Kevin Gilligan: Nicely done...AGAIN!

Hanging out with Kevin in 2019

by Skip Cohen

​As I mentioned in a previous post, it's fun living vicariously through the adventures of my buddies; it's also amazing to follow their careers and achievements. Kevin Gilligan and I "met" via phone many years ago, and the friendship took off. We went for at least five years without physically meeting, but we still enjoyed regular phone conversations about the industry, our families, and anything that came up.

Finally, three years ago, Sheila and I hit L.A. on the way back from WPPI and had a chance to spend some time with Kevin and his family. At the time, he was working on his Developing Men exhibition. This was Kevin's third solo exhibition and was "a contemporary examination of male friendship, masculinity, isolation, community, and legacy through the mediums of portrait photography, a video documentary, and the written word. The show exhibited at the Resin Gallery" in Hermosa Beach, CA, three years ago. I was honored to be included in the exhibition.  

Over the years, I've shared dozens of posts about Kevin's images and even a few guest posts. We even taught a class together for ClickCon online during the pandemic.

Yesterday, he sent me the image below with a great little announcement:
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On Friday, I received a  Bronze award for my image of Tre Cime in the Dolomites in a very competitive international travel photography contest. There were 2000 entries from 40 countries. The ants at the bottom are people!! 

Kevin's work was also recognized in 2020 with a Bronze Award in the extremely competitive, Epson Pano Awards. There were 5859 images from 96 countries entered. He wrote:

I'm thrilled that the judges recognized my image in such a crowded field...This image is incredibly meaningful to me because of the difficulty and commitment it took to get it....I had to travel over 20 hours from my home in Los Angeles to get to Southern Chile, nearly Antartica, and then to Torres Del Paine National Park. Once in the gorgeous park, the hike to get this image was 11 hours round trip. The last quarter mile or so was on all fours due to the wind, ice, and rocky path. The hike was a beautiful journey through multiple climate zones. At the top where this image was taken it was so cold that I could only stay there for approximately 20 minutes. We had to hide behind a large rock to take shelter from the wind. 

Without question, social media has become the mortar that holds together the bricks of so many great friendships. And nothing beats following the accomplishments of good friends!

Check out Kevin's website with a click on either image above. And check out announcements about upcoming programs when he's teaching. He's a regular instructor at Silvios in Torrance, CA, and also doing on location workshops.