Rangefinder Magazine
January 2005

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Profile: Jim Krantz by Peter Skinner
As Comfortable Shooting Big Budget Campaigns as Self-assigned Fine Art Projects

Railroad Worker (from Fotoj Portfolio “Industria.”)

The scope, breadth and diversity of style in Chicago photographer Jim Krantz’s portfolio is such that you might assume it’s the work of numerous photographers. In fact, it’s the work of a single talented individual whose prolific output ranges from photojournalism and editorial to commercial and fine art.

The volume and range of Krantz’s imagery convinced one professional editor she was looking at the work of six photographers. That editor, Susan Cox, is now editor-in-chief of the creative collaboration Fotoj, of which Krantz is a driving force. Cox has edited Krantz’s entire collection of photographs and grouped the images into segments now featured on the new web site (www.fotoj.com/).

	Before the Storm, Iowa (from Fotoj Portfolio “Discovery”)

These carefully constructed portfolios of Krantz’s work—titled Choreography, Industria, Discovery and Chronicle—provide an insight into the vision and craftsmanship of a talented artist who photographs people, places and things with equal proficiency.

Wind Tunnel, Newfoundland (from Chronicle: A Periodical Magazine of Photographic Exploration).

Given his heritage and upbringing, it is no surprise Jim Krantz is an accomplished photographer. His family is comprised of entrepreneurs and creative individuals. Jim remembers being enthralled as he watched his grandfather, David Bialac, a painter and sculptor, work with copper enamel and glass shards, preparing his creations for the kiln. “When I was a small boy, my grandpa called it ‘baking cookies,’” he recalls. His parents were both artists who encouraged his efforts.

When, as a 17-year-old, Jim embarked on his own photographic career, he was not advised to “get a real job.” His family encouraged him to take photography as far as he could; or rather “be taken as far as photography could carry him.” Either way, his experience with photography has been varied, exciting and very rewarding—and the journey continues.

	Mexico (from Fotoj Portfolio “Discovery”)

From the outset, Krantz was determined to do things right by becoming technically proficient and soaking up as much as possible from photographers he admired. To that end, he studied under luminaries such as Ansel Adams, Brett Weston, George Tice, Paul Caponigro, Sam Abell, Eugene Richards, Eva Rubenstein, Jerry Uelsmann and Albert Watson and completed a BFA in Graphic Design at Denver University.

Highway in Arizona (from Fotoj Portfolio “Discovery”)

“When I first began photography at 17, I only considered making pictures. I did not work in series or concentrate on a particular subject matter. My focus was on the mechanics and fundamentals of operating a camera and film. I was amazed by the process in the darkroom and was swept up by the art and science of photography. I searched out books and images from every source and grew very attracted to the West Coast photographers, studying the work of Adams, Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, Wynn Bullock, Minor White and others like them. Even though I loved the art of photography, I knew I had to have a solid understanding of the mechanics of operating a camera and how to formulate developers so I could control contrast in negatives and prints and be competent with color and toning techniques.

	California Coast (from Fotoj Portfolio “Discovery”)

“Without technical competency I knew I could not attempt to create images like the photographers I admired then, and do to this day. I am amazed that so many of the images that first attracted me in the 1970s still resonate with me now even more. They are timeless images that have had a huge influence on my work. Artistic expression was the motivation that attracted me when I was a kid and the same attraction is my motivation today,” he says.

Jamie on Path, West Virginia (from Fotoj Portfolio “Discovery”)

Considering the great photographers Krantz studied under, it’s appropriate that much of his best work is in black and white, a medium he finds expressive and demanding. When color is eliminated, the emphasis shifts to composition, expression and tonality to ensure images stand out. “There are images that I see in black and white and many that live in color, but I adore the abstract qualities of black and white. Purity of seeing is most important. I think what I learned was the ability one must have to abstract in black and white. No one has seen vistas with black skies and textured bright whites as you would in an Adams landscape. What an astounding interpretation of the West that allows the viewer to see in detail these fantastic surreal worlds created with previsualization and applied technique,” he says.

