Interview: Kevin Nortz in his own words

Tell me a little story about how you got started in photography.

When I was in my teens I spent most of my time skateboarding with friends. I think that's where my initial interest in photography is rooted. The skateboarding magazines - i.e. Thrasher, Big Brother, Transworld etc. - were full of awesome images that allowed us to look at our surroundings in a new way. I guess it just kind of sunk in with everyone. We would drive around and look for skate spots and start imagining what the photos would look like from different angles. That was about as far as it went, because none of us had a decent camera at the time. It didn't really matter that we weren't taking many photos. Skateboarding gave us this new tool to fight off boredom and spark our imaginations. It has never gone away. I still look for skate spots and visualize the photos when I'm walking down the street.


Fast forward to college, I was studying business at Ohio University and hating my life. There was a girl down the hall who was taking a photo class, and I convinced her to let me take a few photos with her nice camera. I remember thinking how easy it was to talk to people and explore when I had this reason - taking photos - to be out there. It seemed ridiculous to be wasting so much time not having fun. I decided that I needed to take a break and figure out a better route for myself. I quit school for a bit and got a job cutting down trees in order to save money to get my first camera. I ended up buying a Nikon 2020 and a pretty sharp little 50mm lens for like $250 or something. I kept working and saving money, but at night I would go out and take photos at concerts or just do street photography by myself. It was so much fun.


Then a friend of mine, whose mom worked at Toledo Hospital, basically set-up some time for me to talk to a medical photographer (Alan Weintraub), and it all started rolling from there. I remember the first day going to his office and showing him my photos and being so nervous. I don't think he liked them at all, but he offered me a job anyway. I quit the tree job and started interning for him for like $5.50/hr or something. I was taking photos of open-heart surgeries the next day. It was nuts! I had a beeper that doctors would call at 6 a.m. and ask me to come in and take a photo of a heart valve. I would get out of bed and take my time getting there, and then find out that everyone was waiting on me. Stacking-up these rickety metal stools, I would lean over these open chests and take photos. I was so nervous. I would have nightmares about dropping lenses or flashes into peoples' bodies! Eventually it got easier. The doctors would ask me questions about my gear and joke around to lighten the mood. It was bizarre.


Alan basically gave me all the gear and time, and taught me how to shoot. I would go home with a bag full of film and come back and develop my images the next day at work. I put my portfolio together and got accepted to Ohio University's school of Visual Communications. I really had no idea how significant an achievement that was until later. It turns out that OU is basically the top photojournalism school in the nation. I had no idea. I got skipped through the equivalent of a year's worth of classes because Alan had already taught me so much. I went from sleeping through accounting classes to taking photos and studying art history. I couldn't believe my plan had worked.

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