During one of the coldest nights this winter, John Kenneson found himself walking among dozens of dead men, women and children.
For many, the scenario would be unsettling. But for Kenneson, a photographer, it’s an average day at work. On this particular moonlit night, he braved 14-below zero weather to get the perfect shot of tombstones reflecting off frozen snow.
“It was one of those weird art things,” Kenneson said. “You only have maybe one or two chances in a year to get a shot like this.”
Locals will get to see firsthand the fruits of Kenneson’s labor at a photo exhibition at the Cragun Home March 14 and 28. Part of the proceeds from the photos will be given to the Boone County Historical Society.
For Kenneson, photographing graveyards has less to do with a fixation with the dead and more to do with a fascination with history. Ever since he learned about The Pony Express and Kit Carson as a child, Kenneson has been drawn to figuring out how things came to be.
After graduating from Pike High School in 1971, he graduated from Cincinnati Christian University in 1976 with a degree in church history. It was then that photography became more than a hobby for him. After finishing his bachelor’s degree, Kenneson began to work for a small camera store.
“The guys I worked for in the camera store were great photographers but lousy at business,” Kenneson said.
He and the owners would push one another each week to approach photography in innovative ways.
“We met every day, except Sunday, for the entire year and walked the same park,” Kenneson said. “We challenged one another to see how good ... we could become, and it was pretty fun.”
The next 30 years were filled with various ventures involving photography and other industries, including the opening of a contracting business. It was a trip with his three daughters to a Shelbyville cemetery that sparked his interests in scouring grave yards in the name of art.
After looking at his parents’ graves, and those of other relatives, the family ended up at the grave of William S. Major, founder of Major Hospital in Shelbyville. Kenneson said his daughters were confused by their father’s fascination with the plot.
“If it wasn’t for him you wouldn’t be here,” Kenneson remembers telling his children on that day more than nine years ago.
Major was responsible for persuading Kenneson’s father to leave Massachusetts more than 60 years ago to take a job as an X-ray technician. The hospital was where Kenneson’s father met his mother. It was at that moment Kenneson said he realized the historical value of cemeteries and he started dedicating substantial time to walking among the dead.
Not all of Kenneson’s time is spent shooting moss-covered stones. As owner of JK Photonics in Lebanon, he has photographed hundred of weddings, graduating high school seniors and parties.
The upcoming exhibit will not only feature cemeteries, but tributes to fallen veterans of both the Civil War and World War II.
Lebanon High School teacher Darrel Van Tilburg, who has appeared in several historical film reenactments of World War II on The History Channel and PBS, agreed to be photographed and have his image altered to make him appear as a ghost honoring other fallen soldiers.
“It was kind of an honor to be able to represent the people who had sacrificed for this country,” Van Tilburg said. “(Kenneson) is a professional and I would say his direction was as good as I received in the movies.”
Kenneson said he is hopeful people will be willing to give his art a chance this March.
“I think people need to come see it,” he said. “Sure, I would love to sell some photographs and help the historical society, but (more than that) I think it’s a good opportunity to see photography out of the norm.”
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Photo illustration by John Kenneson
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History through a camera’s lens
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