We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kristin Ware. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kristin below.

Hi Kristin, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

My grandfather gave me my first camera when I was a kid. At the time, I honestly didn’t think much of it. I was too obsessed with drawing and crafts. Taking photos was just something fun to do to capture the people, places and memories of our family vacations. That all changed when I got to high school and discovered we had an actual darkroom.

I learned how to take photos in black and white using a Canon Rebel X on manual setting. I became obsessed with landscapes and had visions of becoming the next Ansel Adams. Of course that was an unrealistic expectation but I was young and passionate. I would venture into every park and forest I could find in my hometown, searching for unique angles and brilliant plays on light. Although I loved working in the darkroom, I knew I was not meant to be a full-time artist so I decided in my junior year to focus instead on my studies. My photography teacher understood but laughingly called me a traitor anyway every time I ran into him. After college and graduate school for art history, I picked up my camera again, this time I chose to experiment with toy camera photography after a friend from work introduced me to the Holga. And then I fell in love with photography all over again. That’s when I started submitting my work to galleries and publications.

So, in other words, I’ve had very limited formal instruction. Truthfully, I have never really wanted to pursue anything formal. I enjoy too much the freedom to photograph what and where I want, with whatever method I choose. Most of the time I prefer to stick with my Holga because I like the effect of the square format, but I still experiment with other forms of film and digital photography.

When people ask, I tell them I’ve been a freelance photographer since I was a teenager, with only two years of training. I’ve spent the last 15 years refining my craft on my own. Some people love it and others hate it which is fine. The beauty of art is that it is subjective and people will respond differently. I love photography and think my artwork is pretty neat so I will continue to pursue it until it no longer brings me joy.

These days when I can steal time away from work and other responsibilities, you’ll find me walking aimlessly in nature with at least one camera, if not all of them.

Kristin, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I choose to focus on landscapes rather than portraits or events, although I have experience with both. There is just something about nature that continues to excite me to my core, whether that is a patch of abandoned farmland on the highway or a simple play of light in the trees of a forest.

I guess I’m old school when in comes to format. Occasionally, I will shoot in color, but I prefer black and white. Color certainly has it’s draw and while I do use it for very specific instances, there is just something about black and white that brings an additional emotional element you cannot deny. The same is true with film vs. digital photography. My roots are in film so I tend to prefer that method, although it is getting more and more expensive these days.

Holgas are unique. I love the square format and since I cannot afford a Rolleiflex, it became a good option to experiment with. It’s funny, just about everyone I’ve talked to about toy cameras specifically choose to work with them because of the unique effects they are known for like light leaks. While I have experimented with it a bit, I usually try to avoid light leaks as much as possible. I tape up my little jerry-rigged Holga from stem to stern in order to try and achieve the most beautiful composition I can.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

This will probably be a bit controversial, but I hate artist statements… with a passion. I write them to fulfill the requirement. Honestly, more often than not, I do not venture out with my camera with a set purpose or theme or project in mind. I always say, “I shoot what I see and I see what I shoot.” I appreciate and wholeheartedly admire those artists who are able to achieve a specific vision, but my personal preference is to just let nature inspire me, as cheesy as that sounds.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I’m a newbie when it comes to social media. I started out with a website because that was the thing to do at the time but I realized that I never really used it and in the end, it became to expensive to update. Recently, I created an Instagram account to share my artwork to a broader audience and keep up with other artists that I admire. I am slowly building my following by posting my photographs and sharing videos and images I find inspirational. But, it is a lot of work! Most of my artwork has not been digitized yet and that takes time, as does formatting, posting, liking, sharing, etc.

My recommendation would be to first digitize all of your images and format them in advance. Next, do your homework. You need to find what hashtags are most appropriate for you to use with your type of artwork that will not also get lost in the masses. You will also want to figure out who else is on whatever platform you choose to follow and build your community.

Social media is a great tool but it is time-consuming and can be addicting. To anyone venturing into Instagram, Threads or SnapChat or whatever new one pops up next, I would suggest that you keep your expectations realistic and don’t fixate on how many followers you do or do not accumulate on any given day. Not everyone is going to like you and your work or want to follow your feed, but as long as you stay true to yourself, it will eventually work out in your favor.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: kwarephoto
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-l-ware-6902861b/

Image Credits
Kristin L. Ware