James Karales

James Karales graduated from Ohio University with an M.F.A. in photography in 1955. His first job was as an assistant to W. Eugene Smith where he learned darkroom skills from the master. Early in his career, his work began to attract attention, most notably from Edward Steichen, the director of photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, who purchased two prints. Beginning in 1960, Karales was a photographer for LOOK magazine for 11 years, and became known for his landmark essays on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who granted him unprecedented access to his family. When LOOK closed in 1971, Karales became an independent photographer. His work is in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art and the International Center for Photography in New York.