Diving Deep with Katharine Kollman - Issue 44

Underwater Film photography tips and stories...

Katharine in her element.

Housekeeping

Welcome to the first newsletter of June, which for us Aussies means we are officially one week into winter! I am a summer gal all the way but I am enjoying my new winter boots from Radical Yes, who I have been working with to create content. I LOVE fashion so getting to pair my love for photography and fashion into one project has been a dream. Head on over to my IG to see more of this work.

I plan to reach out to more brands for this kind of work in the future. But hey, enough about me and more about

Katharine Kollman

the beautiful mermaid armed with a Nikinos, a swimsuit and a whole bunch of unique and exciting talent that you are about to read up on. Katharine and I have featured in two exhibitions together and she has also recently started her own Substack which I highly recommend checking out! Enjoy this chat guys and don't forget to go say hello to KK on her socials after this.

Hey Katharine, thanks for joining us here at Love Lucy! Can you please give the readers the who, what and where of Katharine Kollman?

Thanks so much for inviting me to share on your newsletter! I love everything you put out for the photo community and I’m happy to be a part of it.

Currently, I live in Honolulu on the island of O’ahu, Hawai’i. I’ve been here just over five years, hailing from the Midwest, about an hour north of Chicago. I’m an avid freediver and photographer, specializing in underwater film photography. Not exclusively, because I also shoot some digital for work, but I much prefer it.

I never set out to be a photographer. As a kid, I wanted to be a vet. Then I got obsessed with sharks and wanted to be a marine biologist. Then during college, my molecular biology professor was incredible, and I ended up studying that, with the intent of pursuing a graduate program in the field. But when graduation came, I had this gut instinct that it wasn’t the right move. Academia was so comfortable for me, but the thought of another few years of bench work under fluorescent lighting suddenly sounded awful. I moved home, became a barista, and tried to decide what was next. It was at this time that I met several cold water surfers on Lake Michigan, something I didn’t even know was possible. They took me in and started to teach me, and I loved it. Through surfing, I discovered freediving, and that is what ultimately led me to O’ahu, where I flew for a freediving class…and never left.

Through freediving, I found a love for photography, and these two practices have been the focus of my life in recent years. They have brought me a means of creative expression, my community, once-in-a-lifetime experiences, and a potential career in something I had before never considered. Don’t get me wrong, it has been a lot of work, and I often question what I am even doing and why. But my pursuit of photography has thus far given me a very beautiful, incredible life.

Katharine’s stunning work pictured throughout

Let’s talk underwater photography! It’s not an everyday genre necessarily. I would love to know what draws you to it specifically?

I’ve dabbled in photography since I was a teenager, but the principal motivator behind picking up a camera was freediving. When I first began diving, it did not come naturally. I could barely equalize and felt so clumsy in the buoyant ocean. But I was so fortunate to meet some amazing divers early on in my journey, and they are the ones who helped me progress and become the diver I am today. It is also because of them that I began exploring underwater photography. Freediving seemed to tap into a new sort of consciousness in me, and I had a deep urge to express all these new thoughts and emotions. 

I was searching for some new way to share all this inspiration I felt, and underwater photography felt most appropriate for obvious reasons. It was at this time that I came across the page for the Nikonos Project (an old camera-share program), and via this page, the work of underwater film photographer Wayne Levin. This was my own little eureka moment. Wayne has created the most incredible images over the course of his career, but the ones most notable to me are B&W photos of an akule bait ball on Hawai’i island. I became totally enamored with the idea of underwater film, and desperately wanted to emulate the moving work of my now-favorite artist. I couldn’t afford a Nikonos at the time, but I bought a cheaper underwater film camera, like your Canon Sureshot, and that is how I began to learn. I made a whole zine using one of those cameras. During those first years, my friends sort of lived on pedestals in my head, and taking photos of them was my way of paying homage to them doing this thing they (we) all loved so much.

There are so many reasons why I love shooting underwater and continue to practice it. I think it is one of my favorite methods of creation with photography because our photos are not dictated by the laws of gravity. Underwater, you are always in suspension. I compose photos while diving upside down, wedged between rocks so as to not get pulled by current, and always on a breath hold. There is so much freedom of movement. And while it can be a little stressful to “get the shot” on a single drop, it forces you to be very intentional.

Freediving and photography are intertwined for me, as I never would have gone so deep into photography if it weren’t for diving.

For readers who have always wanted to try some form of water based photography what tips and advice would you offer them? I have a few waterproof film cameras but I have never taken the plunge with them!

Ultimately, your water comfortability will dictate the kind of photographs you can take in the water. If you aren’t able to calm down in the ocean (or other body of water), then your photos will reflect that erratic feeling. Being able to float or sit and wait for the composition to present itself (if you are photographing wildlife for example) is essential. You need to find your patience and stillness. I think the only reason I am able to take the photos I take is because I have an extensive background in freediving. I’ve taken multiple classes with different agencies, I’m a certified instructor and competition safety diver, etc. Not to imply that you need to do the same thing as me! I know Nikonos photographers all over the world who create gorgeous photos as casual swimmers. But still - they are comfortable in whatever that water environment is.

And arguably the most important element of this practice: make sure your water camera or housing is in good repair. Depending on the camera, this means pressure testing to ensure no leaks will occur, making sure the camera o-rings are not dry or cracked and are well-greased, the list goes on. I didn’t take my Nikonos camera diving for almost four months after purchasing it because I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of flooding it. But luck was again in my favor, as I met an underwater photographer with an extensive background in film, who sent me his pages-long care guide for his Nikonos. While salt corrosion is inevitable if you are photographing in the ocean, taking care of your gear will prolong its life, and I still follow these care tips religiously.   

