Interview with Chuck Kimmerle

#1 Please introduce yourself?

My name is Chuck Kimmerle. I am a tail-end baby-boomer who has spent the bulk of his life, professional as well as hobbyist, as a photographer of one sort or another.  After a four year stint in the Army Infantry followed by another four years in college, I started working as a newspaper photographer, a field in which I stayed for 16 years working at newspapers in Minnesota, Pennsylvania and North Dakota, where I shared in a nomination for the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography. I left newspaper work to become the photographer at the University of North Dakota, a much more relaxing  position, where I remained for the next 10 years.
In 2010 my wife and moved to Wyoming, where I am currently freelancing as an editorial and educational photographer.

#2 How did you get interested in photography?

I took my first photograph with my grandmother’s Brownie Hawkeye when I was 3 or 4 years old, despite being told, under no uncertain terms, to not push the button. I got spanked. Photography and I did not start off on a good foot. Advance a few years to high school graduation. My graduation present? A Canon Canonet G 1.7, a wonderful little rangefinder which I still possess. It was with that camera that I began to realize the power of images.
My first images were, of course, mundane recordings of geography, of place, but I soon began to tire of such simple snapshots and started experimenting with more self-expressive and meaningful work. It was near that time that I realized I had found, quite unexpectedly, a potential career path.

#3 Do you have an artistic/photographic background?

I am not formally trained as an artist. My college degree was in Photographic Engineering Technology, a now largely obsolete vocation, which did provide basic photography classes but emphasized the more technical aspects such as darkroom work, developing, chemistry and sensitometry.
I did take one photography class from within the art department, but grew frustrated at what I perceived as ideas, of concepts, being much more highly valued than the resulting images.

#4 Which artist/photographer inspired your art?

The photographers who inspire me change on a daily basis. There are so many, both past and present,  with much to offer. At various times I look to the work of Ansel Adams (of course), Robert Adams, Steve Szabo, Fay Godwin, Michael Kenna and Minor White, to name but a few. One constant, however, has always been Edward Weston. I admire both his imagery, which was quite varied and heartfelt, as well as his relentless spirit in elevating photography to a form of art on par with painting and sculpture.
In addition, I find great inspiration in the writings of Robert Adams and Bill Jay. Adams for his insightful commentary on photography as it relates to the world of art, and Jay for his biting, yet honest, wit and humor.

#5 How much preparation do you put into taking a photograph? Are you planning every step or is it always spontaneous?

I actually do very little in the way of preparation. For me, the biggest joy in landscape photography is the discovery of unexpected treasures.  To that end, I do little location planning. Most of my photographic outings are planned around an approximated direction of travel and a relaxed timeline. That is not to say I don’t do a modicum of research regarding my upcoming travels. It does help to be somewhat prepared and knowledgeable. However, I don’t let that knowledge restrict, too much, my free-flowing travels.
That same basic philosophy holds true even during the few times I have an actual destination in mind, such as a national park or town. After arrival, I simply explore, often randomly, without too much thought to any particular location.