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Kelly Catchings Studio-10 Early Dawn Ct.- The Woodlands, Texas 77381

Kelly/The Herb Ritts Foundation-1106 N. Hudson 2nd Floor-Los Angeles-California 90038

interview by: G Boehnke

Kelly Catchings got her first real camera at the age of 15. “I’m not sure why I wanted it but it’s the only real gift I ever remember asking my parents for. It was the late 70s and I had absolutely no knowledge of photography and no experience. But from the first day I got that Pentax K1000 I’ve never stopped shooting.”

Not realizing that she could make a living as a photographer, Kelly tried many ‘normal’ career and college choices but nothing felt right. “All I wanted to do was shoot! It was frustrating trying all these other things when I really knew exactly what I wanted to do.”

In her mid 20’s she finally signed up for a night course at The Art Institute of Houston. While attending The Art Institute she entered KINSA, a national photo contest and won first prize. It was a trip to New York City. “That contest changed my life.”

In New York, Kelly quickly made the rounds of some of her favorite artists’ studios - Annie Leibovitz’s and Patrick DeMarchila’s being the first stops. Seeing them at work made her even more convinced she was on the right path. Within two months of first visiting NYC she had moved there.

By day Kelly was working at cutting edge film labs and learning about the new digital productions. By night she was all over the underground punk scene. “The music scene is where I really honed my skills for shooting people. Musicians display so much raw emotion and I love their theatrics.”

Unfortunately the 24-hour schedule and an escalating heroin addiction took its toll. Kelly went home to Texas to sober up, clear her head and regroup. “I didn’t really want to leave New York but I had to get myself back together. It was definitely the best thing I could have done – both for myself and ultimately my photography.”

While still in Texas, Kelly heard about a chance to work in Los Angeles at Herb Ritts’ studio. With little more than her camera and a dream, she headed to California. Despite thousands of people wanting to work with Herb, Kelly got the coveted position.

“I always felt that photography saved my life, but when Herb came into it, everything was sealed. Finally it felt like I belonged somewhere and how amazing was it that I belonged here! I will never get over how blessed I was to have Herb.”

For 5 years she worked at the Ritts studio, “falling madly in love” with him and his work.

“Every day with Herb was surreal. So much of what I learnt from him is indescribable – it was about the art of photography, nuance, what makes something beautiful. One of my roles was to sit with him going through the final edits before submitting his jobs. Those times together were especially precious, where I got a chance to learn the most about him as an artist and a person. He was great. The fact that he invited me to be part of the process was unbelievable, still is. I couldn’t have dreamt of a more perfect mentor – I’ll always love Herb.”

During that time in LA, Kelly was also a principal photographer for Peter Getty’s music label, Emperor Norton Records. “Emperor Norton exposed me to a lot of international artists. I often shot for them in Herb’s studio and it was just a blast. I was really impressed at how the label supported emerging artists.” She shot Getty’s own band, the Virgin-Whore Complex, at Ritts studio, “Peter’s an incredible artist himself, and following in his family’s footsteps, a dedicated supporter of the arts.”

A particularly memorable shoot with Emperor Norton was the Soul Ecstasy soundtrack. It was an enormous production - a mini-film without a film. “The idea was that there was this old soundtrack kicking around from some 70’s blaxploitation film no one had heard of. The label claimed that the actual film was burnt in a fire and all that was left were a handful of stills and the music. Of course, the music was all brand new and I shot all the images! Every ‘recovered’ still was one of mine – it was hysterical, and so much fun to design and shoot.”

Eventually, Kelly returned to Houston to open her own photo studio. Her work there took her everywhere from the oil rigs off the coast of Louisiana to college science labs across Texas. Her clients included mining companies, land developers, local press outlets and universities.

She shot numerous magazine spreads for OutSmart magazine, including one of her most popular covers, ‘Covered In Pride, which was featured across the city during Gay Pride week.

Kelly often contributes her talents to charities. In Los Angeles she shot portraits for women and their children living in shelters, as well as inner-city girls’ basketball games. “I love shooting for people who don’t usually get a chance to have their pictures taken by a professional. I know these images are really important to them and I’m so lucky to be able do it.”

In Houston, Kelly shot two calendars for charity including one for the Harley’s Angels that raised over $60,000 towards breast cancer research. The other was a year long project called FACES that raised money for gay organizations throughout the Houston area.

The FACES calendar has grown into a two-book set Kelly is currently working on which is dedicated to Herb Ritts. While highlighting the continuing struggle against the AIDS epidemic, What A Drag (Queen) and The Penis Project are also meant to celebrate sexuality in all its crazy glory.

“These photos are quite a departure from my usual fashion and portrait shooting, but I love them and the direction my work is taking. I don’t think too far ahead about what I’m doing or try to come up with some clever new project. I just shoot what comes through my heart.”

Kelly’s newest work is taking an even different direction. “Most recently I’ve become crazy for modern art. I have a new project, my Inkling series, which is a bit of a multimedia project and again completely different than any of my previous work.”

Kelly is living between The Woodlands, Texas & Los Angeles, CA continuing her work as a freelance photographer and fine art photography consultant.