Thanks for checking out my blog and meandering around my photography site. As of March 2009, I moved the new postings to a WordPress blog and you can find it here.Please continue to keep this site on your radar if you want to purchase and Kari Quaas Photography images or cards, but for future blog posts, check out the new blog.
Just thought I would share that I am now an official iStock.com contributor and have one image that may be purchased as stock. It is of the squirrel I highlighted in my last post and I hope that it is the first of many. Funnily enough, I think that this same squirrel had a stare-down with my cat this morning. It's almost feel like we have a new pet.
Lastly, if you have any images of mine that are your favorites and you think that they might be good for stock, please let me know. You can check out my image gallery here for ideas. Thanks!
I am a lover of the summer, but I also cherish the transition from winter to spring. This weekend gave me hope that spring has sprung. Here are a few examples.
Wall Squirrel:
Crocuses:
And the best part is that these images are simply results of paying attention to what's around me. It's not necessary to go far to get a good image and capture a memory. Plus, I will happily enjoy the above over our very snowy winter that left my rosemary in despair and eventually led to its demise.
It shouldn't be that surprising to those who know me that I love cats, and as much as try to be a non-biased "Mom Cat," you are bound to find more images of my boy cat than my girl cat. They're both sweet, lovable, unique, and everything one could want in cats, but The Bud* is the most wonderful cat with whom I have ever shared a home and our relationship is very dear to my heart.
I'm going to cheat a little and show a few of my favorite images of The Bud, but my reasons for loving each of them is very similar. I think that each of them shows our closeness and his trust in me. Those who also have known me for a while, or anyone who has visited our house, also knows that he is the epitome of a scaredy cat. He can't stand to be in the presene of any humans, but my husband and myself. The vet, Dr. Konz, gets some privileges, but certainly not of his own free-will.
A Young Crasher
Darling Boy
This one makes me want to simply pet his sweet little nose and somehow earn the unconditional love that he has provided to me.
My Little Boy
I think this one absolutely shows his vulnerability and his capability for emotions.
The Buddy Nose Shot
Curosity killed the cat, or so they say. Well, thankfully not this one yet. Although, we believe he must be on life 6 or 7.
Profile of a Cat
For me, this photograph is particularly cool from a scientific perspective. Who gets to really see how a cat eye looks up close? It also again just highlights the trust that this animal has for me, and frankly the converse too, because I have felt the wrath of the Buddy claw and to put myself this close to him could, and depending on his mood, turn out to be a mistake. It this case it wasn't. I just simply looked silly lying on the floor trying to make this image.
And, while I write this piece, a bored Buddy is in the other room playing with a crumpled piece of paper. Guess it's time to go.
I would like to add that last Sunday, NATURE by PBS featured a program called "Why We Love Cats and Dogs." If you are at all interested in learning a bit more about your furry friends, I highly recommend spending an hour being amazed by their grace, intelligence, and tenderness.
A few tidbits about me to set the stage. I am an only child who was raised by older parents, i.e. they were in their 30s when I was born. This trend is becoming more common today, but when I was a kid, my parents were generally 10+ years older than my friends' parents. This March, my dad will be 75 years old, a fact that boggles my mind, but then again, he was 38 years old when I was born so the math adds up.
Because of the larger gaps between generations, all of my grandparents have passed away with the most recent death being over 18 years ago. I am not necessarily envious of people whose grandparents are still alive, but more so I have learned to appreciate the time we did have and treasure even more that which I have inherited, especially the photographs.
What I continually find interesting is that of this collection there are some photographs that I know by heart. I have seen them so many times in my life or because multiple family members have copies too so that I just know them. Then, like magic, I'll open another album and I'll find another photograph that I've never seen before. In most cases, I can guess at who the photographer is/was, but other times, I have no idea. This photograph of my mother is one such example where I don't know the photographer, but I sure wish I knew.
The image intrigues me for so many reasons.
What is she looking at?
What is she thinking about?