Also not surprising, and undoubtedly refreshing to traditionalists in this time of digital technology, is Krantz’s choice of one camera, lens and film for a favored personal project: Linhof 4x5, 150mm lens, Tri-X film. And he admits that while he uses both digital and film equipment for his commercial work, he prefers film by far.

Stunning examples of Krantz’s photography are featured in a series of large format monographs titled View. Powerful, grainy, gritty and evocative images of soldiers in one edition, An Army of One, are complemented in another by an equally strong yet sensitive and emotional portrayal of the people and environment of Cuba, a country that Krantz has visited numerous times on self and editorial assignments.

Actual	Equivalent

Producing these photographs was an educational experience for the photographer—as much as the images are informative and enlightening to the viewer. The soldiers he met were friendly and open, and there was no barrier between them and him. They were full of compassion and humanity with “a level of camaraderie like nothing I have ever seen.”

And Cuba, of which he had no preconceived notion before first going there, was also eye-opening. Its vintage architecture and automobiles created a time capsule effect; the warmth, openness and resilience of the people captivated him. “Cuba has captured my imagination and attention like no other place I have ever experienced. On each visit, I have uncovered a new layer of beauty,” he says.

Actual	Equivalent

While Krantz’s editorial and photojournalism storytelling images leave indelible impressions, his pictures communicate just as effectively in commercial and advertising markets. Proof of this is the impressive list of magazines and corporations that feature his images in annuals and advertising. His work has appeared in the annuals of prestigious publications such as Graphis, Print, Communication Arts and American Photo, and in publications by organizations such as the United States Army, Wells Fargo, Philip Morris, United Airlines, Kodak, Caterpillar and other corporate giants of their ilk. To put it simply, Jim Krantz is as comfortable and proficient working on complex and big budget advertising campaigns as he is creating self-assigned fine art images. His portfolio reflects his multifaceted capabilities.

Actual	Equivalent

It’s easy to see why Cox thought she was viewing the portfolios of six different photographers when she embarked on her editing assignment. Her observations reinforced something Krantz knew—he needed help editing his collection, so her entry into his life was timely. “My work was not only stylistically different, but the subject matter was also disparate. With her help we distilled the strength of my images into specific bodies that conveyed a feeling of consistency. It was as if a weight was lifted from me when I let go certain types of images and concentrated on organizing a collection into groups. I could then sequence images so they flowed and built on one another,” he says.

He also gained new appreciation for the importance of professional editing. “I can not stress how important I feel it is to relinquish editing to someone besides yourself so you can get a perspective on your work. So often it is impossible to separate the experience from the photograph. No one but the photographer will ever know how difficult it was to be at 14,000 feet in a helicopter shooting soldiers in a snow storm, but if the photograph is weak, that is all that shows!” he says, advising photographers to collaborate with someone they respect for critique and editing.

Actual	Equivalent

Krantz’s willingness to work with like-minded people led to the birth of Fotoj, a collaboration of creative talent formed in September 2003 and introduced into the marketplace in November 2004. As Krantz explains: “Fotoj is a collaboration of myself and freelancers selected for their fields of expertise. For example, a certain producer may have more experience coordinating animal trainers, location scouts and cameramen for a given project, while another producer may be selected for a specific project that pertains to his/her field of experience and expertise. Coordination of productions is important. It is always better to have more eyes and minds on any project to assure a smooth shoot.”

Army Ice Climbers (from Fotoj Portfolio “Choreography”)

The co-creators of the Fotoj concept are Cox and designer Frank Biancalana. They both had extensive experience working in Europe where creative collaborations are more common than in the U.S. The name Fotoj was developed and conceived by Kevin Zier, a writer at Leo Burnett. Krantz sees the collaboration as being of enormous benefit—not only to clients who tap into its pool of talent but also to the individuals within it. “It allows me as a photographer to express how I shoot rather than what I shoot.

As projects seemed to become more complex and involved, working as simply Jim Krantz Photography seemed inaccurate, incomplete and limiting. It was freeing to give birth to Fotoj and invite opportunities, creativity and collaboration into the mix,” he says.

