We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hunter Krueger a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hunter, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I left a job that was pretty decent but completely routine to me. I knew all the ins and outs and wanted something more. So I moved on to a new job and quickly found that the company wasn’t what I expected. I received two paychecks that were short or otherwise less than agreed and quit that job on the spot. You might think the story would begin there but I still persisted. Found yet another job that I hoped would be more what I was after. It was not. I ended up deciding at that job that I wanted to take steps toward starting my own business and working for myself. It took several months of switching jobs and before that around a year of practicing my photography hobby before I felt confident enough in myself and ready to turn my photography into something more than a hobby.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Hunter Krueger, I’m currently 26 and living in the Charleston, SC area. I think I’ve always had some underlying interest in photography. Drawing and painting never really made sense to me as far as being able to produce a finished product. But anyone can click a button and take a photo. Of course, it’s more complicated than that when you’re considering lighting and framing, geometry and angles and distance. And then editing beyond that. At its core it’s a very simple medium, however, and I do think that anyone can produce a great image. My interest in photography really picked up a couple years ago. I picked up a vintage Polaroid camera from a thrift store. Untested but it looked cool enough to be a decoration on a shelf if it ended up not working. I bought some film for it and was relieved when it did actually spit out a photo. I started taking it out and just exploring. I ended up finding some abandoned properties, spending hours on the road just to see old places that fit in with the lo-fi Polaroid aesthetic. Also saw plenty of places that were still occupied or at least cared for but were old enough or grungey enough to still look like the other places I was shooting. In doing all of this I found out that Polaroid film is quite expensive, something like $20 for 8 photos. It was much more cost effective to shoot on my phone and ditch the film, even if the crisp digital images lacked the character of the film. So I did that for several months and continued adventuring throughout my home state of South Carolina. At that point it was more about simple documentation of the places I was seeing and having a reason to get out of the house. I was content with what I was doing but after a conversation with a neighbor and some thinking over I was eventually convinced to purchase another camera. This time it was a 35mm film camera. It was one of the last film cameras to remain in production and fairly high end at the time so it came with many conveniences and features that older and cheaper cameras lack. I started to take photography more seriously. Not just as something fun to do and not just as documentation, but as an art form. Armed with that camera and rolls of film, I continued exploring and finding new places. By that time I had already seen many of the cities and towns within a couple hours of my home so revisiting places and venturing further both became necessary. That’s more or less the same thing I continue to do today. I have found some favorite spots that I just love to photograph again and again and I’m also always on the lookout for new places I have not yet visited. In the year and a half since I got that newer camera, I have begun selling prints at local markets and taking photo trips with other photographers in order to boost my own skills and knowledge.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think it’s just being able to share a unique vision with others. There are times when we are moved by art, not just because of the composition of the art and the physical parts that make it up, but also because of our own lived experiences. It taps into a deep part of ourselves that we can’t fully explain. I like finding like minded people that resonate with my photos and I especially like when they also happen to be a photographer that takes photos that I also resonate with.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Very broadly my goal is to see everything. Completely impossible, I’ll never be able to take photos in every single corner of the world. But hopefully if I aim high enough, I’ll go further than I ever thought I could.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hunterkruegerphoto.com/
• Instagram: @fullmetajacket
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fullmetajacket
• Twitter: @fullMeta_jacket
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hunterkrueger2347
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/fullmeta_jacket
• Other: https://hunterkrueger.bandcamp.com/

Image Credits

Brandon Coffey
Nina Mize