Kendall Reeves

Kendall Reeves received a camera when he was 4 years old. Eighth-grade science introduced him to film processing. Since then, the Indiana Artisan learned he only needed to look through the viewfinder to find his purpose in life.

“From eighth grade on, I knew I would have a career as a commercial photographer,” Kendall says. “I never even thought about doing anything else. My dad, on the other hand, didn’t understand how anyone could make a living taking pictures and questioned teachers, counselors, professors, and anyone else he thought might change my mind.”

Kendall sidesteps the new and shiny, letting his work focus instead on Americana and things that are dilapidated or deteriorating. Subjects include ghost towns, abandoned buildings and old trucks and cars rusting in woods and fields.

A lifelong Hoosier, Kendall grew up going to tractor shows and enjoying Sunday drives with his parents.“I saw many types of my subjects when they were in working order, and now I capture them after they have seen better days,” he says.

His 38-plus years as a commercial photographer taught him many of the skills he uses to create art.

“I pretty much know what the image will look like before I release the shutter, and my hands are on every step of my work,” he says. “I process, print, mount, and frame everything I do to control quality.”

Kendall shoots five to nine exposures of each scene in any subject to capture shadows, midtones and highlights, and then he blends the images to hold detail in every part of the image.

“This is something your brain and eyes do automatically but cameras don’t,” he says. “My images are rich in color, sharpness and depth. I then print them on the highest quality materials for presentation.”