Through the lens: He's seen the world, yet chooses Hesperia to be his home

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Joe Klimovitz feels at home in the rain forest, on the front lines in Iraq or at the Olympic opening ceremonies.

But after his worldwide assignments, he comes home to tiny Hesperia in Oceana County.

Klimovitz is an internationally renowned photojournalist, an Emmy-winning freelance video cameraman on call with television networks to bring them footage from far corners of the world.

In spite of his polished reputation and private-contractor business, he still has to "wait by the phone" to get paying work. "If it doesn't ring, you start to get nervous," he said.

Not surprisingly, he has some terrific tales to tell.

Landing in a small plane on a dirt runway cut from the jungle, Klimovitz in the early 1990s took his cameras to film the secluded Yanomami people in Suriname's Amazon rain forest.

Klimovitz was traveling with famed TV journalist Bill Kurtis, helping to create an episode of the "New Explorers" documentary series for PBS.

Klimovitz slept in thatch huts and hammocks, and saw "amazing wildlife" while following the native Indians and a botanist collecting plants that the jungle dwellers use to cure diseases.

His work in the rain forest -- Klimovitz's favorite assignment in his 35 years as a cameraman -- netted him the prestigious 1993 Peabody award, given by the University of Georgia for distinguished achievement and meritorious service by radio and television networks.

Klimovitz has shot film, video and digital images for numerous networks, including NBC, CBS, ESPN and the Discovery Channel. Klimovitz's extensive success as a photojournalist was cemented by a second Peabody award, a national Emmy and a laundry list of other awards. More...