Talk

MPS Digital Photography presents a talk with Robert Kalman, New York based documentary and portrait photographer. For over 40 years Robert Kalman has been making formal, large format portraits of people he meets on streets across the globe. In addition to his large format portraiture, he has worked as a freelance editorial photographer for regional newspapers and magazines in the U.S. His first job after university was as news assistant to the managing editor of the New York Times. Robert is a frequent exhibitor in galleries across the U.S. Notable among his exhibitions: a collection of portraits of Nicaraguan villagers taken twenty years apart, wetplate collodion images of Confederate monuments, a series of ambrotypes of gay and lesbian bi-racial couples, dual portraits of dogs and their owners, transgender Israelis and transgender Panamanians. He is a Critical Mass Top 50 recipient, and he has published more than a dozen books of portraits. A special book arts edition of his latest book, a collection of American portraits entitled What’s it like for you to be an American? is touring four cities in 2026. Robert and his wife, Linda, live in New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley.

Starting in 2011 and after over 250 lectures, the i3: Images, Ideas, Inspiration Lecture series continues to feature leading photographers, artists, editors, gallerists, and industry experts. The spring 2026 i3 Lecture season is curated and hosted by MPS Digital Photography faculty member Julie Grahame. Most past lectures are available on YouTube and Vimeo.