Blue Ribbon at the Minnesota State Fair!

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This week starts the “Great Minnesota Get Together” aka the Minnesota State Fair, a special place in my heart since my wife brought me there on a date in 2011. We enjoyed the animal and people watching and loved the creative activities building and fine arts exhibition. A few years ago we entered a friendly competition of entering the events. She won a blue ribbon for her pickles. And this year, I won mine.

R. J. Kern and Juror Kristine Heykants at the 112th Fine Arts Exhibition at the 2023 Minnesota State Fair with the First Place photograph.

I’m proud to share this blue ribbon (first place) photograph, Live Action Role Players, Blue Earth County Fair, Minnesota, 2022, at the 112th Fine Arts Exhibition at the 2023 Minnesota State Fair— the largest art exhibition in the state. Kristine Heykants, the photography juror, writes in her criteria statement:

I am looking for images that give witness to the breadth and depth of human experience in a way that is unexpected, with the desire to assemble a collection of images that represents photographic practice in Minnesota in 2023 in a holistic and inclusive way. Within the context of the State Fair where artists are limited to one entry, there is the added challenge of creating a statement or narrative in one image. I am excited to see pictures that make me want to learn more about the subject and the photographer.

Digital catalog HERE >>

Special thanks to juror Kristine Heykants, the participants who offered trust in front of my camera, The Photo Touch for printing, Jim Ross framing, Penn Barnes for transportation, Matt Steaffens for lighting assistance, Zach Rinehart’s leadership at the Blue Earth County Fair, and the support of my family— all essential ingredients required to create this photograph:

Live Action Role Players, Blue Earth County Fair, Minnesota, 2022, archival pigment print, 31 x 41 inches framed, Edition 2/7 SOLD.

About the series:

The Last Fair showcases summer animal contests, aspiring to enhance awareness in the changing face of American pastoral life. “If this was the last year of your county fair, what would you miss most?” I asked this question at over a dozen fairs, in response to the Ramsey County Fair (Minnesota, USA) remaining canceled since 2019. “The kids with their animals,” I heard. I considered how joy isn't fully appreciated until gone. Small agrarian communities in the U.S. are changing, and the county fair isn’t necessarily the highlight of a kid’s summer the way it used to be. The 360-acre family farm has grown to over 10,000 acres, which has had a huge impact on rural America. County fairs are among the casualties. Although there is evidence that this way of life is disappearing as kids leave the farm, the crisis of climate change and a concern for both sustainability and stewardship of the land point to a path for survival for agricultural practices and traditions. Using a large format camera with studio lighting, I follow a photo documentary approach, not allowing myself to composite images, remove elements, or rely on artificial intelligence (AI). Orchestrating a photograph requires months of planning— and a hefty dose of patience and a sense of humor.

Sauk Rapids Herald & Benton County News {feature}

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Tim Hennagir profiled my work in his article, "Award-winning photographer keeps Benton County Fair in focus,” in the Sauk Rapids Herald & Benton County News on July 25, 2023. Photos b Natasha Barber. Special thanks to Benton County Agricultural Society president Ted Prom and Mary Otsby, Executive Director, Benton County Historical Society for their support. The fair acquired a signed 20 x 24 inch print, Santa on Vacation, Benton County Fair, Minnesota, 2022, from the project The Last Fair.

Santa on Vacation, Benton County Fair, Minnesota, 2022

PHOTOWORLD China {feature}

Work from The Unchosen Ones appears with an interviewed by Guo Jing in the June 2023 edition of PHOTOWORLD (新华通讯社) magazine, affiliated to Xinhua News Agency, one the most popular photo magazines in China. I met Gus at Photolucida in 2017 and 2019 and this was a direct outcome from attending the portfolio review.

The Unchosen Ones project featured in the June 2023 edition of PHOTOWORLD (新华通讯社) magazine, affiliated to Xinhua News Agency.

R. J. Kern (left) and Guo Jing (right) at Photolucida portfolio review, Portland, OR, 2019.

Tintype in NYC group show

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This 8x10 tintype of my kids headed off to the NYC show “Breaking More Boundaries” at Culture Lab LIC inspired by the work of Mariette Pathy Allen, curated by Orestes Gonzalez and Jesse Egner. It’s an honor to exhibit along with friends Jess Dugan and Jess Frieden and support the work of trans and gender variant communities. On view June 1 - July 30, opening reception June 3, 6-9 PM, closing toast July 30, 7:30 PM.

One of the perks of working with collodion is the joy of no digital workflow after the original object is created. Just ship and be done. I made this cherry wood stand to support the tintype, exhibited as an original object.

Family Portrait, Bad Medicine Lake, Minnesota, 2022, 8 x 10 inch tintype with cherry wood display

Publishing Books as a Fine Art Photographer {Pt 3 of 3}

On May 4, I shared the second in a three-part series of helping fine-art photographers grow, focused on book publishing as a fine art photographer (original stream date May 4, 2023 12:00pm - 1:00pm ET). Topics include: How important is publishing a book for a fine-art career? What are some of the outcomes (positive, negative)? How do you find a publisher? When to self-publish? How do you finance a book project? How do you make money selling books? These questions and more addressed in this virtual presentation.

OSU Museum of Art exhibition

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The Unchosen Ones, a solo exhibition at Oklahoma State University Museum of Art in Stillwater, OK, runs April 18- June 24, 2023 and features 20 43 x 53 inch archival inkjet prints and eight 11 x 14 inch silver gelatin prints from wet plate collodion tintypes. Images courtesy of Oklahoma State University Museum of Art. Photos by Phil Shockley.

