About me…
As many mothers do, I started my journey as a photographer when my daughter was born. I followed her incessantly with a camera, capturing every facial expression, every smile, and every tantrum. For years my daughter became my (mostly) patient muse, allowing me to dress her in costumes and put her in often awkward or uncomfortable places and positions. She is truly a saint! That desire to record my daughter's childhood became a profound passion that has changed my life.
After exploring practically every genre photography has to offer, I finally learned that what fulfills me most is telling a story through visual imagery that represents a little piece of my spirit. My favorite images are ones that I create as a kind of therapy or catharsis. I love it when I can find a way to exorcise some negative feeling or express some deeply rooted belief in a visual way. I am especially drawn to certain symbols which are represented throughout my work. Umbrellas can both shelter you from a storm and hide you from the light. Locks and cages can be comforting or limiting. Birds and balloons can symbolize escape and freedom, or they can represent restraint or loss.
I love that every day I learn something new about my art and about myself. I have always been good at hiding my true feelings so well that even I don’t know what they are. I find that photography, particularly portrait and conceptual photography, forces me to ask myself questions and to try on the answers for a while to see if they fit. Perhaps the answers don’t make sense to anyone but me, but that is the beauty of art… they don’t have to. The most important lesson I have learned through these many years of experimentation and growth is that for me, great photography is not just about lighting or focus, or any of those other important components of a great photograph. It’s about heart and soul, and somehow finding a way to capture a little piece of it.
Thank you for visiting my website. I hope you enjoy viewing the images even half as much as I do making them – and I hope you will contact me soon to schedule a customized portrait session for you!
-Katy Walters
Lakeland, Florida