Full Name: Kenneth Maurice Penn Jr. aka Ken Penn aka Cen Penn aka Kencredible
Age: 35
Currently Residing: Philadelphia PA
Currently Listening to: Blaqk Audio,She Wants Revenge, Hatebreed The Smiths, Down to Nothing, Gwen Stafani
Equipment: Nikon D200, Nikon D70 Backup, Dyna-lite Studio Lights, Pocket Wizards, Nikkor and Sigma Lenses, Apple MAc G5 and Powerbook G4
He was a tall guy with a skateboard. I was 18, he was 19. We met in the "scene" of Richmond, VA and he gave me the name "Lucy". I never knew why he and our related friends called me that and so I asked him one day, "Ken, why do you guys call me Lucy?" and he responded with, "Because you should be married to Ricky Ricardo." We both laughed and acknowledged how that was pretty accurate.
Although I've known Ken Penn for a long while, I had no idea he was doing this type of photography. I always knew him as a strong advocate for PETA,, his various musical endeavors and his striking features. I recently reconnected with Ken to see that he is where I thought eventually he would be...surrounded by pretty tattooed clad models! I like Ken's photos in that they capture a very "hey, I know that chick" kind of feel to them. There is a naturalness to the expressions he captures. His photos don't look so forced and although he specializes in fashion photography, he dabbles in different areas of creative media including print and web design as well as some video creations. I like it when people I knew from the past are putting themselves out there and Ken is no exception.
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How long have you been taking pictures? What lead you to taking the pictures you do?
I've been shooting since about 1986, I started in high school shooting people and things around me - Skinheads, goths, and skater kids. I pretty much still shoot the same way but with a little more focus on fashion.
Do you find it easy taking photos of cool hot girls (LOL)? What challenges do you face with your photography?
The easiness of a shoot depends really on who I am working with. Most of the time shoots are fun and stress free but there can be difficult locations and or situations to deal with. Whether it be a model with a bloated head that won't listen to direction or an inexperienced model that doesn't give me much effort in a pose.
What do you feel stands out about your photos?
Ha, you tell me. People tell me a lot that they like my "style". The truth is I don't think I have a certain style. I have always been one to always want to try different things. I don't want to be categorized or expected to produce a certain kind of work. I shoot what I see and what I like at that given point in time. I am moving more toward a series of work to develop some pieces for a show, but that's the closest I will ever come to having a style. I have always had this point of view in photography and design.
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You take a lot of fashion photography...how do you come up with ideas for shoots?
The ideas start with the chosen models, models bring the life to the photo, then there is the wardrobe, then how i choose to capture it. To me it is a process that needs to all come together naturally, some things won't work for certain models. In a perfect world all models would have not hang ups and you could plan anything without even meeting them, but in the real world you never know what you are gonna get until you work with someone for the first time. I like to keep ideas vague until I get a feel for someone via a first test shoot.
What's the strangest thing you've had to photograph?
I would have to say Vanilla Ice. Yep, I said Vanilla Ice... I shot the show for While You Were Sleeping magazine in the late 90's. It was very surreal. It was during his rock comeback tour at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. It was sold out to 15 year old girls with banners and signs reading, "We love you Rob!" and "Ice Ice Baby".
The crazy part was witnessing Vanilla's rock star tantrum of throwing chairs and yelling at his Easy E look - a - like manager backstage right before he came on, I guess to get hyped up.
What moves you about a subject...what's the thing that draws you to it?
Energy, passion, uniqueness...I feel i can shoot anything I want but I want to shoot things and people that are not necessarily going to be in the next popular magazine. I could shoot runway models or pop bands everyday but that's not the stuff that holds my interest, something with a little edge or controversy can give an image such life.
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As long as I've known you, you've been involved with PETA...what's your involvement consist of these days?
Yes, I Have been involved with PETA for over 19 years, starting with tabling in high school up to my 5 year web design position at the PETA headquarters a few years ago. I left my design position at PETA in 2005 to escape the feeling of being burnt out on the stress and depression of constantly seeing such animal cruelty. As of recent, I am trying to work with PETA2 on more photo projects. I shot Warped Tour this year in Camden NJ, for PETA 2 and hope to do more in the near future with the music tours that PETA is involved with. I am also trying to get involved with the next Fashion Week events they plan. Unfortunately this year nothing was planned.
You also take a lot of band photos...what do you enjoy most about the bands you shoot..do you only shoot live shots?
I love energy, both the band and the crowd. I also like memories, and being a music lover, I think any show I choose to go to and shoot would make me stoked to be able to save the experience in a picture. I have been shooting mostly live shows the past few years, but I would like to do more band promo work. It is just hard to get time with a band if you are shooting the bigger lineups. i feel lucky enough to get a show pass.
What photographers do find innovative at this time? What do you strive for most with your photography?
Wow, i could go on for days with this, but some of my favs are Lithium Picnic of Alt Fashion fame, David LaChapelle for his artistic expression, Glen E. Friedman for his amazing musician captures.
Crosswords, jigsaws, or word problems?
Unless its on a computer, none.
For more info on Mr. Kencredbile feel free to visit his SITE or his MySpace.
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