Carey Kirkella
Photographer / Based in New York, New York
I've been making pictures ever since I can remember. My first camera was a gray and pink Le Click 110 mm, which I used to photograph my stuffed animals and my dog, usually after dressing them up in sunglasses and scarves. As a kid, I was always drawing and painting and I loved to experiment with different gadgets. Among the most fascinating- a rock tumbler, microscope, telescope, bug trapping paraphernalia, and a metal detector. When I was twelve I hand processed my first black and white roll of film, and saw my first print come up in the developer. I still feel the same way I did back then- photography is art plus science plus magic and equals amazing.
I grew up in the suburbs of New York City and studied photography and media arts at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY; earning a BFA on a full 'Talent Search' scholarship in 1999. My work has been recognized by the Santa Fe Center for Photography, the International Photography Awards and Critical Mass. I was included in the Noorderlicht International Photography Festival, and in the book 'Flash Forward - Emerging Photographers 2009' by The Magenta Foundation. I received the 'Kick Award' through the international competition'10 Best 10' by WIN-Initiative and Resource magazine. Most recently, in May 2011, Photo District News Annual 2011 featured my Ballet images.
"There's a freshness and a freedom to your work. There's a light and energetic quality to it. And it's authentic. You have a soft manner about you and you understand how to work with light and composition. You have that. And you are very empathetic. So there's really nothing you can't do."In conversation about my work with Pulitzer Prize winning photographer David Turnley.
Select commercial clients include:
Pfizer, Red Bull, Scholastic, Juice Pharma, Charles Schwab, Elizabeth Arden, Williams Whittle, HOW design magazine, Mass Appeal magazine, Getty Images Global Assignments, Columbia University Teachers College, Maryland Institute College of Art, World Childhood Foundation, Weekly Reader magazine, Fidelity National Financial.
I am available for editorial and advertising assignments, and limited edition prints of my work are available for purchase and exhibition. Please get in touch to request portfolios or to schedule a studio visit.
carey@careykirkella.com