Kathleen Connally Interview

I had the pleasure of interviewing Kathleen Connally of A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania, one of my favoritist photobloggers out there. It's the first installment of Philly Future's Photblogger Fortnight series. I'll be interviewing photographers from the Philly area and sometiems beyond. Here's the first little bit of the interview, but you'll have to head on over to PF for the full interview.

I've had the pleasure of looking at Kathleen Connally's photos over at A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania for more than a year now. I even had the chance to meet her and shoot with her last month over at Eastern State Penitentary along with a few other of Philly's finest photobloggers. If I were to describe her work in a word, I couldn't. A phrase? Maybe, but I'd have to make one up: ambient ethereality. She agreed to be the first photoblogger to be profiled and placed in the spotlight here at Philly Future. So without further ado, I present the first edition of Philly Future's Photoblogger Fortnight.

Albert (Philly Future/PF): What got you started taking photos and when did taking photos take a more serious turn for you? Do you see yourself as a professional photographer down the line, photography being the sole source of your income?

Kathleen: I have been taking photos since I was seven when I received a Polaroid Land camera for Christmas. I've been photo-documenting my life ever since; there are tens of thousands of photos and slides in my archives, and digital files are running a close second now.

I'm not angling to become a professional photographer because I love photography too much. It seems as if professional photographers spend more time dealing with deadlines and egos rather than actual photography – and that worries me a bit. If I can find a way to do it on my terms, great – otherwise I'm not sure I'd want to mix the two!

PF: What camera did you start taking photos with? What camera do you use? What's the rest of your photo taking hardware setup?

Kathleen: My first camera was the Polaroid Land camera I mentioned above. But shortly thereafter, I managed to snag my dad's AGFA for slides and his Super 8 film camera to make movies of my friends and family.

I'm not much of a gear guy. My habit is to use only one or two cameras and lenses over a long period of time to get to know them and what they can do. Right now I'm primarily using a Nikon D100 and a Nikon F75 with a Tamron 17-35mm lens, a Nikkor 50 mm, and a Nikkor 70-300 mm.

That being said, I'm embarking on a mission to do some informal portrait work with an antique medium format camera and I'm very excited about it.

Read on!