Check Out Chip Kalback’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chip Kalback

Hi Chip, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m a professional photographer based in Denver, shooting lifestyle work for a mix of commercial and editorial clients since 2008. I grew up outside of Cleveland and used to take a point and shoot camera to as many concerts as I could get into with a photo pass in the early 2000’s. As I went through college at Kent State University I continued taking [pretty mediocre] concert photos before moving to Colorado after graduating college. It’s at that point that my interest shifted to photographing skiing and snowboarding, which I became obsessed with doing while simultaneously working my first ‘out-of-college-what-do-I-do-with-my-life’ retail job. Through skiing and snowboarding I started shooting for bigger brands, which eventually enabled me to quit my aforementioned retail job in 2008 after my boss told me to “give up photography because it wouldn’t go anywhere”. Over time my interest shifted from snow sports photography to outdoor lifestyle and environmental portrait work, for brands ranging from United Airlines, RAM Trucks, and Target, to editorial clients including Rolling Stone, Mountain Gazette, Powder, and others.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Ha! Absolutely NOT, but that’s part of the fun and just goes with the territory of running your own business in a creative field. When things are good they’re great, and when they’re slow it can be really rough. Not only do I need to stay creative and keep producing new work, but I need to keep up on everything from marketing to accounting to education, as well as maintaining my health while also being a decent husband and dad for my wife and kids. At this point I really can’t imagine doing anything else and I really love what I do, but keeping your head above water in a creative field means having a really thick skin and accepting that nothing is certain.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I have worked as a commercial and editorial photographer for lifestyle brands and publications since 2008.

Helping brands tell their story through environmental portraits that feel real and relatable is why I became a commercial artist. Some of my favorite projects and clients can be seen on my site at chipkalback.com

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Podcasts I’m loving include Visual Revolutionary, The Photo Banter, and The Rich Roll podcast, and I’ve been enjoying Rick Rubin’s book The Creative Act lately as well. I’ve found that I can listen/watch photo content up to a certain point but it can turn into a feedback loop of reading/learning/watching gear and technique stuff without ever putting it into much practice, so I try to get off of the computer and ride my bike or go skiing a good amount as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.chipkalback.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/chipkalback/
• Youtube: http://youtube.com/chipkalback

Image Credits
Dante Talano, Fredo Jones, Kyra Rehman