TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7. 2004
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
3A
Photographer shows a career's worth of work
BY NIKOLA ROWE
nrowe@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Visitors at Image Point Gallery look at work by Bill Snead during First Friday art shows in the Kansas City, Mo., Crossroads district. The show, "From Kansas To Yonder and Back," will run through Oct. 29.
Bill Snead, Lawrence journal-World senior editor, looks at the world through his lens and has been since he was 17. Snead's gallery showing of his work,
"From Kansas to Yonder and Back" represents nearly 50 years of photojournalism.
Chris Miller/KANSAN
The gallery opened Friday and Snead gave a lecture Saturday morning. The 87 images will be on display through Oct. 29 at Image Point Gallery, 1515 Grand Blvd. Kansas City, Mo. The gallery is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
In 1954 Snead started as a part-time employee mixing chemicals in the Journal-World photo lab while a senior at Lawrence High School. During his Saturday lecture, Snead lifted a Speed Graphic camera and demonstrated what it took to take one picture. The user slid in the frame holder, which only held two frames, change the flash bulb, adjust the camera's light and speed before capturing a moment. Snead said in an average football game he would take 24 frames, whereas now a photographer may take up to 24 frames within the first play. Snead said he was glad that he learned on such a camera because it taught him to wait for the moment to happen.
"It was good for me to shoot less and think before I shot," he said.
After graduating from high school in 1955, Snead attended the University of Kansas for fewer than two semesters. Snead said that it was hard to study something that he was already doing for professional newspapers. He went from the Journal-World to The Topeka Capital-Journal and then to The News-Journal in Wilmington, Del., five years later.
His gallery showing includes photographs he took of a 1964 press conference with the
Beatles. Snead said that the conference lasted 45 minutes and he was one of a dozen people who attended. Snead said he couldn't get tickets to the concert, but got into the conference by wearing a suit and tie and simply asking, "Mav I come in?"
In 1967 the United Press International asked Sneed to run its photo bureau in Saigon. In 1969 Snead left Vietnam and worked in the UPI's Chicago bureau. Snead was the picture editor at National Geographic until 1972. After that Snead went to The Washington Post and became the assistant managing editor for photo and graphics. While at The Washington Post in 1993, Snead was named White House Photographer of the Year. Snead returned to the Laurence journal-World in 1994.
He never had to fill out one job application during his career; he was asked to take each position he held.
In 1991 Snead took pictures of 500,000 Kurdish refugees who were trapped between Iraq and Turkey. Snead said he went to see these refugees on his own dollar and called the images his vacation pictures. Once he got there he started transmitting his pictures by satellite to The Washington Post. The Washington Post printed his pictures on the front page and was the only newspaper with photos of the refugees. Snead said that 1,000 refugees were dying every day, and the sights and smells were still clear in his mind.
Snead showed a picture of a family bearing a child and said that it was a "point" photo. Everyone knew that these people are dying; Snead referred to the picture as just making that point. Snead then showed a picture of a baby refugee being cared for by a Swedish doctor. He explained that some of the children had to have IVs in their head when other veins couldn't be found. Snead said he remembered apologizing to the doctor, and the doctor replied that
everyone had a job to do.
That same year Snead went to the Church of Lord Jesus in West Virginia to see a church service that involved snake handling. Snead said he got permission to attend the service when he called the pastor and said he heard that their church provided the most uplifting services. The Pentecostal service included dancing and singing and the handling of rattlesnakes and copperheads. One picture was of a man named Dewy Chafin holding five snakes. Chafin had been bitten 116 times in his life. Snead said that the service was exciting and scary at the same time.
"One more service and I would have tried to grab one," Snead said, referring the the snakes that were held by participants all around him.
Snead said his editor complained that the pictures were not as sharp as they could have been. He replied, "I'm the only guy without a snake."
The gallery included pictures of famous faces, such as Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa; to the unknown but noteworthy faces, such as the only two Utica High School graduates for the class of 1993. Snead's work views the world from every group. The gallery shows pictures Snead took from a Ku Klux Klan rally in 1986 and when asked how he got to take such pictures his answer was simple.
"You just have to ask even when you're afraid." Snead said.
Snead was the photographer for the Women of KU 2004 calendar. Snead was a guest speaker at a journalism creative process class
Chris Miller/KANSAN
Bill Snead, photojournalist and KU graduate, shakes hands with a visitor to his art showing at Image Point Gallery Friday evening. Snead began his career at age 17 while working at the Lawrence Journal-World. He has since worked for such publications as National Geographic and The Washington Post.
recently and said he planned to and had more time. do more at the University now that his gallery opening was over — Edited by Steve Vockrodt
THIS WEEK ON CAMPUS
Vote For Freshmen Student Senate Elections! Sept.8&9
Alex Treaster
Daniel Amokko
Darin Olivarez
Dennis Chanay
Dusty Johnson
Erin Greagory
Hannah Love
Jessica Flemming
Catherine Istas
Kelli Stout
Mackenzie McClelland
Ray Wittlinger
Selena Self
Sotoria Butler
Tom Cox
Tutu Lee
Grant Huang
Kristy Steinbruck
Anthany M. Kreis
Mary Melton
Lance mall
Trisha McGee
Kelli Munsterman
Whitney Huffman
Johnathan Doerr
.ku.edu/~senate
SEPTEMBER 7,2004
PRESENTED BY
STUDENT
SENATE
your student group's ad should be here
your student group's ad should be here
your student group's ad should be here
your student group's ad should be here
your student group's ad should be here
your student group's ad should be here
your student group's ad should be here
your student group's ad should be here
your student group's ad should be here
your student group's ad should be here
your student group's ad should be here
your student group's ad should be here
your student group's ad should be here
your student group's ad should be here
your student group's ad should be here
Contact John Wilson with student senate 864-3710