Tag Archives: kc west bottoms

Portrait of Brad

Dark portrait of Brad Decker by Kansas City photographer Kirk Decker.  Brad gazes directly into the camera with his hands folded in front of his chin.
Portrait of Brad by Kansas City Photographer Kirk Decker

Brad, woodsman and bicycle adventurer.

Ansel Adams-y

Starting as a farm kid in a 4H photography class, Ansel Adams was one of my photo heroes. I wanted to make images that sang like his did. I’d like to think that as a photographer, I have my own voice now and my prints sing their own song, but the fact that they can sing at all, I owe to the inspiration of Ansel’s work.

Thank you MFA Boston for the honor. https://www.instagram.com/p/BtQ1WuxFSH1/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Photograph by Kirk Decker.  A full Moon rises behind field of wind turbines.  The sky is very dark with a few clouds.  The wind mills are illuminated by a setting sun and are stark white against the dark sky giving the impression of alien flowers harvesting Moon light.
Moon Mills by Kirk Decke

Lee Decker

Portrait by Kirk Decker of a young man dressed in black with a black hat and dragon cane looking down at a toppled queen on a chessboard.  The photo is dark and moody the chess pieces resemble the medieval characters found in the Lewis chess set.
Portrait of Lee Decker by Kansas City Photographer Kirk Decker

Lee Decker @leedecker97 Chess player, summa cum laude graduate from Truman University, and part-time exorcist (reasonable prices, results not guaranteed). Lee’s chess set is modeled after medieval pieces discovered on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland.  One of the things I like about Lee’s portrait is that it simultaneously reminds me of the Muppet Christmas Carol, Shakespeare’s As You Like It, and the French Revolution. The chess pieces on and off the board being the Elect and Preterite with Lee himself being the “Hoity-toity Mr. Godlike Smarty-pants” omniscient storyteller.

Todd Davis & Two Headed Cow

Tod Davis. Rock n Roller and one of the heads of Kansas City’s Two Headed Cow. On digital and film. Same camera, same lens a Hasselblad with the 150mm Sonnar. Phase One digital back and Rollei Retro 80s film.

Portrait by Kirk Decker
Portrait of KC musician Tod Davis by Kansas City Photographer Kirk Decker

Portrait of Tod Davis by Kansas City photogarpher Kirk Decker
Portrait of Tod Davis by Kansas City photographer Kirk Decker using a Hasselblad with a 150m Sonnar lens and Rollei Retro 80s film.

Beau Bledsoe

Portrait of Beau Bledsoe by Kansas City photographer Kirk Decker
Fine Art portrait of Beau Bledsoe by Kansas City Photographer Kirk Decker

Beau Bledsoe @beaubledsoe, consummate musician, founder of Ensemble Ibérica and Alaturka. Amazing how the sound of his Martin guitar filled my small studio. Beau’s portrait was made in my Westbottoms studio with a Hasselblad 555ELD, 150mm Sonnar,   Phase One digital back and traditional Hasselblad film backs.