Photography has been a passion of mine from a very early age. I discovered 35 mm photography when I was 19 years old and living in Houston. Through a mutual friend, Margaret Day, a hairdresser, an artist and a self-described "free spirit" I met Paul Guthrie. Paul worked in the lab at Baylor College of Medicine and his hobby was photography. He asked if he could photograph me, and I agreed.
I was immediately intrigued by the experience and followed him into the darkroom where he taught me about black and white film development and then about printing techniques. For years we spent many hours together taking pictures, developing and printing our film in the darkroom. Paul helped me to purchase my first camera, a Nikkormat FTN with a 50mm Nikkor lense. He introduced me to the work of Ansel Adams and the "zone system." To this day, Paul remains a life-long friend and a true mentor to me.
Paul is intrigued by the human body and he passed that interest on to me. He also taught me about light and how to understand what I was seeing and how the camera would capture that. I would photograph anyone who would allow me and soon found that I was chasing a dream. The dream was to capture not only an image of the subject, but a vision, a creation of my mind's eye. I began to see everything differently and became interested in shooting not only people but nature, weather, moments in time, items of graphical interest, and finally macro photography. It was not the subjects that had captured my attention, it was the light reflected off of them.
In Houston in the 1970's, I worked in the field of photography, starting out as an assistant to local commercial photographers. There I learned about the art of studio lighting and set design, became familiar with large format cameras and the many different types of films used specifically for particular shooting conditions and affects. It was one of the most joyful times of my life. The work was hard. As an assistant, responsibilities included loading and hauling all of the equipment to and from the site, including heavy batteries for additional lighting. Learning how NOT to electrocute yourself was, needless to say, important. And the photographer does not want to explain anything twice; time is of the essence on a photo shoot.
We worked fast. I kept camera backs loaded with film, took meter readings and test shots with the Polaroid back. We needed to capture an image we could hold in our hands and analyse for tweaking all aspects of the shot. Remember, this was before the day of digital. Unless you shot a Polaroid, you had no idea if what you thought you were shooting was what the camera saw and captured.
Eventually, I became a partner with Connie Moberley at Photoworks. We shot almost exclusively oil and gas related commercial imagery, some shipping related work and images for annual reports. Our work was in the field. We climbed all over chemical refineries and oil rigs and shipping containers. We rode the trams into coal mines flat on our bellies. We shot arials from helicopters, hanging out the door using webbed strapping and carabiners. That is when I learned the power of a gyroscope, a device which mounts to the base of the camera and eliminates wobble and vibration. Sort of a tripod for in-motion photography.
The Tuesday after Memorial Day 1981 I moved to Austin (that's a story for another post). Life took a different turn and my cameras began to collect dust. The most memorable photo journey I took during that time was an eight week trek across Europe in 1984. On the tenth day of the trip, climbing the rocks along the cliffs of Galway in Ireland, a kind local gentleman thought he was doing me a favor and lifted my Nikon to hand it to me. As it slipped through his fingers and smacked down onto the rocks below, all I could think of was, "What kind of karma is this?" I was reminded later during a tearfull call to a friend back home that, "Kathy, in a situation of this magnitude, you have to expect a few losses. Go buy another camera." So, I did.
I can honestly say that snapshots were the only photos I took for almost twenty years after moving to Austin. I can't offer an explanation for this. It is what it is.
In the spring of 2004, while working as a web developer at Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, a coworker told me about an upcoming digital photo workshop at Big Bend Ranch State Park. Jim Carr, a retired commercial photographer from the Houston area, was offering the class. Jim's experiences spanned all aspects of commercial photography, especially oil and gas, underwater photography and commercial work in the Middle East. The news release about the class sounded so good, it prompted me to call Jim and introduce myself. I told him the truth. I wanted to go but didn't want to pay the $450, and asked if I could be his assistant, flunky, or workshop slave for those four days. Without hesitation, he agreed.
Jim Carr and Big Bend Ranch State Park uncovered something that had been buried in me for many years, and introduced me to the digital age of photo imagery. I became a volunteer each spring and fall for the workshops at the ranch. Here was my opportunity to mentor, sharing with people who were new to the art, like Paul had shared with me so many years ago. Jim taught the class and left his own "digital" imprint on each person he met. I worked with the neophytes, those with new cameras and very little or no previous photographic experience. The joy had once again returned! Over the years my love of the west Texas desert has become more of an addiction than a passion. I just can't imagine not making these trips and feel comforted knowing there is always another trip to the ranch on my horizon.
Another unexpected and wonderful result of years at the ranch has been the relationships that began there and continue to grow. One of my ranch friends, Linda, from Michigan, had also done some volunteering at the ranch. We became immediate friends with a lot in common. Linda is a great photogapher with a wonderful eye. She sees art in the most mundane places and she has amazing photo editing skills. This spring Linda and I put our heads together and created a photo workshop that we would hold at Devils River State Natural Area. The three day weekend offered a variety of training modules, from basic composition to HDR (high density range) and plenty of time for shooting and critiquing. We provided gourmet meals along with the better-than-average lodging offered at the park, mother nature blessed us with perfect weather, and Amazing Sites was born.
Many old friends from previous workshops at BBR jumped at the chance to get outdoors and explore a new photography adventure with us. The first scheduled workshop booked up in three days after we sent out notices, so we decided to hold a second one a week later. I never dreamed that the joy of sharing my own passion for photography would lead me into a small business endeavor with a friend.
This weekend Linda returned to Texas, but this time for good. She has an Austin address and a phone number! We both have our full time jobs but are excited about our upcoming events in some of Texas' most beautiful natural areas. Our current web site www.amazingsites.com will be redesigned this summer to be fully accessible and include a number of new features, like a gallery so workshop participants can upload and share their images, and stay in touch with one another.
In addition to Amazing Sites, you will still find me volunteering at the ranch each spring and fall, doing what I love to do. I am grateful for those opportunities to learn from Texas' finest photographers, like Earl Nottingham, Wyman Meinzer and Bob Malish and I look forward to sharing more adventures in photography.
No comments:
Post a Comment