Today we’d like to introduce you to Kenneth Wyner.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have been shooting photos for over 50 years. Fine art throughout. Major art shows at the Corcoran Gallery of art, as well as the National AIA. Shot fashion for top boutiques & designers, & then moved into the architecture field shooting for restaurants.
During the last forty years, my primary focus is still architecture, shooting for top architectural & design firms all over the East coast. I have always been drawn to creating images that are less ordinary and more fantastic. My eye sees the way an architect dreams. My work is well known as distinctive as are my clients. I feel blessed to have loyal clients who appreciate the art of photography & my unusual vision. Composition is everything!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Of course, life is a struggle. I was fortunate enough to connect with some wonderful mentors along the way. A wonderful Nat. Geo photographer named Bill Weems came into my life for a couple of years. I had advertised for a photographer to share my very small studio in Silver Spring MD & Bill called me saying I should come & meet him & might want to share his studio. I did meet him, a very tall guy with a nice mustache & a killer handshake. We hit it off & I moved in to his enormous studio.
He taught me a lot & most importantly said that my work was excellent & encouraged me to raise my day rates a lot! I did & never looked back. The struggle came one day when Bill was killed in a helicopter shoot above the riverfront in WDC. I was devastated & spent a tough year missing him, alone in his studio! The greatest struggle, in general, has been to respect myself enough, to be willing to lose work & money, in order to demand an appreciative clientele!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am well known for my two very large art shows at the National Headquarters of the American Institute of Architects. Both of these shows incorporated many of the iconic Washington Monuments ( Jefferson, Lincoln, etc.) as well as many of my clients ( top architects & designers). The last show entitled Structure of Spirit, Design of the Heart, was an enormous show with ten lectures over two months, intended to give a boost to the DC Metro area design community at a difficult time. The work itself was printed on fabric, wood, metal, glass & abstracted through digital manipulation. I have always felt that the merging of photography, and painterly effects presented a unique art form, one that was very real & at the same time dreamlike!
My straight architectural work achieves that power as well through dramatic use of perspective, wide angles, color & depth.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Well, the most important thing, as cliché’ as it might sound is to believe in your own talent. That is to say, know when your work looks good & why & do not beat yourself up with self-doubt. There is only so much time in life & we are all uniquely talented! Just get out there & start producing, even for no money. Produce good stuff & the money will come. Build a reputation based on goodness & talent!
Contact Info:
- Email: ken@kenwynerphotography.com
- Website: www.kenwynerphotography.com
- Instagram: kenwyner
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kwyner/
