Behind the Lens: Greg Kahn

Each week we’ll feature one photographer from the PhotoShelter community, and share his or her story behind the shots that caught our eye.

• Photographer: Greg Kahn
• Specialty: Photojournalism
• Current Location: New York, NY
• Clients:  The New York Times, Polaris, Gulf Shore Life Magazine, USA Today
• PhotoShelter Website: gregkahn.photoshelter.com

The Shots:

Photo by Greg Kahn

Photo by Greg Kahn

The Story: 

For the first shot, Greg was on assignment for Gulfshore Life Magazine photographing a group of men who devote their time to living on their boats anchored in the bay behind Fort Myers Beach, Florida. “During one afternoon, a summer storm rolled through while I was on Scot Janikula’s boat,” Greg recalls. “The water was pretty rough for twenty minutes, but after, in true Florida fashion, it cleared up in time for an amazing sunset, complete with rainbow. Janikula went outside to smoke a cigarette after it had stopped pouring.”

Greg had travelled to Punta Gorda, Florida to get the second shot. He was in the Red Neck Yacht Club, which according to him “is simply a giant mud pit.” He reflected on the Yacht Club, saying, “People from all over Florida bring the biggest trucks they can find and drive them through the pits, splashing through the mud, and constantly getting them stuck. At one point John Ingram (pictured) and a friend decided to race across the mud track. After falling into the waist-deep mud several times, Ingram was completely covered and I headed over to where he and his buddies were to get a portrait before he cleaned off.”

Greg recently moved to Washington, D.C. to begin freelancing and working on personal projects. He is a part of the photography collective GRAIN.

What caught our eye:

From documenting the story of gator hunters in Florida to the foreclosure crisis, Greg Kahn likes to hit the hard stuff. His images are not of the world’s traditional beauty, but his ability to see and capture the beauty in these situations is what makes Greg’s editorial work stand out. His extensive documentation of the Floridian lifestyle makes up the bulk of his archive, and together tells more of the underground stories of the state.