At age sixteen Jim Klebau went to work as a staff photographer at The Portsmouth (Virginia) Star. One of his photographs — racially mixed seating on a public bus in accordance with the public accomodations ruling of the U. S. Supreme Court — was picked up by Associated Press and ran on the front page of The New York Times.

After several years of news photography, Jim decided to add to his formal education and left the newspaper to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree at Baylor University.

After graduation Jim restarted his camera career, as a staff film cameraman for Hearst Metrotone News of the Day theater newreels, followed by freelance filming for the major television networks in Washington DC. He shot presidents, screen actors, congressmen and criminals. His film awards included CINE Golden Eagle, Emmy Award and AMA Medical Journalism Award. Still clients included MGM, Paramount Pictures, Associated Press, Washington Business Journal, Newsweek and The Washington Post.

During the latter days of his assignment work, Jim began making his personal fine art photographs. Then he hit a wall. For thirty-five years he had made images for others: assignment editors, art directors and producers. “Eventually I came to the conclusion that my own eye could only be found by the rigid demand upon myself of photographing only what I liked, not caring a whit about what anyone else might like.” Jim trusted that his purely subjective images would convey the sense of place and moment when the shutter clicked. Some of those images appear in this gallery.