Ken Goldman has been an NHSPA member since 2018, joining shortly after he moved to Portsmouth from the Washington, DC area.

Ken had always wanted to express himself artistically, but as he says, “I dance like a rusty robot, sing like a frog with a sore throat, and I can't even draw a stick figure!”  So, he decided to try photography.  Photography gave him the tools to express himself artistically and creatively in a way he enjoys.  

This enjoyment of photography began in 1964/65, at the New York World's Fair.  Ken used a Kodak Instamatic 100 camera and began taking photos.  Then, throughout his busy working years, his photography became limited to vacation photos.  In 2010, as he prepared for retirement, he joined a camera club in Maryland, where he started to learn more about photography and become more serious about it. These days you will rarely see Ken without a camera. He says, “Photography keeps me busy and mostly out of trouble.” 

When he first became interested in photography, he was photographed mostly landscapes and nature. Today, he says, his focus is street and urban photography.  “My enjoyment of this type of photography began totally by accident...It was a cold, sleety day in March 2014. I was sitting in a window seat at the Starbucks on L Street NW, near the Farragut North Metro Station in Washington, DC.  As I sat there, sipped tea and read, I decided to pull out my camera and take some pictures of the people passing by. Happily sitting there and taking photos, one of the differences between the two types of photography really grabbed me...in nature photography I always cursed the people in my pictures.  For the most part, in street and urban photography, the people are the picture! Once I realized this somewhat obvious fact, it really excited me, and I never looked back!” 

Ken travels often and still does a lot of travel photography, which includes nature, landscape, street and urban photography. He likes to use Olympus digital cameras and usually only makes prints for exhibits or sales.  Recently, he put a fresh light meter battery into his 35mm Olympus.  Now, he’s considering trying film again.

Since moving to Portsmouth, Ken has exhibited his work numerous times.  His black and white photo of the Albacore is part of the Reflections of Portsmouth exhibit at the Foundry Place Garage.  He exhibited with NHSPA in Exeter and Kimball-Jenkins, with his photo Tall Ships being featured on the 2019 Exeter exhibit poster.  He also participated in New Hampshire Now with photos exhibited at seven of the eight venues, and three photos selected for the book.  His photos were juried into three Annual Jack Parfitt Photography Exhibitions at the New Hampshire Art Association, and he has exhibited at the Portsmouth Historical Society, the Portsmouth Public Library, the Portsmouth Senior Activity Center, and the Portsmouth Athenæum.

Currently, Ken is working on several projects and bodies of work including Museum People, Spying from Starbucks or Coffee Shop Candids, People at Work, Artists, Musicians, Bicycles and the [Lawn] Lighthouses of Grand Manan.  He says, “I recently realized that, without planning it, I have been recording various aspects of life in Portsmouth; now I need to figure out what to do with this large body of work.  Recording the world and the life around me is what keeps me interested in photography.”

Asked what he’d like to learn or do next, Ken said, “I am not satisfied with my abilities with indoor and night photography, so these are areas I would like to improve in the future.”