In the early 1970’s he began photographing equestrian sports since his then-wife owned and competed a show horse. One published picture led to another after he won the Maryland Horse magazine’s photo contest in 1972 earning his first cover image. He then made 11 of the first 12 covers for the new Practical Horseman magazine in 1973 beginning a long relationship that lasted through the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. In 1990 he formed U.S. Equestrian Sport Agency as a stock photo outlet for his photos. Karl photographed the equestrian sports at 6 summer Olympics from 1976 to 2000. Over 20 magazines including Sports Illustrated, US News & World Report, Olympian, Equus and M have published his equestrian sport images.

Upon joining the Delaware Camera Club (now the Delaware Photographic Society or DPS), Karl started submitting pictures to the Wilmington International Exhibition of Photography (WIEP). Aided by good scores in the photojournalism sections, he is now a Senior Fellow with over 200 acceptances, more than any other photographer in WIEP’s 78 year history. Along with many best-in-show medals, his photojournalism images have earned the Photographic Society of America’s Smith Award for best photojournalist in 1992 and 2005. He is a Fellow of DPS.

In 50 years of photographic adventures Karl has photographed on every continent and used a very wide range of equipment and techniques.
In recent years Karl has done more teaching. He was the first Education Director of DPS. He teaches an annual equine photography workshop at Cecil College and summer courses at the University of Delaware Lifelong Learning Institute and DuPont Environmental Education Center. He says, “So many fine photographers have helped me along the way. I want use my experience to help others improve their craft and enjoyment of photography.”