A mental health professional by training, Kent Boynton directs a child inpatient psychiatric program and provides psychotherapy in a private practice. He is also a sports and general interest photographer for a local newspaper. Kent became turned on to photography at an early age when a tornado struck his hometown in Dallas, TX. He explains, "When I was young my most prized possession was a little Kodak Brownie camera. The day after the tornado hit, my dad drove me to a severely damaged residential street. In one block of houses the tornado had popped off every other roof! I carefully took a picture of each house with and without roofs. Later I laid the prints out in order to document this strange event. From then on I was hooked on the power of photography to remind and narrate."

Since then Kent has been photographing his surroundings. Kent uses a Canon 5d Mark II and a Canon 40d for backup. He also shoots medium format film with a 60 year old Rolleiflex. As a self-taught photographer, he says it is pretty easy these days to get state-of-the-art information on photography online within seconds. Kent has a good deal of experience from shooting lots of film on manual cameras. He explains, "I actually had to understand f-stops and shutter speeds, how to use a light meter, and depth of field. All of these still apply in the digital age. When I shoot sports, people with beautiful new cameras walk up to me and complain they can't get a good shot. The reason is that they think the camera can do it all. Believe it or not, I shoot night sports completely in the manual mode for consistent results."

Friends have often asked him why photography interests him. He explains, "One reason is everything changes. With a second glance the original scene is different. My photographs capture in this exact moment unique views and situations that are immediately gone forever." Shooting sports for a newspaper affords lots of opportunities to capture the excitement and frustration of intense athletics. Kent muses, "I am always surprised especially when I look at sports action photos or even of events like the Harvard 4th of July parade. I look at the photo and discover a movement or facial expression I had not expected."

Asked what have been some of the most poignant experiences he has had as a photographer he explains, "Once I was taking some photos on the Boston Common. A homeless fellow was sitting on a bench near me. He said, 'Hey, you are shooting with a Leica. That's a really fine camera.' His comment reminded me that homeless people had a real life before they became homeless and can be quite informed about the world around them."

Kent finds that New England and the Harvard area offer endless opportunities for freezing beautiful and unique moments in time. He prefers to move around a locale and find a vantage point that most people might have missed. Through photography he can share these special views with others. Where Kent travels, his camera is right at hand. Next, Kent is planning a trip to Costa Rica where he hopes to capture some interesting landscape and bird photos.

One of his photos was exhibited at the New Hampshire Institute of Art. Several have been featured in the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture Calendar including the cover shot taken at Carlson's Orchards a few years ago. For Art's Sake also hung several of his photos in its 'Made in Harvard' show at the old library. Most recently, enlargements of Kent's work have been on display during the month of September 2010 in the For Art’s Sake Live Gallery at the Harvard General Store. The cameras he uses have sufficient megapixels for enlargements. He credits his friends at Eastern Photographic in Lowell who do a great job of enlarging and printing. One of his favorite photos on display at the store is one that features an old Shaker stone barn which reminds him of ancient Roman ruins.

Kent's photos are available for purchase. He often posts his sports photos at www.stillriver.smugmug.com. To find out more about his work or purchase a photograph, contact Kent at 978-793-2299 or email him at jkboynton@gmail.com.