Internationally recognized as one of the greatest photographers of his time, David Hume Kennerly has been photographing history for four decades. He has been published in countless premiere newspapers and magazines, and is currently a contributing editor for NEWSWEEK Magazine

In the year 2000, Kennerly traveled more than 250,000 miles to 38 states and seven countries for his fourth book, "Photo du Jour: A Picture-A-Day Journey through the First Year of the New Millennium", published in October 2002 by the University of Texas Press. During this self-assignment journey, Kennerly used one camera and one lens and all of the images in the book were created using his unique approach, decisive eye and the Mamiya 7II with an ultra-wide Mamiya 43mm f/4.5 lens. A companion exhibition of fine art prints from "Photo du Jour" appeared at the Smithsonian Institution’s Arts and Industries Building in the fall of 2002. The University of Texas Center for American History will sponsor a museum tour of the "Photo du Jour" exhibit nationally and internationally.     

Leading up to his present accomplishments is a long and rich history of photographic excellence, including but certainly not limited to Kennerly’s Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography in 1972 for Vietnam War coverage, his iconic photograph of Richard Nixon leaving the White House on the South Lawn, and his term with Gerald Ford as the White House Photographer.

David has also worked for TIME, LIFE, ABC Good Morning America Sunday, and George Magazine. Additionally, he has photographed more than 35 covers for Time and Newsweek, covered assignments in more than 130 countries, and counts more than one million images in his photographic archive.

In addition to "Photo Du Jour", Kennerly has published "SHOOTER, PHOTO OP: A Pulitzer Prize Winning Photographer Covers Events That Shaped Our Times" and "SEIN OFF: The Final Days of Seinfeld". An extraordinary visual diary of a year’s travel over 250,000 miles to 38 states and seven countries. Selected as one of the best books of 2002 by American Photo Magazine, showcased at the Smithsonian Arts & Industry Building, published by the University of Texas Press.

Tell us about your youth?
I was brought up in a real small town. A place called Roseburg, Oregon. The population is under 12,000. I remember when I was about 10 years old there was a big fire in a garage right down the street from my house. There was one thing that really stood out to me: I noticed that the one person who could get behind the police and fire lines as a civilian was a newspaper photographer. Even at that young age, I was really intrigued by that. That was probably the root of what sprung into a full-fledged photographic career. The idea of being where the action is was exciting to me. And later, what became even more important, was to be where history was being made.

When did you consider photography as a career?
I knew this is what I wanted to do very early on. I took my first photo that was published when I was a sophomore in high school in 1962. My family had moved to West Linn, Oregon, a suburb of Portland. I was working on the high school newspaper and was selling pictures on the side to a local weekly. They would give me a dollar and a quarter for each published picture. I wasn’t exactly overpaid. Then I was hired by the Oregon Journal as a staff photographer when I was 18 years old. It was the afternoon Daily in Portland.

Where did you get your real first start?
It was at United Press International (UPI) where I worked in Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C. and then I moved to Saigon where the winds of war were blowing. UPI was a five-year experience. After I won the Pulitzer Prize in Vietnam in 1972, LIFE magazine made me an offer as a contract photographer. My stint with LIFE only lasted a short time as they folded soon after, but then I connected with TIME. I was living in Saigon then and moved to Hong Kong, Bangkok, Paris, back to Washington, D.C. late in 1973 and covered the Watergate business.

What was life like at UPI?
At UPI, you got paid by the "excitement quotient not with big bucks." It was a great training ground for me. I covered everything from the 1969 World Series where the Mets won, to plane crashes, politics, the monumental Ali-Frasier fight and Vietnam. UPI was really the foundation of my career. I started when I was 20, left when I was 25.

Why do you still call yourself a Wire photographer?
I will always consider myself a wire photographer. They are among the best in the business, the most creative and the hardest working. Unlike wire photographers however, I have a lot more freedom to shoot whatever I want to. The good news is I don’t have a deadline a minute like wire photographers.