Who saw this moment and why did they click the shutter?
Why is she dressed up?
Which event was she going to?
Plus, I just love her heels.
This image makes me want to be a better photographer. My goal is always to try and capture this type of thought provoking image, but I think that it is very difficult to do so. You can tell someone to look wistfully out of a window, but knowing the exact moment - "the decisive moment" - of when you'll get the best photograph takes skill, practice, and patience.
In this series of posts I hope to show you my thought process of why I made a particular photograph, but also highlight photographs that inspire me. There are so many great photographers out there who create incredible images. I hope they inspire you too.
Every Christmas I try to watch "It's A Wonderful Life" with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed at least once. I was happy, and yet eventually in tears, watching just the ending of it the other day. The moment when George discovers he really has it all gets me every time, plus Zuzu and her comment about "Every time a bells rings, an angel gets its wings." Doesn't that one get everybody?
I did eventually watch the whole movie on Christmas Eve to keep the tradition going. Each time I watch it, I see something new and am thankful for the film's existence. It's important for people to know and think about how much they touch and affect other people's lives.
Christmas is a rough time for me. I don't like necessarily admitting that fact, but it is. Between the family members no longer around, especially my mom and my grandma, to the fact that many of Christmases past were spent working at my dad's flower shop, or others where people just weren't getting along - pardon me for not elaborating - it's a tough one. I believe the reason for the season is Jesus' birth and I am sickened by the amount of stuff that gets brought into this holiday. If you need affirmation of this fact, please watch "The Story of Stuff" by Annie Leonard. Okay, rant finished. Don't get me wrong, I have had quite a share of the good ones too, so don't make me out to be a Scrooge quite yet.
I think that "It's A Wonderful Life" holds such a special place in my heart because I can link it directly to my mother. There was one Christmas and I really wish I could pinpoint the year, but I'm guessing somewhere between 1990 and 1992, that we watched it every time it was on TV. We saw it in color, we saw it in black and white, we saw it with commercials and without, we simply just watched it again and again. We laughed, we cried, we experienced it together. I can tie it to those years because my grandmother died in 1990, I would have been home for Christmas break from WSU for several weeks, and my mother died in 1994. In those years, we needed each other more so than others I suspect.
What does this have to do with photography? Well, I guess that photography allows one to glance back to tangible memories for those times when the brain doesn't bring up the memories on its own. I hope that many happy memories were created and captured this year by folks all over the world. Merry Christmas.
A couple of weeks ago I did my first paid pet portrait of a sweet cat named Jack and I hope that it is the first of many. The portrait itself certainly is not my first since I've been photographing cats since I was 9 years old and living with them since the day I was born. Back then, I used to create the scene and pose my cats with my dolls, playing cards, you get the idea - I had patient cats. Let's just say that if for some reason I had to choose one subject for the rest of my life, it would be cats. I'm pleased with variety, but I dearly love cats.
Here's a glimpse of my childhood. This is my mom, me and my first cat, Bibby.
So this paid request came from a gentleman who wanted to give the portrait as a gift to his significant other. I was pleased to learn that the referral came from my vet's office, Maple Leaf Pet Corner (Karen Konz, D.V.M - Maple Leaf Pet Corner - 206-522-8335), where it is apparent that Dr. Karen Konz-Hofmann loves animals and she takes her role as caretaker very seriously. I popped in to see Karen post-session and she not only knew the owners, but of course, sweet Jack himself. As a side note, Dr. Konz-Hofmann is the only other human that gets to maintain a relationship our cat, Buddy, and she knows how lucky she is.
My goal with pet portraiture is to capture the animal's true personality by doing the following.
Introduce myself. You know the drill - lots of sniffing and then the okay to rub their head.
Observe them in their natural environment, and
Then make some photographs once they've settled down and just be themselves.
I applied this protocol to my session with Jack, and I believe, as did the owner, that I caught his personality. I wish I could be a fly on the wall to see the reaction when the portrait is presented.
