Behind the Scenes at 2018 Explorers Club Dinner by Felix Kunze

Founded in New York City in 1904, The Explorers Club promotes the scientific exploration of land, sea, air, and space by supporting research and education in the physical, natural and biological sciences. The Club’s members have been responsible for an illustrious series of famous firsts: First to the North Pole, first to the South Pole, first to the summit of Mount Everest, first to the deepest point in the ocean, first to the surface of the moon—all accomplished by its members.



My tent pole personal project shoot now in its 4th year, I’ve now photographed many of those who have achieved the most: they are the first, the deepest, the furthest, the highest, the fastest, and sometimes also the richest in their respective fields. - said Felix -

Gene Rurka, pictured here with a Burmese Python, is the man behind the famously exotic menu at the Explorers Club Dinner, which this year featured invasive species including the Pythons which have been a big problem in the Everglades, as well as crowd favorites of deep friend Tarantulas, scorpions and cockroaches (swipe&zoom to see). With thanks to @the_explrorers_club

Una publicación compartida por Felix Kunze (@felixkunze) el Abr 4, 2018 at 1:28 PDT

You’ve seen her on my profile before and it was pleasure to photographer her for the third time at the 114th Annual Explorers Club Dinner: Jess Phoenix is a volcanologist, geologist, and the executive director and co-founder of the nonprofit environmental scientific research organization Blueprint Earth. She is a 2018 Democratic candidate seeking election to the United States House of Representatives to represent California's 25th Congressional District. She’s aiming to put scientists and thinkers back into congress, something I wholeheartedly support. With thanks to the Explorers Club.

Una publicación compartida por Felix Kunze (@felixkunze) el Abr 9, 2018 at 12:38 PDT

No one embodies this year’s Explorers Club Dinner theme of ‘Next Generation Exploration’ more than Atlee Teillon; possibly my favorite person to photograph each year. With thanks to @the_explorers_club

Una publicación compartida por Felix Kunze (@felixkunze) el Abr 3, 2018 at 1:44 PDT

Arguably the most accomplished person I’ve ever photographed, Capt. James Arthur Lovell Jr. is this year’s recipient of The Explorers Club Medal. If you don’t know who he is, he is most famous for being the commander of Apollo 13, portrayed by Tom Hanks in the movie of the same name. Lovell was also the command module pilot of Apollo 8, the first Apollo mission to enter lunar orbit. He is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon. He is the first of only three people to fly to the Moon twice, and the only one to have flown there twice without making a landing. Lovell was also the first person to fly in space four times. He has been a member of The Explorers Club since 1966 and carried The Explorers Club Flag on Apollo 8 and Apollo 13. With thanks to @the_explorers_club

Una publicación compartida por Felix Kunze (@felixkunze) el Abr 2, 2018 at 10:19 PDT

Winners of New Explorer Awards, this is my third year photographing Trevor Wallace and my 2nd shooting Gino Caspari. Together they focus on the discovery and analysis of ancient landscapes, graves and ruins and creating a feature documentary ‘Frozen Corpses Golden Treasures. In order to expose the issue of looting and the destruction of cultural heritage, Trevor and Gino have undercover filmed tomb raiders, mafia and triad smugglers. Follow their story here: @frozencorpsesgoldentreasures and @worldwidewallace Shot at the 114th Annual Explorers Club Dinner, held at the Marriott Hotel in New York’s Times Square on 10 March 2018 With thanks to @the_explorers_club, with support from @oliphantstudio @elinchrom_ltd & @nikonusa

Una publicación compartida por Felix Kunze (@felixkunze) el Mar 25, 2018 at 2:34 PDT

Equipment used:

1. Nikon D850 
2. Elinchrom ELB 500 x 4 with deep dish Elinchrom Rotalux, Elinchrom Litemotiv, Shallow Elinchrom Rotalux and a Stella 8000 for focus light.

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Text, image and video via Felix Kunze