Richard L. Berkley once said, “I like meeting people.” Before, during, and after his record three-term tenure as Kansas City’s mayor — from 1979 to 1991 — he met hundreds of political leaders, entertainers, sports stars, and other celebrities. Most times, he asked to take their pictures. Berkley’s personal collection ranges from images of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan to shots of Bo Jackson, George Brett, Annie Liebovitz, and Joanne Woodward.

The former mayor and lifelong shutterbug offers an illustrated retrospective coinciding with a new exhibit of his collected images in the Genevieve Guldner Gallery at the Central Library that runs through March 8, 2015. Berkley discusses his start with a camera, the stories behind his photos, and the ones that got away – the rare celebrities who turned him down.