Kendra Adams
Though she’s only been in town for a few years, Kendra Adams, 24, has already sprinkled her art all over Atlanta. Her photographs have been displayed locally at Picaflor Studio, the Atlanta Photography Group & Gallery, Dulce Vegan Bakery, San Francisco Coffee and Carroll Street Café. She’s also had pieces go up in Boston, Jamaica Plain, MA and Vancouver and has donated work to projects like the Postcard Collective.
Her most recent batch of fuzzed-out, sun-drenched shots is the result of a cross-country road trip she took to the Grand Canyon with a pal in April. At the end of the 4,200-mile journey, she had amassed 27 rolls of film.
The tattooed Idaho native graduated from Boston’s New England School of Photography with honors in fashion photography in 2006. She lives with her fiancé (guitarist/vocalist for local grindcore band Dead in the Dirt) and a rescued pit bull named Bug.
CommonCreativ talked to Kendra about family, her favorite Atlanta hangouts and what inspires her.
CC: What sparked your interest in photography?
Kendra Adams: I knew from the time I was six that I wanted to be a photographer. I wanted to see the world in sun-faded hues. My grandmother used to carry around a little point-and-shoot camera and take “snaps,” as she called them, of everyone and everything. We’re talking hundreds of boxes of pictures! When I would visit her during my childhood summers, I’d spend hours pouring over the soft focused, warm-toned photographs. She was a very sweet grandmother. She helped me fall in love with photography by being supportive and encouraging me to be creative. I now have the camera she loved, and some of my favorite images have been taken with it.
Photo by Kendra Adams
CC: What inspires you?
KA: I love America. Not in a “painting my face in stars and stripes and crying when I hear the national anthem” [way], but I’m in love with lonely American landscapes of rundown towns, kitschy diner decor, wide open spaces untouched by urban sprawl, the way the flag blows in the wind for empty tourist traps and what we surround ourselves with. And my favorite photographers are Stephen Shore and William Eggleston. I definitely draw a lot of inspiration from them.
CC: What kind of film do you shoot with?
KA: I shoot Kodak 120 film. Kodak has the best tonal qualities for my photographs. I don’t know what I will do if they stop making 120 film. I also shoot Impossible Project Polaroid film – my favorite has been the PX680 but I love it all. I’ll shoot anything I can get my hands on!
CC: What do you like about film vs. digital photography?
KA: There’s a heated and nasty debate between pixel and grain lovers, but I will be
fiercely analog until the very end! The process of taking a photograph is 90 percent of what I love about the medium. Take that away with an instant image popping up on a screen doesn’t have the same joy or wild spirit in it the way film does. I need the slow, meditative effort that goes into shooting 12 images on a roll.
CC: How did the idea for your road trip come about? Where all did you go and how did you decide what to photograph?
KA: Throughout my childhood, I romanticized about the Southwest, thumbing through Georgia O’Keefe books and lusting for the dry, lonely spaces that seemed so beautiful in her paintings. My good friend Whitney and I were talking a few months back about how fun our last cross country trip was, and I suggested a road trip to the Grand Canyon. She said yes and off we went with no plans except our final
destination. We stopped at flea markets and tourist shops. We drove forty miles off the main road and wandered in small towns to photograph anything that caught my eye.
CC: What brought you to Atlanta?
KA: I’m originally from the Northwest. I met my fiancé while he was on tour. We stayed in touch for four years, then once I finished college he asked me to move down here – that was three years ago.
Photo by Kendra Adams
CC: Who are some of your favorite local artists?
KA: I’ve only lived here a couple years, so I’m still new to the local art scene. I do
really love David Hale’s paintings. I try to keep current on the monthly exhibits at Young Blood. I participate in the Walk Away with Art that Jennifer Schwartz Gallery puts on as well as look at the Fall Line Press bookstore for local or up-and-coming artists. It’s been my goal this year to get to know more local photographers and creative minds.
CC: What are some of your favorite spots in Atlanta and why?
KA: Dulce Vegan Bakery has the best iced coffee, the lemon loaf is incredible and the
staff is so friendly. I spend most of my time there. One of my favorite shops is Young Blood [Gallery & Boutique] for their inspiring collection of handmade goods. I love Kudzu Antiques and My Favorite Place for vintage finds – I’m a sucker for anything gold! [My fiancé and I] just bought a new house, so I’ve been spending a lot of time in the garden and playing with our dog Bug!
CC: What upcoming projects are you working on?
KA: In June, I’m going to Maine to attend a weeklong workshop on Collodion Process
Photography. I’m so excited to learn from a world-renowned photographer and very nice women, Jill Enfield. As far as new images go, right now I’m focusing on the process.
Snag one of Kendra’s prints by visiting her Etsy shop.
