Ken Kerbs

Background

About Ken Kerbs

I've been passionate about visual storytelling since I was a teenager. And nature and the environment have been a huge part of my life since my childhood when I began playing in what was a wildlife-rich wetland in northern New Jersey adjacent to where I lived. There, I witnessed the seasonal flooding of a meandering brook, winter hibernation of amphibians and reptiles, and, as a budding biologist, I learned about many other species of insects, birds and aquatic life which became active in Spring. After becoming a working photojournalist in my early 20s, I began freelancing as an assignment magazine photographer. I traveled extensively shooting environmental, sports, financial, and spot news stories. I received a dual degree in Anthropology and Communications / Photojournalism from Syracuse University. In the early 90's, I attended Columbia University's graduate film division studying documentary film production, getting an MFA. I then started a boutique production company where I produced multi-media for some of the top Fortune 500 companies, including the New York Stock Exchange, collaborating with writers, animators, audio technicians, cinematographers, and editors on projects that were budgeted up to Over the last 18 years I have worked for CBS News. I have shot and edited stories of national and international interest, including politics, consumer, health, and the environment. In 2008, I produced and directed a prime-time television business series with a budget of $1 million for Germany's NTV. Entitled,"70 Days Around The World With Markus Koch," we toured Ghana, Russia, India, Vietnam, China, Brazil and Mexico and shot over 40 stories. I've been to 27 countries on five continents and visited 46 States, both as a still and TV news photographer. I have covered many environmental stories: Love Canal, BP oil spill, the "Cancer Corridor" along the Mississippi in Louisiana, China and India's oppressive air pollution, Vietnam's toxic Mekong River, Mexico City's sewage inadequacies, as well as many animal stories on whales, chimpanzees, bats, rats, fish, birds, and even cockroaches. My takeaway from these experiences is that we are not being very good stewards of our natural resources. We could do much better. I am hopeful that humanity can take a step back and evaluate the impact we are having on our planet. Call me crazy, but I happen to love clean air and water, and want to see nature thrive and am hopeful our children have opportunities to always pursue their dreams.