Hi Karen, can you start by telling us a little about yourself?

Well, I grew up in New Zealand and lived in Sydney for 12 months before moving to Melbourne, where I've been for about 17 years now. There is just so much to love about living in Melbourne that I've never gotten around to leaving. I love art, photography, gardening, and sport, which makes Melbourne a great place for me!!!!





When did you first become interested in photography, and what sparked that interest?

I can't remember when I first became interested in photography - My Mum worked as a darkroom assistant so maybe that rubbed off on me a little... I also had a part time job in a chemist while at high school and loved working on the photo counter - I saw some fantastic photos (and some pretty awful ones) but loved helping people decide which photos to reprint or enlarge. I didn't really get serious about photography until I enrolled at PSC (Photographic Studies College) having never used an SLR. That was about 5 years ago and there's no looking back!!! I've become pretty passionate about photography.


How much of your talent lies with intuition as opposed to training?

Mostly intuitive - the creative side comes easily, I trust my gut feeling and if it feels right try it out.  I am often told I've got a good eye and I do just 'see' photos. A teacher gave me some great advice once 'Don't let anyone discourage you from pursuing photography because they have more technical knowledge. You can learn the technical side but they may never be able to see what you do' It was good advice, and he was right.


What would be your favourite subjects to photograph?

I love horticultural photography and I particularly love taking photos of flowers and plants with interesting and unusual foliage. Old rusty corrugated iron is great to photograph, and I'm getting into landscape and architectural photography.


How would you describe your style?

My style is pretty abstract and organic. I love getting up close to the subject and framing in a way that encourages curiosity and engages the viewer.




Where do you get your inspiration, motivation and ideas?

Absolutely all over the place, everywhere!!! I get so much inspiration from nature, traveling, wreckers' yards, hard-waste collections, magazines, the library, catching public transport, Melbourne's laneways, graveyards, and watching movies - have been getting inspired by lighting lately and can see hundreds of photos in a well shot movie. I have also been inspired at the footy!!


What is the most important element to capture in your photography?

The most important element would have to be lighting, but creating an organic, nourishing image is also important.


Do you like to spend a lot of time developing your images further in Photoshop?

Yes and no!! - I love playing around in Photoshop on my own images and trying out different techniques, but when I've just done a shoot for a client and have a lot of images to edit, I don't want to spend too much time on each shot - you can literally spend hours colour correcting, touching up etc. It's still important to take a good shot in the first place.


Where do you see your photography taking you?

Hopefully around the world, taking photos of amazing gardens, places, and people



Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

Still learning!!!  Running a successful photography business while living somewhere really inspiring with a studio, gallery space, and a fantastic garden...

Any plans we should know about?

I haven't got any specific plans at the moment - although I am planning on doing some writing, and start a writing course next month.

What adventures have you had so far?

Life's an adventure!!! Climbing up huge steamy compost mounds at a company who compost the green waste collected by most of Melbourne's councils was fun and interesting - I got some great shots. Taking landscape shots at 5am in a Melbourne rubbish tip was also interesting - the tip smelt pretty bad in comparison to the compost that, believe it or not, smelt ok. I always seem to have great adventures traveling.


Where do you live & work & does that have any influence on your photography?

I live in Northcote in Melbourne. Being reasonably central helps, I'm not too far from the city and close to places like Ceres and Heidi Museum of Modern Art - I've recently done shoots in Cranbourne and Silvan, and am heading to Geelong in a couple of weeks.




What camera & photography equipment do you use to produce your images?

I have become Canon centric and have just upgraded from a 10D to a 5D digital SLR - 12.8 mega pixels, bring it on!!!! I've got a few great lenses but love my EF 100mm f2.8 macro lens and wouldn't be without my set of extension tubes.


Who are your favourite photographers and artists?

There are so many great photographers and artists and I like different aspects of all their work. I currently have an Ansel Adams book out of the library 'Trees' which I'm finding really inspiring. Robert Maplethorpe's flowers are great and I like Cindy Sherman. In regard to artists, I love Matisse and Picasso. I have also been checking out some Australian Photographers websites and quite like Shannon McGrath and Jonny Valiant


You mentioned you were a kiwi, any favourite Kiwi photographers?

Anne Nobel is great - and I have recently been given a great book called 'Contemporary New Zealand Photographers' and every photographer in the book is fantastic.


So, any words of advice for those pursuing creative goals?

Buy the best lens you can afford, don't doubt yourself, have heaps of money or be prepared to live on a tight budget when starting out, don't underestimate the importance of marketing, networking, etc - be open minded, assist, explore different areas and then find your own niche. Enter competitions (however watch the conditions of entry). It's a lifestyle choice so enjoy it and have fun - join organizations such as ACMP (trampoline for students, assistants, & emerging photographers), which are great for catching up with other photographers.