It all starts with connection
Hi, I’m kirsten but my friends call me kay.
I’ve always fancied myself an old soul, the older I become the more I find truth in those words and in my life’s intentions. I enjoy savoring the little details so I may preserve them in my memory for years to come. I wholeheartedly believe that documenting life through photography is an essential need all of us possess because time has a funny way of blurring the edges of even our fondest memories.
Growing up my mother kept boxes of photographs documenting the lives of each of her children and the family as a whole. I remember the excitement of pulling them down, dusting them off and unlocking memories of a time gone by, becoming completely engulfed in the story of our lives. I grew up in a large family, each of us similar in many respects and wholly different in others but it taught me endless lessons about being truly seen by those around you.
I’ve taken these lessons to heart and have made it a habit to pause, observe life and the people around me more intentionally. To notice the beauty of what surrounds us day in and day out because no day, no person, no place is ever the same. I strive to document the world of each couple I serve through capturing the essence of their experience through photos you can feel, almost hear, smell, and touch. I want to unpack and observe the beauty of the souls I work with sincerely and honestly while documenting beautiful, wild, imperfect human connection.
I value experience over all else & that’s just what I want to give you…
the experience of a lifetime on one of the most memorable days.
You’ve probably heard the story before of the little girl running around with her Father’s beat up camera in her hands, doing her very best to document the world around her as she saw fit. She had a hunger in her eyes to see all there was to see, to capture it, connect with it in ways she couldn’t fully express in words but images seemed to make sense. That little girl was fearless, unabashed, excited, eager and above all unstoppable.
I’ve spent much of adult life finding her again.
She is the heart and soul behind my work, constantly propelling me towards more expression, more emotion, and more honesty in what I create. She is the visionary who believed she could be an artist before her adult self took the long road around because it was the right thing to do after college.
You get both.
You get the animated, unashamed, daring, imaginative artist I dreamed I could be and you get the adult who safeguards her with compassion, attention to detail, problem solving and so much more.
Where it began and how it’s evolved
Why photography?
I’ve chosen to make art my entire life because it satiated a deep rooted desire to express myself, make sense of the world around me and prove that I existed. Over the years it’s changed in shape and form from drawing, painting, poetry, music, ceramics, and of course photography. I think of each of these mediums as foundational pieces in my journey to find true, emotional expression and documentation in my art.
I am a lover of deep conversations and connection above all else, the moments where everything else goes quiet and you are wholly invested in where you are. I believe I’ve found so much meaning in photography because it is a means of connection with the world and the people whose paths intersect with my own. Photography is my personal instrument to do what I love most by showing people their beauty, depth and the importance of their unparalleled existence in the universe.
My Approach
My work is for the old souls who seek authentic representation of our beautifully imperfect human connections. I think of my work as a personalized time capsule revealing who you were in that era of your life. In a few words it’s soft, intimate, sentimental and above all else nostalgic. I seek to truthfully and intentionally portray the people in front of my camera while emphasizing their unique connection, chemistry and lovely quirks.
A little bit of life that has influenced my photography
I am the youngest of six children, one thing that growing up in a large family did for me was attune me to being present, level-headed and attentive to detail amidst the hustle and bustle large groups bring.
I’ve always felt a deep need to create art and have spent much of my life practicing different mediums but photography feels like home to me.
I am a visual person and always wanting to fully present where I am, which is why I am always demonstrating poses, giving you space to be in your body and reminding you to breathe deep so you can fully be immersed in the moment.
I’ve always believed the simplest moments can be the most beautiful and meaningful.
