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Jim Kasson has spent decades following his photography wherever it leads. He talks about working in series, learning from the results and the gear that helps bring each new idea to life.
Jim KassonHome base: United States
Jim Kasson, a long-time member of DPReview’s moderator team, has been taking and processing photographs since he was given a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye in the early 1950s. His work has since ranged from documentary and photojournalism to fine-art series, and his current kit includes the Nikon Z8, Hasselblad X2D II and Fujifilm GFX 100 II.
In this spotlight, Jim shares the practically boundless diversity of cameras and lenses he uses today, the lessons learned through years of darkroom and digital work and why he believes a photographer’s own images will show them how to improve.
“In 1951 or 1952, when I was eight or nine, my parents bought me a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera. It took a dozen 2 1/4-square pictures on a roll of 620 film, was made of Bakelite, and had a not-very-precise waist-level finder and a shutter release you pressed with your thumb. I loaded it with Super-XX film and started making a pest of myself behind the camera ever since.”
Our ‘What’s in your bag?’ community spotlight series features readers sharing their favorite gear and photography, including from past DPReview collaborators. See below for what today’s guest has to share.
Large camera rig with bellows and rails mounted beside a ViewSonic monitor on a desk.Jim KassonFavorite cameras(s):
Favorite lens(s):
“In the past, I’ve used a Graflex Speed Graphic 4×5, Minolta Autocord, Mamiya 330, Hasselblad 501 and 503, Linhof Technika, Plaubel Makina, Nikon F, F3, F4, F5, D1, D2, D3, D4, D5, Leica M8, M9, M10, Sony Alpha 7 and 9. As you can see, I’ve used a lot of cameras.”
Favorite gear: “My favorite piece of gear is the one that best enables me to realize my current vision for a series. So that changes from series to series. Currently, I’m using the Fujifilm GFX 100 II and the Rodenstock 105mm F5.6 HR Digaron Macro, and liking the results.”
Close-up of a woman holding a violin and bow.Jim Kasson“Early on, I did what a lot of photographers did: I worked for the school newspaper and yearbook, entered student contests, etc. Then I was photo editor of the Stanford Chaparral. After that, I took photos of auto racing for Competition Press and AutoWeek.
After getting the Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera, it soon became obvious that drugstore processing was too expensive. So, my father purchased a rudimentary darkroom kit: a plastic Kodak developing tank with an apron that took a day to dry, a Kodak Tri-Chem pack (developer, stop, and fixer in tiny foil packets), a 15 W light bulb that’d been dipped in red dye, three plastic five-by-seven trays, and a small contact printing frame. I’d load the film into the developing tank in a closet and develop and print in the bathroom, washing the film and prints in the sink. This didn’t exactly endear me to my mother, but I loved it.
I’d load the film into the developing tank in a closet and develop and print in the bathroom, washing the film and prints in the sink. This didn’t exactly endear me to my mother, but I loved it.
In the spring of 1957, I was a freshman at Choate. During spring break, I got the idea of taking pictures for the school newspaper. I talked my father into loaning me a Weston Master II light meter and his folding Zeiss Ikon camera: 16 pictures on a roll of 120mm film, in a format we’d today call 6×4.5. It had no rangefinder, and the film traveled from side to side so that the normal orientation of the picture was portrait.
Pink clownfish nestled among pale sea anemone tentacles with a purple coral-like base.Jim Kasson“Back in school, I presented myself to the newspaper staff, and they decided to give me a trial assignment.
“Do you know how to develop film?” they asked. “Sure,” I answered, thinking of all the rolls that I’d put through the Kodak tank. I went off to make the picture. It was a boring shot: all the seniors elected to cum laude that year lined up in two rows. It was 7:30 am when I was done, and paste-up was supposed to start at 10:30 am.
I headed for the school darkroom. I found the chemicals, but the developing tank was like nothing I’d ever seen before. It said “Nikor” on it. Totally unrelated to Nikkor lenses. The tank itself, the lid, and the cap seemed to be easy enough to figure out, but the stainless-steel spiral befuddled me. If I’d had any sense, I would’ve used an unexposed roll of film to teach myself how to load the reel, but I just turned out the lights and struggled for 10 minutes.
I found the chemicals, but the developing tank was like nothing I’d ever seen before. It said “Nikor” on it. Totally unrelated to Nikkor lenses.
After the film was fixed, I opened the tank to see how bad off I was. It was bad; the film was stuck to itself in lots of places, and those places weren’t fixed. I finally found an intact frame. While the film was drying (I turned the drier thermostat up so high I’m lucky the film didn’t reticulate), I turned to the enlarger. I’d never seen one before. After the prints were washed, I even figured out the print drier.
I got the prints in on time, and my career as a photojournalist had truly begun.”
Close-up of a yellow-orange flower with dark stamens and a white center.“In my high school and college years, my photography was mostly documentary. I was a photographer for my high school newspaper and yearbook. Most of that was headshots, candids, sports and event coverage. I was photo editor for the Stanford Chaparral, and that was mixed editorial work and ads. The Chappie told the advertisers that if they didn’t have photos, they’d provide them, and that task fell to me, including recruiting models.
For many years, I just did family photos, but in 1980 I built myself a proper darkroom, bought a Hasselblad, then a Linhof Master Technika, and tried to make art in earnest.
Doing the work was the biggest factor in my improvement, but I took a lot of workshops, which helped immensely, by the way. I’ve had the pleasure of taking workshops with Ansel Adams, George Tice, Eugene Richards, Chris Newbert and many others. All of them have helped me be a better photographer.”
Abstract white flower with green stems and buds against a black background.Jim Kasson“For five years I made images of people working in the fields in the Salinas Valley and around Yuma, Arizona. I produced a body of work of which I am proud. Much of this work was exhibited in 2003 at the Hartnell College Gallery, which Eric Bosler curated. It was titled Pastures of Plenty. Keeping to the Woody Guthrie theme, I call the whole series This Green Growing Land. The series was also exhibited at Hartnell about 15 years later.
I get bored easily, and I work in series. I go where the series I create takes me. For Alone in a Crowd, that was train stations in New York, Zurich, London and other cities around Europe. For Nighthawks and Staccato, it was Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco and Las Vegas. For underwater work, I mostly worked in the Caribbean, Hawaii, Papua New Guinea and various other locations.
Neon Guitar, Las Vegas.“Usually, it takes me two to five years to work through a set of ideas, and then I move on. I don’t really have a default style, though I naturally develop one for a series that is strong by the end. I believe that if you pay attention, your work will tell you what you need to do to improve it.
Strategies and techniques evolve over time in response to results. When I start out on a series, I don’t know what will work and what won’t, so there’s quite a bit of flailing and missteps. After I get on top of things, I know what I need to do.
A big factor in my improvement as a photographer was letting go of trying to copy other people’s styles and, even worse, their subject matter. I learned to follow my work where it takes me, try to ignore what others are doing in the moment while learning from them about broad approaches that resonate with me. My mantra is, “Your work will tell you what you need to do to make it better, if you are willing to listen to it.”
My mantra is, “Your work will tell you what you need to do to make it better, if you are willing to listen to it.”
Jim really enjoyed participating in this spotlight article and would love to hear what you think of his photography and to answer any of your questions in the comments below.
You can check out Jim’s other work and photography discussions right here on DPReview in the community forums, or visit his blog.
Editor’s note: This article continues a series, ‘What’s in your bag?’, highlighting DPReview community members, their photography and the gear they depend on. Would you like your photography to be featured in a future installment? Tell us a bit about yourself by filling out this form.
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