It gives me great pleasure to introduce this week’s guest photographer, Alina Kodatt!! Alina hails from Florida, USA and I first started noticing her work after a comment from her on this here very blog. After following along on her blog, Coast To Coast, I decided to ask her if she’d be a guest photographer. I really like her different takes on every day life, something I still, to this day, fail to catch regularly. Where as she’s very consistent with what she posts. It’s another reminder that you don’t even have to leave your home to find beauty and interest all around.
You can subscribe to her blog here and you’ll want to be sure to check her out on Flickr as From Coast To Coast. Now, without further delay, here are the four standard questions for Alina!
1. Explain a bit about who you are and the type of photography that interests you most.
I am the wife of a man who makes me laugh, mother to a little girl who could eat pickles and olives all day long, and resident of a gray house with white shutters along the St. Johns River. I am moved by photography that tells a story. My everyday life is full of beautiful and ordinary moments, such as a fresh sliced pear or a newly hung mirror. It’s these moments as a full time wife, mom, home decorator, and personal chef to my family that inspire me to take pictures.
2. If you could have a paid trip for 4 weeks anywhere in the world just to photograph and report back, where would it be?
I visited Cuba 10 years ago, and what I observed on the streets and in the hearts and homes of the Cubans has me dying to go back. The effects of 50 years of political oppression are evident in the lines on people’s faces and in the chipping layers of paint on the buildings. Despite all the hardship endured, the Cuban spirit is festive and hospitable. From the social street scenes, humble home life, and all night celebrations…Cuba would be a feast for my camera.
3. Name two of your photography inspirations.
I am inspired by the many design, cooking, and photography blogs on the internet. With blogging being such a popular trend, I love that I can find inspiration from my couch, especially on those days when mothering doesn’t afford me the opportunity to leave the home. Some of my current favorites are Molly of (Orangette.blogspot.com), Jen of (simplyphoto.blogspot.com) and the ladies over at 3191 (3191.visualblogging.com) and habit (http://36words.typepad.com/habit/).
I’m also inspired by the photography, writing, and all around domestic creativity of magazines such as Martha Stewart and Real Simple. These are well produced visual mediums that celebrate the beauty of home life.
4. What do you hope to convey to others through your photography?
I’m caught off guard by beauty in the unexpected moments and overlooked corners of life. Color, shapes, lines, shadows, natural light, repetition…these things catch my eye, and I hope I cause others to celebrate the beauty in these simple and ordinary things in life.