Daniel Kramer
Born 1964 in Green Bay, Wisconsin
I received my first camera as a birthday gift from my dad in 1983 - just as I was heading to college at the University of Minnesota.
After working at The Minnesota Daily as a freelance reporter and photographer and interning with the Minneapolis Star-Tribune I graduated with a BA in Journalism. In 1995, I coupled that with a MFA in Documentary Photojournalism from the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. I also interned with Newsday, attended the Eddie Adams' Workshop, received my first grant and embarked on my first freelance project in which I retraced Mark Twain's route around the world on the 100th anniversary of his journey.
I continued working as an independent photographer, with projects on the Green Bay Packers, Cuba and a legendary Montana cowgirl, until accepting the Staff Photographer position with the Houston Press in 2003.
In 2006 I won the First Place Photo Package Award from the Houston Press Club. I also won this award in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Also in 2006, my Cuba project was exhibited at the International Photography Gathering in Aleppo, Syria and two images were acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
In 2008, I began teaching at Rice University's Continuing Education program and also won the Photojournalist of the Year Award from the Houston Press Club. In 2009 I began teaching at the Art Institute of Houston.
SUMMARY OF EXHIBITIONS
| 2012 | Light, New Orleans Photo Alliance (Group show curated by Julie Grahame) |
| 2010 |
Portraits - Diversity of Vision, Houston City Hall Gallery - A part of the FotoFest Biennial (Group show) |
| 2006 |
Green Bay Replay, Neville Museum, Green Bay (Solo show) |
| 2004 | Bobby Brooks Kramer, Western Heritage Center, Billings, MT (Solo show) |
| 2001 |
Green Bay Replay, Concordia University, Mequon, WI (Solo show) |
| 2000 |
Green Bay Replay, Leigh Yawkey-Woodson Museum, Wausau, WI (Solo show) |
MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS SUMMARY
AWARDS
| 2009 |
Best Single Editorial Photograph Award - Dickens on the Strand in Galveston, Dec. 18, 2008 photo column; Awarded by the Western Publishing Association |
| 2008 |
Photojournalist of the Year- Awarded by the Houston Press Club |
| 2007 |
Honorable Mention - Day of the Dead, November 6, 2006 photo column; Editor and Publisher's National Pictures of the Year Contest |
| 2006 |
First Place Photo Package Award - Photos of a KBR truck driver back from Afghanistan and suffering from PTSD; Awarded by the Houston Press Club |
| 2002 | Best in Photography - Memorial Park Art Festival, Houston |
| 2001 | Best in Photography - Uptown Art Fair, Minneapolis |
GRANTS
| 2002 |
$5,000 grant from the Montana Historical Society to photograph Bobby Brooks Kramer: A Montana Legend |
| 1998 |
Exhibit production grant from ShopKo for 3-year Wisconsin museum tour of Green Bay Replay |
| 1995 |
Film grant from ShopKo (2,000 rolls of Kodachrome) and Processing grant from Kodak to retrace Mark Twain's 1895 - 96 journey around the world |
PROFESSIONAL WORK SUMMARY
| The Art Institute of Houston, ADJUNCT FACULTY MEMBER | 2009 - Present |
- Teach the latest principles and applications in Photojournalism, Photo Essay and Principles of Photography.
| Rice University Continuing Education, PHOTOGRAPHY INSTRUCTOR | 2008 - Present |
- Successfully develop and teach Street Photography, Extraordinary Photos from Everyday Life and Basics of Photography.
| Houston Press, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER | 2003 - 2009 |
- Responsible for a weekly photo column.
- Photographed three hurricanes, scores of covers and illustrated features and news stories.
http://www.dankphotos.com/houstonpress.php
| The Bobby Brooks Kramer Project | 2002 - 2003 |
- Photographed Bobby Brooks Kramer (my grand aunt-in-law), a member of the Cowgirl Hall of Fame. The photos and my accompanying story were published in 2005 in Big Sky magazine.
http://www.dankphotos.com/bobbybrooks/index.php
| Cuban Fire | 1998 - 2000 |
- Freelance project photographing everyday life in Cuba:
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2197661
| The Green Bay Packer Project | 1996 - 1997 |
- Photographed the Green Bay Packers throughout their Super Bowl winning season for the book, Green Bay Replay.
http://www.dankphotos.com/gbr/index.shtml
| The Mark Twain Project | 1995 - 1996 |
- Freelance project photographing Mark Twain's journey around the world.
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2027588
| Newsday, PHOTOGRAPHY INTERNSHIP | 1995 |
COLLECTIONS SUMMARY
- Museum of Fine Art, Houston - acquired two photos from my Cuba project, 2006
SUMMARY OF MEDIA EXPOSURES - ARTICLES AND INTERVIEWS (1995 - Present)
- My 20-year Faces of Faith photo essay featured online in FB Magazine (December 2011)
- Personal interview on my award-winning Hurricane Ike photos - NBC Houston (October 2008)
- Story written about my Bobby Brooks Kramer project - The Billings Gazette (May 23, 2003)
- Article "Every Picture Tells a Story" about my exhibit, Green Bay Replay - The Janesville Gazette (January 21, 2001)
- Article about Green Bay Replay (July 19, 2001) and a review of my presentation at the closing of the exhibit at the Rahr-West Art Museum (Sept. 6, 2001) -The Herald Times Reporter (Manitowoc, WI) and The Lakeshore Chronicle (Manitowoc, WI)
- Preview of the opening of Green Bay Replay - The Wausau Daily Herald (2000)
- Article about my Cuba project - The Green Bay Press-Gazette (Feb. 6, 1998)
- A story written about my project of retracing Mark Twain's journey around the world - The Advertiser, Adelaide, Australia (Jan. 13, 1996)
- A story written about my project of retracing Mark Twain's journey around the world - The Sunday Times of India, Mumbai, India (April 28, 1996)
- A story written about my project of retracing Mark Twain's journey around the world - The Green Bay Press-Gazette (May 8, 1996)
- A preview story written about my project of retracing Mark Twain's journey around the world - The Green Bay Press-Gazette (Oct. 17, 1995)
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Master of Fine Arts in Documentary Photojournalism
Academy of Art University, San Francisco, 1995
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 1990
Missouri Photo Workshop, 1998
Eddie Adams' Workshop, 1995
Chosen as one of the top-100 college photojournalists in the nation.