jennifer almquist

How did you come to Norfolk?
It was photography that initially brought me to Norfolk. Paul Winter is an old friend. I worked as his photographer for years and enjoyed posing his musicians against the craggy rock formations near the Music Shed. I was hired by Joan Panetti to be the official photographer for the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. Imagine a summer gig where you get to hang out with the Tokyo String Quartet!

When my husband Tom and I began looking for a new home, we both had good memories of Norfolk. We always thought of Norfolk as a mecca for the arts, and just far enough into the wilderness. 

What do you do here? 
I have been a professional photographer since I was sixteen. My Dad bought me a Nikon F camera when I was a junior in high school in Upper Montclair, New Jersey. My Nikon cameras have taken me on quite an adventure. Now I shoot with digital cameras, which are really camera-shaped computers. 

My professional photography consisted of portraits of children, images for non-profits, and New Milford Hospital’s annual reports. I once photographed President Clinton and Hillary Rodham. I unexpectedly won a Grammy for my eight years photographing Pete Seeger.  The year we moved to Norfolk, I was honored to be asked by Anita Holmes to be one of the ten local photographers in her book, “Norfolk Through a Lens: A Quintessential New England Town.”  

For the past year I have been a reporter for the Lakeville Journal. I started a series called The Creators. I interview people to learn how they came to their passion in life. I take their portrait, and we delve deep into their childhood dreams. I take my own photographs for my stories. 

What’s the best part of your job?
My job is to find the truth and tell that story as accurately and honestly as I can. I feel honored to be in this age-old profession. Hometown newspapers are rare indeed. My boss, John Coston and my editor, Riley Klein are the best things about my job. Both men are smart and professional. 

What do you like best about living in Norfolk? What do you like least? 
Our friends here are creative, quirky, concerned, and intellectual. Sometimes the overlapping of tradition and modernity is awkward in this town. Folks pretty much leave you alone though, which suits me, as I much prefer reading Annie Ernaux, curled up by the fire with my dog. Folks really turn up for each other and work hard for their causes. The Norfolk Library will always be my favorite place in town. In Norfolk if you don’t volunteer, you will find yourself alone most of the time.

What’s your favorite season in Norfolk? 
I love the winters in Norfolk. I love the wildness of our woods where bears, coyotes, deer, porcupines, and bobcats thrive.  Spending time in a friend’s barn watching French films in the dead of winter, eating pears from our trees, watching Tom split wood, having friends from every layer in town, listening to Natalia and Melissa play guitar in our old barn, sleeping with the window open hoping to hear our Barred owls, and watching our four grandchildren’s faces in the glow of our kitchen hearth- this is life at its fullest.

– Interview by Michael Cobb