	Flamenco Dancers (from Fotoj Portfolio “Choreography”)

Two people work daily on Fotoj matters. They are Sandy Bushaw, who has managed Krantz’s studio for the past 15 years and coordinates all Fotoj projects, and Kritsada, Krantz’s long-time assistant, and an accomplished food and tabletop photographer in his own right.

Fotoj’s storefront to the world is www.fotoj.com where Krantz’s image groups are showcased. Writer Maggie Kinser Hohle, Biancalana and Krantz crafted titles for these segments.

Complementing the titles are sub-headings that elaborate on the theme. For example, “Choreography: The Beauty of Movement + Function” features subjects as delicate and graceful as dancers in motion, as powerful and aggressive as soldiers disgorging from a helicopter, and as historical and romantic as a thundering Wells Fargo stagecoach silhouetted against a Western backdrop. “Industria: The Link Between Purpose + Form” is replete in graphic renditions of machines and equipment, details of manmade mechanical things, and large constructions whose scale of size is brought home by including men in the scene.

Helicopter Infantry Deployment (from Fotoj Portfolio “Choreography”)

“Discovery: The Moment of Curiosity + Wonder” is a wonderful and varied collection of landscapes with and without people; abstracts of nature and wildlife; and striking images of everyday subjects such as washing on a line, ropes coiled on a dock and silhouettes of people on a diving tower.

Another online feature is Chronicle: A Periodical Magazine of Photographic Exploration, a work-in-progress that has opened with a brilliant photo-essay on the Langley Wind Tunnel, an amazing aerospace facility commissioned in 1931 and the largest of its kind at the time. Concise text by Hohle complements Krantz’s graphic images of the powerful blades, made from laminated Sitka spruce, and other elements of the tunnel. A new Chronicle feature will focus on Newfoundland, recently visited by Krantz for the first time. There he photographed shipwrecks, massive rocks and people in their environments.

Also being worked on is a series of photographs that Krantz refers to as Equivalents, photography enhanced by painting. From a photograph Krantz will “create a painting, usually with black paint, on a reflective surface and then, using artificial or natural light, photograph the surface. Paint + Surface + Light + Film = Equivalent. The film is then processed, scanned, and printed.” Krantz attributes the inspiration for this series to Henry Holmes Smith whose lecture he attended in 1975. “I still remember how he made cameraless photograms of Karo syrup on glass and by contact created wonderful abstract images. I also read about Frederick Sommer and his explorations of smoke on glass and cut paper. Twenty-eight years later my own ideas surfaced! What I particularly enjoy about Smith and Sommer is how they invented ways to use photographic technology to create an entirely new look. That is imagination!”

Kyle, Conception Bay, Newfoundland (from Chronicle: A Periodical Magazine of Photographic Exploration)	Train Couplers (from Fotoj Portfolio “Industria”)

Krantz admits that while he has been influenced by many great artists, it took him many years to pinpoint the source of those influences in his work. “Now I can almost tell you what pieces of everyone appears from time to time in images I make. It is like a stew made up of many ingredients, and the final taste is a unique blend of many flavors. I guess it really boils down to input equals output,” he says.

	Ilix, Kingman’s Cove, Newfoundland (from Chronicle:A Periodical Magazine of Photographic Exploration)

Jim Krantz’s journey from aspiring teenager to acclaimed, multi-faceted professional has been varied and exciting. From his vantage point he can proffer sound advice to others starting out. “Know who you are and put that on film. And practice, constantly. If you are passionate about your endeavor, it is not an effort but a treat.” It’s advice he has always followed—and still does.

To see more of Jim Krantz’s work and learn about Fotoj, visit: www.fotoj.com and www.fotojart.com/.

Freelance writer/photographer and author Peter Skinner, who has recently relocated to his native Australia, has more than 22 years experience in the photo industry in public relations, media liaison, corporate communications and workshop production and coordination. His magazine articles and photography have been published internationally and he has co-authored or edited numerous publications and books. He collaborated with Don Blair on an upcoming book Portrait Photography: The Art of Seeing Light (Amherst Media). He can be reached at: prsskinner@bigpond.com.