• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

David Hume Kennerly

Pulitzer Prize Winning Photographer

  • Images
    • Portfolio
    • New
      • 2021 Inaugural Gallery
      • Ford Museum Exhibit
      • Election 2016
      • Hillary Clinton from the Archives
      • Pulitzer Prize Portfolio
  • About
    • Bio
    • Clients
    • Press
    • Appearances
  • Kennerly Archive
  • Contact
  • Blog

Archives for June 2020

Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden, Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, February 09, 2020.

June 26, 2020 By David Hume Kennerly Leave a Comment

I’ve been photographing Joe Biden on and off since I returned from the Vietnam War in 1973. This latest photograph of him was made February 9 this year in Hampton, New Hampshire, as he campaigned for president. In this frame the former Vice President was talking about his son Beau who died in 2015. The hurt he was feeling can be seen here. This was not acting.

In 1972, at 29 years old, Joe Biden was the sixth youngest person ever elected to the U.S. Senate, and it was a happy time in his life. But that joy was short lived. A few weeks after he was elected, Biden's wife Neilia and their one-year-old daughter Naomi were killed when a truck hit their car. His young boys Beau and Hunter survived the accident. Five years ago, one of them, 46-year-old Beau, died of brain cancer. As a father of three sons, I can’t imagine his anguish. When Biden spoke via video at the funeral of George Floyd in Houston, his message was straight from his heart and personal experience. He opened by saying,

“To George’s family and friends, Jill and I know that deep hole in your hearts when you bury a piece of your soul in this earth. As I said to you privately, we know. We know you will never feel the same again. For most people, the numbness you feel now will slowly turn day after day, season after season into purpose through the memory of the one they lost. But for you that day has come before you can fully grieve. And unlike most, you must grieve in public. It is a burden. A burden that is now your purpose to change the world for the better in the name of George Floyd.”

Looking at this portrait of him you know he meant it.  Photography can reveal a bit of someone’s soul. I believe this portrait is one of those moments.

 

Photo by David Hume Kennerly

 

Canon 5DS R, 100-400 lens @400mm

Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona: David Hume Kennerly Archive.
© Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents

Filed Under: Blog

Robert F. Kennedy, Portland, Oregon, October 25, 1966.

June 10, 2020 By David Hume Kennerly Leave a Comment

In 1966 as a 19-year-old cub photographer working for the Oregon Journal, I had the opportunity to photograph Sen. Robert Kennedy when he came to town. Kennedy was the first national politician I covered, and he made one hell of an impression. Like most people my age now, I’ll never forget where I was when it was announced that his brother President John F. Kennedy was shot three years earlier, so seeing him was particularly meaningful to me. I was also struck by LIFE Magazine photographer Bill Eppridge who was traveling with Kennedy.  Eppridge, as big a league photographer as there was, gave a hand to this panicked young photog when I couldn’t figure out how to get through the crowded labor hall into the right spot. He not only led me through the throng, but guided me to the best position to get a good shot. It was an unselfish act that informed the rest of my career as an example of how to treat others.

But the capper wasn’t that moment. After the event Sen. Kennedy, his staff, and press corps, made their way to Portland International Airport in a ragtag motorcade. I followed them to get one last photo of Kennedy before he left. A DC-3, its engines idling, waited on the tarmac. Senator Kennedy bound up the stairs, turned, waved, then entered the plane. But it was Eppridge who provided the decisive moment. The lanky photographer climbed the aircraft steps, looked around for one last photo, then ducked inside. Its door closed, and the old DC-3 taxied out and took off. I felt like Rick in the final scene of Casablanca. It was the moment that changed my life. I wanted to be on that plane, to document those who were making history. That flight not taken led to countless others that I did.  Thanks to Robert and Bill for showing me the path.  I will never forget you.

Photo by David Hume Kennerly with an assist by Bill Eppridge

Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona: David Hume Kennerly Archive.
© Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents

Filed Under: Blog

Primary Sidebar

Upcoming Appearances

No Data

Blog Archives

  • January 2021
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • October 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • May 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • December 2015
  • October 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • August 2013
  • September 2012
  • May 2012

Footer

David Hume Kennerly is like Forrest Gump, except he was really there.

- JAMES EARL JONES

David Kennerly once said to me, ”˜In photography everything can be taught, except how to see.' In his photographs”¦ we see people and historical events through the keen, alert eye of an eminent camera artist.

- HERMAN WOUK, / Author of “The Winds of War

Kennerly modestly refers to himself as a ”˜political photographer.' That's true, as far as it goes. But it's like calling Matthew Brady a ”˜war photographer' or Thomas Eakins a ”˜Philadelphia portrait painter.' Kennerly is as good as it gets in a craft he defined.

- HOWARD FINEMAN / Editorial director of the AOL Huffington Post Media Group

David's work is of the highest caliber, and he is one of the great American photographers. His specialty is photographing people, and nobody does it better.

- JULES & GEDEON NAUDET / Independent filmmakers and Executive Producers of Discovery Channel documentary “The Presidents Gatekeepers”

Pulitzer Prize winning photographer David Hume Kennerly's lifestyle photography used in Girl Scounts major national advertising campaigns and on the covers of our iconic Girl Scout Cookie Boxes redesign in 2012, captured the spirit and determination of the organization through his delightful portraits of our girls in action.

- MIRRA HERNANDEZ / Marketing Brand Manager Girl Scouts of the USA

Kennerly has proved to be an exceptional resource for Bank of America, specifically as the portraits he takes for us go directly to the heart and character of the people he photographs. He is also the consummate professional who delivers his work on or before any deadline that we require.

- PAMELA SEAGLE / Bank of America Senior Vice President - Enterprise Marketing

He possesses the rare ability to synthesize the heart and soul of an individual or situation into singular compelling images.

- MICHELLE NUNN / CEO Points of Light

© Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents · Privacy Policy · Terms of Service · Web Design by KRMD Author: David Hume Kennerly