Hi Everyone!
We're back on the blogosphere and we're offering up an invitation you just can't refuse! This week Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (July 30th- Aug. 1st), Catchlight Studio will be transformed for a week of images and thought-provoking. Kelsey will be hosting her photography show, A Doll's Life, from 10am - 3pm at the studio. This show is an eclectic combination of some of Kelsey's finest and favorite photographs. You're all invited, so please come out and join us! (See the posted brochure for details.)
We asked Kelsey to tell us about the images that will be on display next week. In response, she brought us this story, in her own words. We hope you like it! And we hope to see you here at Catchlight later this week. :)
"One night last week I was trying to get Siara to sleep and this thought came into my head. I wrote it down, and it's something I'd like to share with you all....
When I am shooting, or there's a camera connected to a tripod next to me, I am at my most comfortable. I liken it to an actor taking on a role or a musician playing his guitar, a doctor performing surgery. It's a zone, almost like a spell has been cast. For me it's about shaping the light. I flitter in and out between my clients and the camera, playing, reshaping their hair, their clothes, it gives me license to play, to touch, to create, and to pull from them their authentic self and quirkiness. It's the only place in my life where self-doubt doesn't exist. Seemingly, effortlessly, I move and shift their body, while discussing topics that I would never bring up in real life- it's so cathartic and such a gift. This project has had the same feel. Each image has taken on a life of its own, and I love each and every one. It's almost like I am looking over their shoulders, like they are younger versions, with still younger versions of me or events I've experienced. We, the voyeurs, are looking down generations. It is our challenge to embrace or change what we see.
When I am shooting, or there's a camera connected to a tripod next to me, I am at my most comfortable. I liken it to an actor taking on a role or a musician playing his guitar, a doctor performing surgery. It's a zone, almost like a spell has been cast. For me it's about shaping the light. I flitter in and out between my clients and the camera, playing, reshaping their hair, their clothes, it gives me license to play, to touch, to create, and to pull from them their authentic self and quirkiness. It's the only place in my life where self-doubt doesn't exist. Seemingly, effortlessly, I move and shift their body, while discussing topics that I would never bring up in real life- it's so cathartic and such a gift. This project has had the same feel. Each image has taken on a life of its own, and I love each and every one. It's almost like I am looking over their shoulders, like they are younger versions, with still younger versions of me or events I've experienced. We, the voyeurs, are looking down generations. It is our challenge to embrace or change what we see.
When I've been in a place to talk about these images, a strange thing has happened. I have conversed as easily as if I had a camera slung over my shoulder. My connection to this project has given me the opportunity to step outside of the photo shoot spell and feel like my alternative self, not the photographer but the person.
A couple weeks ago I flew home from Dallas, it was a full flight, running late, we were all a little frazzled by the time we took our seats. The lady next to me had had it- I could tell. We barely acknowledged each other, and I set about the task of working on my show. An hour into it she turned to me and asked who I worked for. I replied that I was independent, and we spoke a little about the project. I showed her the image on the invitation and read the quote I had chosen. I watched her as she shut her eyes and threw her head back against the airline seat. I thought she was digesting my quote. It's a lot to take in. I slowly and gently repeated it so she could understand. "There's no greater impact... on a child's life than the unlived life of a parent." At the end she opened her eyes. Tears had welled and she said, "I feel like the wind has been taken out of me." She was visibly shaken... she said, "my mother died when I was five. There were four girls, all under the age of 6..." I looked at her, at first surprised then connected, then I felt my own tears begin to swell. Not having my camera to hide behind, it unnerved me, but I sat there allowing the wave to pass over me. What ensued was a candid heartfelt conversation, a paradigm shift that up until that moment, I have rarely achieved without a camera in my hand."
-Kelsey Edwards
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