What changed in the course of your career?
One thing that has changed is the technology. Wire photographers are now shooting almost exclusively with digital cameras and transmitting their photos through computers. Back in my wire service days we had to carry darkrooms with us and had these old roll drum fax machines where we would send our pictures back. I think it is much more sophisticated in terms of picture delivery now and I think that it has changed remarkably. But, some things remain the same whether we’re shooting for newspapers, wire services or magazines, we are there taking pictures the old-fashioned way even though equipment might have changed a bit.

Tell us about the book?
"Photo du Jour" was one the hardest projects I have ever attempted. For one thing it lasted for the whole year, which was 366 days - it was a leap year in 2000 - and I had to take a good picture every day of the week, every month of the year for twelve months. I’ve always considered myself to be my toughest critic. I am also my most demanding taskmaster. I’m hard on myself and meticulous about what I do. The project was difficult - I had to shoot every day. It was obsessive. No matter where I was, no matter what, I had to deliver a good picture. I shot 2-3 rolls a day, which on the Mamiya 7II is 10 frames on a roll. I averaged 20 or so pictures a day. I didn’t know from one day to the next what I would be doing when I got up the next morning.

How was it able to hold your interest?
I never got bored with the project. In fact it terrified me. Once I realized what I had gotten myself into, it became a daunting task. Knowing how difficult it was during that first 90 days, I thought "I have all this time left to shoot. Am I up to the task?" The campaign was what carried me through the year. That’s why I was in 38 states and 7 countries on assignment for Newsweek. I not only had to shoot every day for the magazine with my 35mm, but for "Photo Du Jour" on my Mamiya 7II. It was a hell of a challenge.

Why only one camera and one lens for the whole project?
I didn’t want it to be shot with 35mm. I needed more. I wanted it to be distinctly different from what I normally have done in my career. Mamiya was my choice because it is light and quiet. Also, I didn’t want to change lenses. I once saw a photo essay by Walter Ioos in Hawaii in the 1970’s. He shot a major photo essay in Hawaii with a 20mm lens on a 35mm camera. There was such a variety of pictures that you couldn’t tell it was all shot with one lens. I loved it and remembered it after all these years. The idea became the foundation for "Photo Du Jour".

Mamiya met all of my criteria. I shot Tri-X at 400 ASA, occasionally rating it at 800. This assignment was more about the environment I was seeing along the way. The Mamiya 7II is one of the easiest cameras on the face of the earth to use. That contributed to the success of my project. Also, because it is a rangefinder camera, you don’t have the same number of moving parts so it held up remarkably well.

What’s next?
I want to continue doing books. Also, I have never been busier in my career and have never taken better pictures than I am now. I set the bar higher for myself and produced a difficult self-imposed assignment. I want to keep doing more of the same type of projects. I am currently engaged with a major project for Washington Mutual Bank called, "The Home Of The Free Student Photojournalist Project". I am a mentor and a teacher to students. The first event was in the NYC area where I had five-hundred kids to work with. I gave them assignments to photograph their local leaders and civil servants. Those pictures were displayed at the New York Historical Society. We’re following that up with similar projects in Chicago, Denver and once again in New York. In 2004 we’re going to try and make it a nationwide program. It is a wonderful project not only in photography but also as a civics lesson in how our system works. Currently, I am working on another book project for the University of Texas Center for American History called, "Balance of Power" about the government and the press at the turn of the century. And I’ve also got another book project in the works which will be a collection of people portraits inspired by Arnold Newman’s latest book.

Where do you stand on digital these days? 
I’m an old dog who has learned some new digital tricks. I’ve embraced the new technology. But I’ll never give up medium format. It’s a different way of looking at the world around me. I think digital is where it’s at for reportage and certain other kinds of photography. I have a couple of books in the works, one of which will be shot with my Mamiya. One thing I know for sure, is that with the Mamiya I’ll be proud of the results.