CUB PHOTOGRAPHER Richard Voges poses with his trusty Speed Graphic shortly after joining the university in 1959.

Living for the Moment

Richard Voges looks back on 40 years of photographing the university

The year was 1959 and Richard Voges was a newly hired photographer in the university's 14-member photography unit. Working with bulky 4x5 inch format Speed Graphic and twin-lens Rolleiflex cameras, Voges shot sports, research photography and public relations shots. But the bulk of his work appeared in the Cornhusker yearbooks.

"In the 1960s, you were out every night and weekend shooting stuff for the yearbooks," Voges said.

He retires May 20 after a 40-year career of looking at the university through a viewfinder.

As his career progressed, Voges concentrated primarily on sports photography. In fact, he's only seen one football game from the stands.

"That was a game at Kansas State. I didn't like it because it was too crowded in the seats," he said. "That was the only game I've ever seen with both eyes open."

Voges started his career when he fibbed to a high school teacher that he could take photographs and ended up on the yearbook staff of the Nebraska City High School as a photographer. "I went to the library and checked out some books about photography and learned over the summer," he said.

His camera skills came in handy as Voges entered the U.S. Navy during the Korean conflict. From 1952-56, he was a photographer on the aircraft carrier Bonh0mme Richard. There were 20 photographers on board the ship because each takeoff and landing was photographed so there would be documentation in case of accidents. Voges said he would toss his film into the ocean if the flight was successful. Once in a while, if he felt he had a particularly interesting shot, he would save the film from the drink amd develop it himself.

PROLOGUE LIFE DURING WARTIME Voges's career in photography took off during the Korean War.
Assigned to duty on an aircraft carrier, he shot these images of rare compositional quality.

He was one of just a few photogs on board who would shoot from planes or helicopter hatchways, because, as he put it, "it was really scary."

After he left the Navy, he worked in a photo shop in San Francisco, but yearned to leave crowded California for a job closer to home. He heard of the opening at Nebraska and landed it.

Voges has documented nearly 1/3 of the entire history of the University of Nebraska. He has so many memorable moments, he said, it's hard to single any out as especially meaningful.

Retirement will find him "getting really serious about photography," he said. He probably will still shoot football as a freelancer, but not basketball. "That floor gets pretty hard," he said.

He also wants to concentrate on outdoor and wildlife photography and do a little traveling. He and wife Marguerite has purchased a big van.

The couple enjoy time with their 13 grandchildren and twin great-granddaughters.

A farewell reception for Voges will be from from 2-4 p.m. May 20 in the Nebraska Union.

-Kim Hachiya

MIKKI MOORE takes it to the hole against Kansas State. This photo earned Voges a CASE award for excellence in photography.
PETER, PAUL AND MARY deliver folk rhythms at the Coliseum in the late '60s.
FRANK SOLICH strikes a pose.
PRESIDENT RICHARD MILHOUS NIXON presents the football team with the national championship plaque after the 1970 season.