Jack
Anyhow, I am happy that the first paid one is done and I look forward to doing a lot more. If you are interested in getting a pet portrait of your cat, dog or whatever, please contact me. My rate for pet portraits is $175 and that includes a portrait session of up to two hours, post-processing, a digital gallery for image review, and a free 8x10" print. I will come to you, if you want, or be glad to meet you at a park for outdoor animals. My hope is that just like all of the portraits I have taken of my cats throughout my life, some of which are long gone, the images will live on to help us remember our furry friends.
My day job at CoolWorks.com allows me to work from home and I have the advantage of getting to know my house, yard, and environment pretty well. So, as autumn progressed and the leaves began to change on my Japanese Maple, I kept watching and waiting for the right moment to photograph it this year. We have lived in our house for 8 years so I have relished in the joy of watching this tree change throughout the year - Christmas lights and bare, to little buds, to covered with rain drops after a storm and the evitable change to bright oranges and reds as fall and winter arrived. Frankly, if someone asked me which tree I would keep, if I could only keep just one, it would be this tree. It's just beautiful.
So here is a brief catchup of some of the images I have taken of this tree and I'll finish with the one I just took last Wednesday.
Vertical Water Drop Leaf
Frozen Yellow
Christmas Lights Bud
Maple Leaf Drops
Maple Glow 2008
Bottom line is that I love this tree. Even more so, I am lucky enough to get to watch it grow every year, and how it changes as the light moves throughout the day because I'm home to see it happening. So the lesson for you and me is that there are lots of things around us every day that should command our attention. Spend a moment to savor them and drink them in. I know this tree and my life is better for it. I look forward to seeing it soon with Christmas lights again once all the leaves have fallen because I know that I captured this beautiful moment on a crisp, fall day with the light shining through the leaves making its vibrant colors come alive.
For those who have not visited Essence Salon in Seattle to see my first solo photography show, Zero to 255, you still have time! The show will close on Wednesday, November 25. There are 20 photographic prints and 20 different greeting cards available for sale. It has been a real honor to show my work at Cherie’s salon. She is champion for small business owners and a gem of a person.
On Tuesday, November 11, I attended a conversation with Sam Abell, retired National Geographic photographer, held at the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle. Before the talk began, I introduced myself to him again since I met him when he was here speaking at the Art Wolfe Gallery. I told him that I had planned on attending his class called The Next Step, but it just wasn’t going to work out. He said to come on by anyway. Imagine my surprise.
So, on Friday November 14, I went down to the Art Wolfe Gallery and told the gentleman at the front desk that Sam told me to stop by. He looked at me as if to say, yeah right. Well, Karen, the manager at the gallery walked up to me about five minutes later and lead me back to the classroom. Sam gave me the approving nod and I got to participate. Sam was just about to walk through some of his images; why he took them, what he was looking for, why he thought one was better than another. It was very cool. One of the images, of Safeco Field from his hotel room, will probably be in his next book on America.
Then, the class broke for lunch. Sam then asked me to chat and if I had brought any work with me. I did, of course. I showed him a few images from my Zero to 255 show (which is still up through November 30 - http://www.kariquaas.com/0_255.html), my 20 greeting cards and then the images on my camera. We had a lovely discussion and I’m still giddy as a school girl thinking about the fact that Sam Abell critiqued my work. He liked quite a few of them, which pleases me to no end. I said that he could take any of the cards and he chose the Elephant Car Wash.
I bought his book, The Life of the Photograph, which he then signed, and you can see the dedication below. The man has beautiful handwriting.
Anyhow, I’m still buzzing from this experience and feel very lucky to have spent just a wee bit of time with an excellent photographer, a true gentleman and an excellent teacher. I hope that I’ll get to take one of his classes in 2009. He generally does two - one in Coupeville and one in Seattle.
And just so you know, his bottom line for photography is that “thought matters.” Photography should be driven by your thoughts.
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