James Karales

Early in his career, Karales began a photo-essay documenting Rendville, Ohio, an important stop on the Underground Railroad during the Civil War and one of the few racially integrated communities in America in the late 1950s. These pictures demonstrate his striking ability to capture the essential qualities of a community, are reminiscent of images made for the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s, and reflect Karales state of mind as he grappled with the racial issues that were to preoccupy him and America for many years to come. Karales worked for 'Look' from 1960 until it ceased publication in 1971. Through this new publication we discover that Karales stature as a photojournalist and social documentary photographer par excellence is based on much more than one iconic image from Selma.