We were lucky to catch up with Stephen Kennedy recently and have shared our conversation below.

Stephen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

In the depths of Covid, with my commercial photography practice in tatters, I was creatively lost. I had never experienced a lull in my output. I had never taken a sabbatical or even a long vacation that didn’t involve some kind photo-related activity.

In May of 2021, after more than a year of sitting idle, I decided to connect with other artists by photographing them at work in their studios or places of inspiration. I started with a mixed media artist in my own town. The session was like an awakening. To what, was still unclear. This artist suggested that I photograph a friend of hers who did similar work. That involved a two hour trip. That session was better than the first one. I hopscotched around like that for 6 weeks. By July of 2021, I felt that a real project was emerging.

After photographing an artistic team of two women in Colorado who paint murals on grain silo, I knew that I was going to travel to all fifty US states to photograph artists. Since then, I have been to 42 states and photographed 108 artists. I expect to have completed sessions in every state by this time in 2024.

This documentary photography project is called Cross Country Camera. It exists both on the web and in print. To date, I have self-published twelve monographs. Each one is a photography essay of an individual artist.

It has become the most meaningful project of my 40-plus years of professional artistic practice.

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?

I have been a freelance photographer since the age of 15. I worked my way through journalism school as a stringer for newspapers and wire services. After college, I transitioned to commercial work, learning the ropes by working as an apprentice/assistant to an established studio photographer in Dallas.

Since 1989, I have been an independent commercial photographer. I specialize in photographing people on location in a documentary style.

My commercial work is based on creating authentic testimonials and brand stories for companies by photographing their team members and customers.

This work has taken me to every state in the US and to 26 foreign countries.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

In a word, independence.

Having my own business means that I’m free to pick and choose creative opportunities that are ideally suited to my craft and to my personal temperament.

My time is my own. My creative works are not just assets to be monetized, but my personal artistic legacy.

A combination of luck and hard work have spared me the drudgery of corporate life.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I inherently distrust any entity that seeks a space between the artist and their audience. This bias of mine is informed by experiencing too many interactions with charlatans claiming to advocate for the financial good of artists.

My view of NFTs has always had a baseline of skepticism. Lately, with many media stories reporting on fraud and chicanery in this space, it’s hard for me not to be negative on this framework.

That said, I would welcome any technology that aids the monetization for art works that does so transparently.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.crosscountrycamera.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crosscountrycamera

Image Credits
Black & White portrait of Stephen Kennedy by Vincent Liu.
Color photographs of artists in their studio by Stephen Kennedy.