My images of “Kampsville”.

(Click on the bullet point item and it will take you to that page/group of images. At the top and bottom of each page is a link to take you back to this page, or the “home” page.)

• Large Format Portraits
• Large Format Landscapes
• Koster
• Assorted Shots Around Town
• Misc. images from out in the field
• The story of the very first Field School Group to visit Koster and how I got involved with Kampsville Archaeology
• A recent trip to Kampsville

From mid-summer 1971 onwards, I have been peripherally associated with an Archaeological research organization headquartered in a small agricultural community in Southern Illinois.  In another page I have gone into into more detail of how I got involved with Stuart Struever and the Foundation for Illinois Archaeology.  In this page, it is my intention is to put in context (with my life and my photography) the body of photographs that I have made in and around Kampsville Illinois over a period of many years.

Starting in the summer between Jr. High School and High school I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time and became actively involved in the Archaeological activities centered around the town of Kampsville Illinois.  In 1971 I spent about 8 weeks out in the field with the Northwestern University sponsored program.  During that winter I continued to work as a part time research assistant at their facility in Evanston Illinois.  Come Summer of 1972 it was back out in the field again and in that winter, more time helping to process samples/data.  1973… , by now a pattern should be forming.

But, when the 1973 field season ended the pattern did change.  My parents divorce and a forced move took me too far away to continue my off-season lab work in Evanston.  Troubles at my new high school and the realization that I would need to make some drastic changes in my life if I was going to be able to go to college forced a pretty significant decision.  After the end of my Junior Year of High School, the Principal and I came to a mutual understanding that we could not stand each other.  With graduating High School (on time) no longer being a viable option, I joined the United States Navy with the intention of becoming a Navy photographer. (Even though I had spent all that time working with a wide variety of Anthropologists, Archaeologists and specialists in their related fields, I had discovered my true passion was photography.  At that point in my life I was still struggling with a yet to be identified type of Dyslexia and for whatever reason pictures have always come easier to me than words.)

The deal I cut with the Navy was that if I passed my GED test with a high enough score, and if I scored high enough on their aptitude tests , then they would get me into the service with a guaranteed slot at the U.S. Navy School of Photography.  This is pretty much where my path towards photography officially began.  It was a post-Vietnam War era “sweetheart” deal called the 2×6 program.  Two years active duty, plus extra active duty time added on for each day in training, and the remainder of a 6-year obligation served in the Active Reserves.  Upon completion of active duty, I would then be eligible for 48 months of the G.I. Bill.  If I returned to Illinois and attended a State University, I would also be eligible for free Tuition under the Illinois G.I. Bill.

Mid 1977 I completed my active duty requirements and I found myself headed towards Southern Illinois University in Carbondale to begin my formal academic training in photography.  Summers of 1978 and 1979 I found myself back in Kampsville once again working with the Foundation for Illinois Archaeology.  These times instead of working at Koster I was assigned to sometimes work in the Field School Programs and sometimes work as a field technician for the Contract Archaeology Program.

As I continued to find my “photographic voice”, and as I continued to work periodically for the Foundation in various capacities, around Kampsville; I sometimes made pictures.  When I was learning Large Format, I made landscapes and portraits.  When the area around Kampsville periodically flooded, I was there with a camera.  When I hit a flat spot in my creative processes I would travel back to the area and photograph.  During the early 80’s as I was working on my master’s degree in photography, occasionally I would head back to Kampsville.  After I got married and had a family I would occasionally continue to go back and photograph.   To this day, periodically I still go back and look for photographic inspiration.

Kampsville for me is a metaphor for my journey through life and photography.  For posterity, the body of images gives a little peak into a way of life and a town now mostly gone.  I will forever be indebted to my colleagues and the Foundation for Illinois Archaeology, the residents of Kampsville and the welcoming environment for providing a lifetime of inspiration.

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