Kevin O’Donnell is an award-winning author and photographer, YouTube content creator, and master story-teller, living on the shores of Lake Michigan in Door County, Wisconsin.
“Subjects hold secrets. Whether portraiture, landscapes, architecture, or industrial, I am challenged and intrigued by the esoteric stories they project. I often return multiple times to a subject until I am satisfied that I have visually related that story in a unique and visceral way. My goal is not to capture a memory, but to search for and chronicle a moment — and capture the essence of its story.“
Retired since 2018 as a principal engineer in the pharmaceutical industry, Kevin’s 37-year career led to considerable international travel. This kindled his interest in photography and expanded his world view, exposing him to an assortment of cultures, traditions, and landscapes throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas, about which he has written and photographed extensively.
Kevin’s approach to his craft is to look beyond the visual reach of most others to capture in photographs and essays, the unique cultural, social, economic, historic, and natural diversity within the environment.
O’Donnell’s photographs have been featured in numerous publications; including: Wisconsin’s Great Waterways Calendars, The Door County GO Guide, and multiple covers of the nationally distributed Irish American News. His first solo weekend exhibition in Chicago featured 45 photographs and resulted in the sale of 26 framed pieces mostly of images of his beloved Door County.
As an author, O’Donnell has written for several industry trade magazines and has two previous books: “Fadó—a memoir of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (Xlibris) and “Cold Chain Chronicles—a practitioners outside-the-box perspectives on the importance of temperature-sensitive drug stewardship” (DHI publishing), which won “international author of the year award” from the Parenteral Drug Association. The book is used in academia by pharmacy schools, by the World Health Organization, and throughout the pharmaceutical industry as a guide to vaccine quality management.
Over the past seven years Kevin has been working on a collection of photographs and essays capturing the uniqueness of the Door peninsula. His book, “Behind The Door: Profiles of a Peninsula” was published in May, 2024.
In support of that project Kevin launched a YouTube channel in 2020. “Kevin O’Donnell Behind The Door” is part vlog, part adventure, part photographer’s workshop, and part history lesson. Each episode weaves a story of the diverse richness and beauty of the Door peninsula; “Things well beyond Highways 42 and 57 - and beyond the reach and scope of most tourists and visitors. It’s more about the year-rounders, the traditions, the culture, the disappearing Door.” He says.“Think: Norbert Blei, camera in hand, meets National Geographic.” Each episode weaves a story of the diverse richness and beauty of the Door peninsula. Select episodes, resulted in photographs that made their way into his book and are referenced with a QR code throughout the pages.
Door County’s unique geography and rich maritime history and its relationship with the iron ore boats remain a particular favorite subject for his essays and photography. For it was these interests that first drew him to the area back in 1972.
You can contact Kevin directly at kodophoto55@gmail.com