansas City photographer Kirk Decker
Kansas City photographer (and TOP reader) Kirk Decker stopped by Penn Yan a few days back for lunch. A retired UPS driver (both delivery and big truck), Kirk is pursuing his photography seriously these days and is experiencing increasing success. He told me his interests always seem to circle back to portraiture and landscape.
A portrait by Kirk
He photographs using both film and digital, and both black-and-white and color. A visit to his website reveals an affection for B&W. He showed me a gorgeous print of this picture that had a lot of presence (the print and the JPEG are night and day). Of particular interest might be his Headshot Information page, which I think reveals in brief form a thoughtful take on that task from both conceptual and nuts-and-bolts perspectives.
So what was he doing in Penn Yan? On his way from Missouri to Boston to check out the big Ansel Adams show. Because of course that's not too far to go for a photography show if you used to be a professional driver.
I enjoyed our conversation, and Kirk's gentle, dry sense of humor. Always great to meet y'all!
Mike
(Thanks to Kirk)
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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:
Gary Nylander: "Beautiful work by Kirk Decker. I had a look at his website. Very nice."
Wow! Just wow! Beautiful work!
Posted by: Lindsay Bach | Friday, 15 February 2019 at 12:19 PM
Very nice Picture
Posted by: Michael Perini | Friday, 15 February 2019 at 03:42 PM
Wow Kirk that is some nice stuff. Love the road series.
Posted by: Mark O | Friday, 15 February 2019 at 04:09 PM
Saw that Ansel Adams show last week. My wife and I are going to see it again before it closes. We're in Boston but I'd venture to say it's worth the drive, even from Missouri.
Posted by: Mark Roberts | Sunday, 17 February 2019 at 04:25 PM
I was glad to see the photo and write-up about Kirk Decker, a very nice guy.
Sorry to be so slow getting to this, but didn't want to miss posting a brief anecdote about him.
In 2017 I was in the process of getting rid of some equipment from my old studio. I advertised my obsolete but still very workable Speedotron 1600 (very large and heavy) power pack and head. Kirk responded, and we agreed that I would send him the strobe and head for the cost of shipping. Upon receipt and testing, if he thought it was of any value, he could send me whatever he felt it was worth. A few weeks later, he sent me an additional payment and I was happy for both of us!
About that time my latest book, "Backroads and Byways of Georgia" (Countryman Press, 2017), had just been released. I told him about it, and he bought a copy, then was kind enough to post a very nice review on amazon.com.
Posted by: Dave Jenkins | Sunday, 17 February 2019 at 09:12 PM
This piece has been a real discovery for me. Others have said "wow", and that is what I say too. Kirk Decker, a true photographer. Very assured work.
Posted by: Martin D | Tuesday, 19 February 2019 at 05:53 PM