Ken Cravillion

Ken Cravillion was born and raised in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It was upon attending Oshkosh North High School that he got his first taste of photography during a high school photography course. Armed with his Canon EOS Rebel camera, he felt fairly confident in the class, although while shooting an initial series of images in black and white, he realized how much he had to learn.

Upon graduating he moved on to attend the University of Wisconsin in Oshkosh, pursuing a degree in meteorology. Around the same time his love affair with Upper Michigan began and he took numerous trips to that area and others. His photography skills progressed and with his interest growing stronger he enrolled in a college-level photo course. But Ken’s photographic interests always seemed to follow a different path than his peers: that semester in Photo 1, Ken used a Rollei 6×6 medium format camera and a Wista 4×5 large format camera while his classmates created photographs in 35mm format.

Feeling limited with black and white and the general lack of advancement at the University, Ken sought out photographic knowledge from other sources. This included the internet and from books, and focused predominantly on color photography.

As he improved, he exercised greater control over the images produced for his photography courses. While the class worked on black and white and developed prints in a chemical darkroom, Ken used color transparency films and made prints using high quality film scanners and Epson archival printers. He liked the control of a “digital darkroom” and avoiding the chemicals of traditional processing. He was the first to exhibit all color prints in the photography program, as well as the first to produce prints using a completely digital darkroom.

Ken’s intense passion for photography continues today and he works a great deal in landscapes. He is fascinated with the aurora borealis and has a notable collection of images. More recently he started raising orchids as photo subjects to explore a growing interest in macro photography. Ken serves as a moderator in the NatureScapes.Net image critique galleries.

His work is sold as prints from his website, from exhibits at local galleries, and from participation in area art shows. A digital SLR camera was added to his camera bag, used primarily for impulsive photography and the occasional wedding job.

In June 2004 Ken married his best friend Abby, and he and his wife reside in Oshkosh. Ken likes to travel to Lake Superior as much as possible and once a year tries to make one trip to the Rocky Mountains or southwestern United States. The recent acquisition of a sea kayak was with hopes of better exploring the Great Lakes.

To see more of Ken’s work, please visit his website at www.kgcphoto.com.

Photo Gallery