Jim Kipfer and Bob Jenks

Fourth-generation St. Johnsbury photographer Bob Jenks collaborates with Jim Kipfer of Maine for a joint exhibition of their photographs entitled “The Bellows Brothers.”

Robert C. Jenks, Master Photographer and Craftsman, is a 4th-generation photographer keeping the family-run business going. The business was established in 1886 by Robert’s great-grandfather, William H. Jenks. Robert graduated from Culinary Arts School in 1979 and didn’t feel like heading into work in a hot kitchen, so he started working for his dad and never stopped. He took over the business in 1986, following in the footsteps of his ancestors. Robert has a love for black & white images and hopes someday in the future to shoot only black and white.

Bob believes the Jenks Studio may be the oldest family-run studio in the United States. Other photographers may have been in business longer, but have sold out to non-family members.

Bob will show images shot by his great-grandfather, grandfather, father, and some of his own, including his recent photo of Stevie Van Zandt of the E Street Band and the Malvado Maple Mezcal produced by the St. Johnsbury Distillery.

Bob Jenks, March 2026

James A. Kipfer

James A. Kipfer is a fine art photographer whose studio is in Alna, ME. “I consider myself a photo-documentarian,” says Kipfer. “I focus on places that are distinct, with character, that are unique; places that are on the verge of disappearing either by nature or by man’s overwhelming need to homogenize our culture. My tools are analog, yet complex. I primarily use large format view cameras and gelatin silver film to record what I’m feeling. The quality of the finished contact prints capture a detail and depth that I feel is unmatched by modern digital images.”