We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Katharine Kollman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Katharine thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
The biggest risk I have taken in my life is moving somewhere I have never been, where I know no one, to pursue something I have never tried, and don’t know if I can even do.
When I decided not to continue on to grad school, it felt like the proverbial rug had been pulled out from under me. Despite not having a clue what my future would look like outside of academics, it was the first time I really listened to that inner voice telling me to take a break. Back home with my parents, I took a job as a barista in a local cafe, and all I did was work, read, and walk along the beaches where I had grown up. That routine changed, however, when one day, I unexpectedly met some surfers – on a beach in the winter in southeastern Wisconsin. These two guys took me under their wing and taught me to surf in the frigid, glacial waters of our home.
Forever a student, I wanted to learn more about surfing, so I visited the library. Not only did I come home with books on surf history and culture, but I also explored the small “diving” section on the immediate left of “surfing”, and picked up one title, “Deep”, by James Nestor. If I were to ever compose a memoir, this would be one of those pivotal moments in the story. “Deep” introduced me to the idea of freediving as a sport, and taught me all these wild things about how human physiology reacts to being in the water. I was in awe, and totally enamored. A quick google search put me on to freediving instructors in the US, specifically in Hawai’i, and a few days later, I confirmed my spot WWOOFing at a farm on O’ahu. I paid my class deposit and bought a one-way ticket.
All my life, I have been pulled to the water. Maybe I am just perpetuating the Pisces stereotype, or maybe it had something to do with growing up near the Great Lakes, which are like freshwater oceans in their own right. I feel very, very, cliche writing this, but my heart has always found a sense of relief when I am near the water. I think that’s one of the reasons that the concept of freediving was so desperately appealing to me; without ever having tried it, something about it felt intuitively *right* for me. Freediving gave me purpose and inspiration. I became an instructor, a photographer, a spearfisherman, a better water-woman. My decision to take such a huge risk has made my life something I am excited for.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I was born and raised in the Midwest, and I have been living on the island of O’ahu for just over five years. I’m an avid freediver, an instructor through Performance Freediving International, and a photographer specializing in analog photography, processing, and darkroom printing. I was raised by two teachers; my mother was a third grade teacher, and my father was head of the art department at a local high school, where he taught drawing, painting, and basic darkroom skills. There was a rotary door and everything; I used to explore the space and wonder at all the enlargers after school while waiting for him to take us home.
I did not pursue art outside of my hobbies, never received any “formal” education in photography, and despite my father’s background, I did not actually become interested in film until after I moved out of the house. At 16, I received my first camera, a Nikon DSLR that occupied me through high school and college. But when I planned to move out to Hawai’i, I had developed a vague interest in film, and brought both my Nikon and the Canon SLR my mother had used to fill our photo albums growing up.
However, the reason for the move was not for photography, but for freediving. As I described in a previous question, learning about freediving was so enthralling, I had an immediate and undeniable urge to try it. When I first began diving, I was awful at it, and I could barely equalize. But I felt so excited by the sport, there was nothing that could have stopped me. I was fortunate enough to have met an amazing community of dedicated and talented divers who took me under their wing and let me train with them, and I wouldn’t be the diver I am today without them. During these months of seeming non-stop diving, it was as if I had cracked myself open and discovered an entirely new self-awareness; I felt so inspired and was looking for a way to express all these new emotions. It was at this time that I came upon the work of underwater film photographer Wayne Levin.
Wayne’s images moved me so deeply, and it felt like another one of those epiphany moments. I began exploring options for underwater photography, specifically with film. A few years in now, and a few flooded cameras later, Wayne is not only my greatest influence, but also a friend. I found a medium that helps me both express my feelings and celebrate the important individuals in my life. Film photography became the translation of my love for freediving, helping me share and bond over this sport with other divers and artists alike. The two practices go hand-in-hand: both demand immense patience and mental resilience, and slow progress is the only progress. I would never be the creator I am today without the incredible people who have come into my life, who have helped and encouraged me with every step.