Besides that - just get out there and do it! You won’t get comfortable if you don’t practice. I’ve taken the same turtle photo a hundred times over by now, but each negative still gives me something new to consider. Water is an environment in constant flux, learning how to create photos that feel true to me within conditions that are always changing has been one of my greatest lessons as an artist.

We were both shown in the recent Unstable Lights exhibition in Hamburg and the Relics show in LA!

You were also featured in SGC magazine and PhotoKlassik just to name a few. It really feels like you are everywhere right now and I love it. I’m wondering how these opportunities have arisen and if you have learned anything valuable on your path to success?

Thank you so much! I’m so grateful for those opportunities and the incredible creatives I have met through them, including you.

Like most modern day artists, I’ve got a serious love-hate relationship with social media. I know you understand all the pressure of being a creator on these platforms, so I won’t speak extensively on their negative impact. The amazing thing about it all is the global community you can tap into here: most of my exhibitions, publications, and interviews are rooted in connections I’ve made here on Instagram. SilverGrain Classics emailed me last spring about doing a spread on my work in their Fall issue, Fabian (Unstable Lights curator) also reached out to me here, and through Unstable Lights, I landed my first cover on the PhotoKlassik spring issue. I’ve also got a full interview coming out in their upcoming June issue. And another interview from last summer just came out in Daybreak Magazine V.4 “Daydream” with the founder Tommy Moore, who also contacted me through Instagram.

As for what I have learned - I feel constantly, continually, overwhelmed by how much I do not know, how much I always have left to learn. I’ve been shooting film since before its social media renaissance (doing my best to avoid the “I knew them before they were famous” vibe right now), and I have always enjoyed this medium as a practice of slow living. Using social media feels very contrary to this intuitive way of living for me, and as the years have progressed, the pressure has mounted to create, create, create, always more, always less time to make an impression. I want to pull my hair out and throw my phone off a bridge. We are constantly being fed this notion that we are not doing enough, that every minute of every day could be potential content, and this is overwhelming to me. I think I’m maybe a little traditional in my self-concept as an artist, but I also think this whole internet-photography culture is ridiculous.

That being said, I think the reason I have achieved these goals for myself in the face of all this is that despite all this pressure, I make a very, very conscious effort to keep my photo account true to me as an artist. Especially as an underwater photographer, I know there are certain photos I could take that would get me the Views and Likes, but it’s not necessarily what I would be creating if it weren’t for Instagram pressure. “Success” can be very formulaic, but I am really looking for what my own path to that looks like. It can feel really difficult and isolating. I’ve had more than a few friends suggest I’m too self-critical, so I’m definitely going to work on taking things less seriously. But overall, being able to develop and maintain my identity in art has been key.

What is on the horizon for you at the moment Katharine? Do you have any long term projects or goals you are working hard to achieve?

As I mentioned, there are a few exciting things happening later this year for exhibitions and publications, and I hope I can make announcements about them soon! Show-wise, I’ve just got one of my cyanotypes on display in the upcoming show “Blue” by Decode Gallery in Tucson, AZ.

Personally, I have been working a lot behind the scenes to get my print shop up and running on my website. I’ve always taken private inquiries, but for years I have hemmed and hawed over the right way to sell my work, and of course, putting a price on things. But I am feeling like it’s the right time, so I should have that functioning within the next month or so.

As a more long-term print goal, I very badly want to make a book. Like a proper coffee table book. I can picture the binding, the title, the paper stock. I’ve been dreaming of it for years. I had a specific photo project in the works, but unfortunately my partner lost interest in our work, so I’m revisiting the concepts I’d like to develop. It is absolutely not something I can currently afford, so that will be something a little further down the line! If there are any patrons of the arts out there, shoot me an email.

And as always, I am working to figure out what my art looks like these days. We are constantly evolving as creators, and I feel like my voice has changed in the last few years. My focus often lies in how my photographs make the audience feel and trying to inspire certain emotions, and there’s a bit of a disconnect right now in what I am imagining vs. what is actually coming out of me. So lately I’m just experimenting a bit to try and bridge that gap.

You live in a pretty epic place already but I’m wondering what your dream destination to shoot would be and why?

Oh gosh, there are so many. I want to dive the kelp beds in freezing California, the lagoon with rays and sharks and whales in Mo’orea, the Mobula rays and the seasonal Marlin run in Baja, the giant school of sardine in the Philippines, the beautiful reef in Indonesia, the cenotes in Yucatan, Jacob’s Well in Texas, the list goes on. Just know, if there is a body of water with mildly clear water, I want to be in it.

Hawai’i has been the most incredible place to learn and grow my identity as a photographer. I’d love to take these skills, apply them elsewhere in the world, and see what I can get. It feels difficult to pitch myself for work using exclusively underwater film, which is why I’ve also been shooting digital for a little over a year now. I’m hoping, since building my portfolio over this last year, that I can find more opportunities to travel and shoot for work. If anyone reading this does something like that, please email me all your advice!

Where can readers see more of your work and connect with you Katharine?

Naturally, you can find me on Instagram, as well as Twitter and Reddit under the same handle @cassec0u.

Inspired by you of course, I also just started my own newsletter, the Orange Tree. One of the current posts is a history on why I use the above handle, which some find a bit confusing.

Finally, my website, which includes more work projects than I always share on Instagram:

A huge thank you to Katharine for joining me this week and taking the time out of her busy schedule to share her story and insights. Also, a huge thank you to you, my lovely readers for supporting this newsletter. See you next week!

Love Lucy xx