The theme {Curves} brought so many beautiful images and Elizabeth chose @andoraphotography for her beautiful curves in the natural world. I decided to catch up with Kim of @andoraphotography and learn a little more about her.
Kim shared that all of the images below were taken just before or after sunset, her favorite time of day to shoot. The light and the colors at that time are just so appealing and striking to her. In all of them, there is also a strong element of nature, which is what she tries to incorporate in many of her images. She strives for authenticity and connection, whether that’s between people or with nature.
Tell us a bit about yourself? and Are you a hobbyist or a pro?
I live in San Diego with my husband and two kids. I’m from the D.C. area, but have been in San Diego for the last 7 years and absolutely love it here. With its beautiful beaches and gorgeous weather, it’s well suited for photography, which has been a longtime love of mine. I took photography classes in high school and college, but I started shooting when I was in the second grade after my family got a dog. I loved taking photos of her, and my love for photography took root and continued to grow from there. After a few decades of being a hobbyist, I finally took the leap to be a pro last fall and haven’t looked back. It was definitely a long journey in getting to this point, but I couldn’t be happier or more grateful to have the opportunity to be able to pursue my passion.
Tell us a bit about your photography gear. What is the lens do you not have but you desire to have the most?
I shoot with both a Nikon D850 and D800. Although I’m a huge fan of prime lenses, I love my Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 and use it for nearly every family shoot. For many of my landscape shots, I can’t live without my wide angle Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8, and for overall general use, I love my Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8. For my primes, I have a Sigma Art 35 f/1.4, which stays on my camera a lot for my own personal day-to-day shooting, a Nikon 85mm f/1.8, and a Nikon 60mm f/2.8 macro lens that I absolutely adore for nature shots. Also, I just recently got a GoPro Hero6 that I’ve been loving for underwater shots.
I don’t have a Lensbaby, but I love the narrow focus and softness those lenses can create. I’d love to do more nature shots with one.
What makes you pick up the camera when you don’t feel like it?
When I don’t feel like picking up the camera, I do it anyway because I almost always end up surprising myself with an image that I otherwise wouldn’t have captured if I didn’t pick it up. I’m motivated to document the lives and day-to-day of my family, so that helps me pick up the camera as well.
Film or digital? Black and white or color? Lifestyle or traditional?
Digital. Although film is my first love, I have only shot digital since I switched over about 10 years ago. I would, however, like to go back and try film again. I think it would challenge me in a way that would help me when I do shoot digital.
Color. I’m drawn to strong, vibrant colors, so I lean towards color, but a good black and white image has the power to hit harder at my emotions than color does at times.
Lifestyle. Most of the time, my clients want traditional shots, so I will happily take those. There’s definitely something to be said for a strong traditional shot, that is well-composed in beautiful light. However, lifestyle is my preferred way to shoot because I love capturing authentic moments in the raw.
What personal projects are you working?
There are a couple personal projects I’m working on and a third that I’m collaborating on with a spiritual life coach. The collaboration project is called “The Inner Goddess Project” and its main goal is to empower women to embrace their inner goddess and celebrate their beauty and strength. Too often, women, in particular, can be critical of themselves or let various things in their lives hold them back. Coaching will be provided to help draw out their inner goddess and I will be doing the photography to capture that beauty and strength.
The other personal projects speak to social issues that I’ve wanted to tackle. One is to help bring better awareness about depression and mental illness. I want to show how frequently it can be present in people’s lives, but yet so often hidden from the public. If I can help show how powerful vulnerability and openness can be, then my hope is that we can better connect to each other and get the necessary support. The other personal project is about adoption and helping change the narrative about what that means for the mother who opts for adoption and for the baby who gets adopted. Rather than feelings of shame and abandonment, I want to promote selfless love and courage.
What are the most important thing you learned about editing.
I’ve taken some amazing Lightroom and Photoshop courses, but beyond the technical knowledge of navigating both of those tools, I’ve learned to stay consistent and true to my voice when it comes to editing. I’ve learned that while you may be drawn to certain people’s editing style, it’s important to find your own unique style that speaks to your creativity as an artist.
Wow I am in love with these images. Thank you Kim for sharing your thoughts and beautiful images with us. I would encourage you to take some time to go and visit @andoraphotography and view her page.
You have just a few more days for the {Water} theme so come and share your images with us on our Facebook page and our Instagram Page. Don’t forget to tag the Instagram posts with #sharesix_water. Each month we feature one artist on our Facebook and Webpage banner. We will also do an interview with the featured artist, so share your images to be a part of this opportunity.
![IMG_9501[24233]](https://sharesix.files.wordpress.com/2018/08/img_950124233.jpg?w=529)
