1996 Olympic

Right time, right place, grad says

By Paula Lavigne
Alumni News Staff

   People see the world through Gary Kemper’s eyes.

   Kemper and his camera have traveled across the globe, capturing images from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kuwait, South Africa, Northern Ireland, China and other news hot spots in his almost 20-year career.

  But his latest job brings him back to American soil as the photo chief for the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta.

  Kemper, a 1976 UNL journalism graduate, returned to his home state of Nebraska for UNL’s Master’s Week. From Oct. 11-13, he worked with students in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications.

  After earning his bachelor’s degree from UNL, he earned his master’s degree from Columbia University in New York.

  Kemper’s overseas ventures began even before he graduated from UNL. In 1971, he left college for two years.

  “I put my backpack on and went off to Europe for nine months,” he says.

  His hike began in Germany, and through a series of adventures ended in Portugal, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

  “I always had a bug for travel. I always wanted to jump in a car and take off.”

  His international career took off in London in 1981, when he covered the United Kingdom and Ireland for United Press International.

  It was then that Kemper met his most challenging assignment.

  In the mid-80s, the media set their eyes on the rift between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, he says, where riots and hunger strikes occurred often.

  A few Catholic prisoners had a hunger strike where 10 people starved to death.

  The strikes sparked riots. Children threw rocks from street corners, he says, and about 40 reporters and photographers would flock to the scenes.

  Kemper says he wonders how much rioting was done just for the cameras. His concern prompted ethical questions about objective coverage, he says, and he had to carefully choose pictures that would show the real situation.

  Kemper made photographic history Jan. 1, 1985, when he transmitted the first photo from Hong Kong for Reuters, Europe’s wire service.

  Kemper’s photographic, writing and editing skills guided him through assignments with Reuters, UPI and The Associated Press.

  His assignments took him to Iraq for the Persian Gulf War, to Iran for the release of American hostages, to Eastern Europe for the fall of Communism and to Tiananmen Square in China for student uprisings.

  A trip through Africa was his most enjoyable, he says, and it led him to a job as UPI’s African expert in Brussels, Belgium.

  Through the years, Kemper has learned that being able to work with people is a large part of what opens doors for journalists, he says.

  “Journalism is a business with a lot of egos. The best people I have found throughout the years do not have those egos.

  “They’re very comfortable to work with and pleasant to be with. The people who think they know everything don’t get the opportunities.”

  Perseverance and luck also factored into Kemper’s career, he says.

  “It takes an ability to see what opportunities lie ahead. When things opened up, I happened to be the right person in the right place at the right time.”

  Kemper’s assignment in Atlanta came about because of contacts he made at the Olympics in Hong Kong; Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina; Barcelona, Spain; and Seoul, Korea.

  The 1996 Olympic games will represent more countries than the United Nations, he says.

“I’ll be making sure these games are the best photographed of all games.”

  Lighting, coordination and logistical work are being arranged to make the 1996 games visually exciting, he says.

  After directing 900 photographers in Atlanta, Kemper says he plans to relax for a few months and watch over a relatively smaller operation — his children.