Portfolio Reviews: Identifying and Hitting Goals {Pt 2 of 3}

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This week I shared the second in a three-part series of helping fine-art photographers grow.

Portfolio reviews have been an important part of my career development. Lots of questions you should consider when planning your portfolio reviews: Which ones to choose? How to select reviewers? How do you create memorable leave-behinds? What questions do you want to ask? Recommendations for follow-up from portfolio reviews. How important is networking? What type of networking do you recommend? I also shared actionable tips for building a photographer’s fine-art network specific for those who don’t like to ‘network.’

Acquisition: OSU Museum of Art

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A year after the Oklahoma State University Museum of Art booked my touring exhibition, I reached out to the curator, Carla Shelton, and offered her an upgrade to the exhibition of eight silver gelatin prints. She obliged. Since the loan fee was higher than the original budget, I offered to donate my artist proof silver gelatin print (printed by Keith Taylor). She said yes!

What a nice set of Walker Evans prints the OSU Museum of Art has! Wonderful that they made their collection digitally accessible and searchable, too. I stopped dead in my tracks seeing Marion Post Walcott’s "Children of Tenant Farmer, Younger One with Rickets on Poor Eroded Land, Wadesboro, North Carolina” Seeing that poor child with rickets made me just think how appreciative I am for healthy children.

See the entry here >>

It's the People 2023-24 Photographer

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I’m excited to be a part of Hennepin Theatre Trust's It’s The People 2023. This public art project, made in collaboration with Clear Channel, highlights members of the community in the theme of “Network of Mutuality.” This year’s project will also launch alongside the first Minnesota Triennial. The portraits will be displayed on billboards and large-scale banners across Minneapolis this summer, and the Minnesota Triennial will be hosted by Public Art St. Paul June 24 – September 16.

In collaboration with Sachidanandhan Venkatakrishnan, President of the Tamil Association of Minnesota (Minnesota Tamil Sangam, or MNTS, a non-profit organization), I will create one large-scale tableaux photograph depicting MN artists performing Tamil dances and traditional music instruments rooted in southern India and Sri Lanka.

As a portrait photographer since 2006, I am interested in sharing stories of the Minnesota community, especially those underserved in the arts. Lighting, styling and a formal approach elevate my subject out of the ordinary, telling a visual story of strength, character, and confidence.

I was intrigued with the theme, “Network of Mutuality” phrase drawn from the 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. quote: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

R. J. Kern selected as a portrait photographer for the “It’s the People” commission by Hennepin Theater Trust.

Preview of New Work

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I mentioned to several friends this week the importance of showing ACTUAL artwork, with the object framed, hanging on a wall. I chose to hold my photograph. The sense of scale of my hands gives the viewer a glimpse into output decisions made by the artist…. aka, how the object is presented. The installation view offers a potential ‘collector’ precise information for what they might expect to see hang on their wall… the size of the mat (4”), the type of glazing (museum glass), frame (simple white), etc.

Big Bird’s Tricycle, Redwood County Fair, Minnesota, 2022, archival pigment print, Ed of 10 + 2AP, 29 x 33 inches framed

This print heads to a new home at the Redwood County Fair, looking sharp thanks to Jim Ross at Ross Frame shop, Minneapolis. He does great framing, reasonable prices, local. I pay him a little extra to paint the corners of the frame. I much prefer “closed corner frames” which do not have four diagonal lines in each corner which I find distracting. Art is 90% presentation. Most never pick up on those details.

Now, to the artwork. Last summer, I began setting up large-scale photographs with 4-H kids, animals, and symbols of Americana— a typical county fair with carnival rides, food booths.. the stuff kids love, all over-priced, unnecessary, yet joy-filled for the kid at heart. I wasn’t sure what this effort would become but enjoyed the process. This summer, I’ve up for more like commissions.

Recognize the tricycle? It was the one in the 2014 movie, I am Big Bird, now a fair mainstay. I’ll let Jeff Potter, a long-time county fair supporter, share the story of how it ended up at the fair for another time. He’s been a supporter of my work, even lifted me up on the front of a fork lift to create this photograph.


This work is apart of a new series, The Last Fair. Joy often isn’t fully appreciated until gone.

Watermark Art Center (Solo Exhibition)

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The Unchosen Ones touring exhibition has made its first stop in the land of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox: Bemidji, Minnesota. The show will be up at the Watermark Art Center through March 25, 2023. Special thanks to the staff at the Watermark and Executive Director Lori Forshee-Donnay for their amazing support!

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota, through a grant from the Region 2 Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Top 10 of 2022 | Analog Forever

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Michael Kirchoff, Editor in Chief of Analog Forever Magazine, selected one of my tintypes for his Top 10 analog photographs from 2022. This on-going series of personal photographic works uses ninetieth-century technology to focus on intimate, interdependent relationships of people, animals, and landscape as a means of exploring how ancestry shapes identity and how myth intertwines with personal history. I created the 8 x 10 inch tintype on July 16, 2022 using a Kodak 2d view camera.

View the Top 10 list >>

The Tauer Family, Redwood County Fair, Minnesota, July 16, 2022 by R. J. Kern, unique tintype, 8 x 10 inches, 2022

Tomte, Year 12

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Year 12 of the Tomte series is here, chronicling on-going Kern family antics.

CLICK HERE FOR THE BLOG POST >>

Warmth and humor lurks beyond the home, extending to school and the sledding hill. We have another cousin to feature, as well as evidence of intergalactic alien visitation (all welcome here) documented by my son and his first Nikon DSLR camera, gifted by my Dad. Witness homemade ginger-bread houses, a candy home, and a Lego battle while cookies cool. New to this holiday series? Discover the antics from 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. Enjoy!