Today we’d like to introduce you to Kay Morikawa.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Born in Escondido, CA moved to Japan when I was four and lived there for 11 years. Thus, I am equally fluent in Japanese and English!
I attended Berklee College of Music (Boston, MA), where I spent my days as a supervisor in the computer music lab and tutoring music software. I graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Music Synthesis.
Upon graduating, I returned to CA, where I worked as an audio editor for major record labels for two and a half years.
After being immersed in music, my wedding in Aug ’09 was what turned me to photography. The photographers that we chose inspired me tremendously, and at the same time one of our wedding guests gave us a DSLR camera as a gift. I decided to take the opportunity to self-study DSLR photography.
I had always enjoyed taking pictures, so I had a lot of experience taking pictures with my compact camera. At that time I felt I was weakest taking pictures of people and pets, but practice with my DSLR, and welcomed my dog as a family (He’s my furry-assistant and an “Insta-Famous Corgi”) changed all of that and it became my passion. Now my dog learned to be a perfect model of mine 😉
I still enjoy taking photos of Landscape, and Life Style. When I have a spare time, I take my dog and camera, and go out to photograph. That’s when I can unwind my mind, and help ease depression and extreme stress that I’ve been dealing with.
Why “Only K” Photography?
You know some coffee shops ask your name to write down on your cup? Many of them actually write only “K”. I didn’t like it at first, because it might sound the same, but my name is spelled K-A-Y, not just “K”. But then I thought… It is actually amazing to be able to tell my name with only one letter! And I wanted to create photos that “Only K(ay)” can do. That’s how I came up with Only K Photography.
Please tell us about your art.
I always find myself in a sad and dark place, and I also have low self-esteem/confidence.
However, when I see the world through the lens, I always see a “light” in a frame, and that’s what it becomes my target of my work. For example, there’s something that stands out in a space, or there’s one thing that is different, and that doesn’t belong to the circumstance, or the sun creates a natural “spotlight” that makes my subject look dramatic.
When my subjects are people or dogs, their natural facial expressions, dogs’ silly actions or smiley faces are my “lights”. I feel extremely excited when I get to capture someone who usually doesn’t smile that much.
Although I’m still struggling with finding “lights” myself, this has been a great exercise for me to feel something positive, something enjoyable and to unwind my mind.
Therefore, I would say that I do my work mainly for self-therapy, but when that becomes a job, or when I receive positive feedbacks about my photos, I feel that this is one of my reasons for living, and also what keeps me going.
Given everything that is going on in the world today, do you think the role of artists has changed? How do local, national or international events and issues affect your art?
Smartphones, The Fast Pace of Technology World, and Social Media Channels are definitely affecting the role of not only artists, but many people in varieties of industries.
More big chance for ordinary people to be known as a business experts, artists, influencers or instructors etc. More ways to share promotions or campaigns.
Family Portrait business is definitely going low since our smartphones satisfy many people for family photos or any other occasional photos.
When I was working as an Audio Editor around 2006, many recording studios closed down, because people could own their desktop studio at home easily, people stopped buying CDs (iTunes went viral), and many record labels couldn’t catch up with the changes. Lots of people lost their jobs in the industry at the time as I was one of them.
I try my best NOT to be behind with this technology growth. Otherwise, you will soon be left out from the whole world. (My personal opinion)
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Website
https://www.onlykphotography.com
Photography Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/only_k_photography
Non-portrait photography Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/onlykphotography.plus
My furry-assistant’s Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/aquacorg
Feature, Share, Referral, Recommendation… etc… All that helps!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.onlykphotography.com
- Email: info@onlykphotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/only_k_photography , https://www.instagram.com/onlykphotography.plus , https://www.instagram.com/aquacorg
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onlykphotography
Image Credit:
Only K Photography
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