I’m a few years into my photo career now, and honestly, I am constantly overwhelmed by how much more I always have to learn. For so much of this journey, I was taking photos because it helped me express myself, and because I wanted to create something beautiful, something meaningful that would inspire awe and wonder in those who saw it. I still think my strength lies in this field, what I would consider “fine art photography”, because that is what is most true to my artistic intentions. As an amateur darkroom printer, I have also learned the value of creating fine art silver gelatin prints, and am continuously working to refine these skills. Currently, I’m building a stock of prints to release a series of closed edition prints.
Despite my devotion to analog practices, I also began shooting digital a little over a year ago now. I’m no film purist, and I firmly believe that each medium informs the other, and both are just tools to help make me a better photographer. In the underwater/outdoor industry, it’s very hard to make a living off shooting exclusively film. Companies aren’t always interested in 35mm negatives, and require a greater volume of photos than I could ever afford shooting on film. Luckily, I found a used camera and underwater housing on eBay, and they’ve been treating me well since. I feel so grateful to have my community, because they are the ones that helped me begin building a portfolio doing more commercial work. I have been a part of projects with Patagonia, Yeti, Apple, and a handful of local creatives and small businesses. I’m still at the dawn of my career in this industry, but I learn something with every production, and always meet amazing creatives along the way.
Moving forward, my goal is to continue pursuing both avenues of fine art and more commercial photography. It can be difficult and frustrating to make connections in these male-dominated spaces, but I have a supportive community that continues to push me to just keep going. I feel confident that my background in freediving, teaching, and shooting analog make me uniquely qualified to create intentional photos in such transient environments, and I would love to work with more clients whose branding focuses on representation and sustainability.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The reward I reap from my creative practice, above all else, is connection. To people, to artists, to new emotions.
Underwater film photography is a pretty niche community, and since the start of sharing my work online, I have met and befriended a truly excellent group of individuals on different internet platforms. Some of these friendships now span several years, thousands of miles, and are only made possible by our wi-fi connections. This community is diverse, intergenerational, and so supportive of one another. My hope is to one day take a world tour to meet all my internet-film friends.
Beyond these personal connections I make, it is the meaning that people find in the art I make that moves me. Over these years of exploring photography and my writing, I have received a number of messages and emails that nearly bring me to tears. To know that there are other individuals out in the world who can relate and empathize with some of the things I share, who feel inspired to try something new, who feel a sense of wonder or awe – all because of one of my photos…I don’t have the words. Photography is an intimate practice for me, and to know that it helps not only me, but inspires others to connect, that is what keeps me on this path.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
One goal that everything in my life seems to relate back to these days is sustainability and the future of our natural world, and this is an awareness that I don’t think I would have developed had I never come to Hawai’i. Hawaiian culture emphasizes having an intimate relationship with their environment, and I have learned so much about how to be a good steward of the land we inhabit.
As I began freediving years ago, the impact of human presence became very obvious, very quickly. Nets and fishing line caught on the reef, suffocating the coral. Trash floating across the sand, catching in the rocks. Turtles with slash marks in their shells from careless motor boats passing above. I have only been diving these waters for five years, and already I see changes. Spending time in the ocean has improved my life so intensely, and when you see an entire ecosystem so heavily affected by our existence, and helpless to defend itself, there is no way to remain indifferent.
As humans, we are anthropocentric creatures, and more likely to pay attention to that which we personally identify with. My photography is a form of my own creative expression, yes, but I also hope to create inspiration and wonder for something that is for most folks, this alien, “other” environment, and seems worlds away from their own. Freediving does not require the same gear as scuba diving, and I think that the simplicity of a bare, human body underwater stirs the imagination in a really special way. And throughout my years of photographing both humans and wildlife underwater, I have noticed some similarities in the way our bodies move and appear in photographs. My hope is that by offering up these images, we might collectively find motivation within ourselves to give more attention to our environment and the influence we exert upon it. 
Contact Info:
- Website: www.katharinekollman.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/cassec0u
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/cassec0u
- Other: Substack newsletter: https://katharinekollman.substack.com/
Image Credits
“Personal” photo shot by Perrin James. The only other colored photo is shot of me by John Kowitz. All B&W photos taken by myself on 35mm film.