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PHOTOGRAPHERS OF DESIGN

>>> Kate Russell, Santa Fe, New Mexico

There are those who might say that doing a complicated photo shoot is a bit like running a three-ring circus. Photographer Kate Russell would likely agree. She's done both.

"You manage each job," says Russell. "You learn to deal with the people involved. You learn to troubleshoot. And you come to know that each site is different."

Okay, technically, Russell ran a one-ring circus before she got into photography. Nonetheless, the Vermont native spent six summers touring New England with a European-style circus. "We traveled to 20 towns and did 70 shows," she explains. "There were 70 people in the circus and 17 vehicles. We had acrobats, aerialists and clowns — everything but animals."

In her spare time, Russell began photographing the performers and performances. She caught the photo bug. In 2000, she attended a photo lighting workshop in Santa Fe, where her mother, an artist, had moved. Russell loved the "techie" process of the art and, after one more season with the circus, decided to move to Santa Fe to work as a photo assistant.

There, she did a little bit of everything, doing editorial work, people, food and design. "I found that in Santa Fe, you have to be versatile," Russell explains. "You might do architecture one day, then jewelry the next." In 2003, she went out on her own, emphasizing architecture and interiors.

Russell finds that the best images come with the luxury of time. "You can't just walk in and shoot something," she says. "You need to spend time on a site to see how the light moves through a building or a home. Some projects really play to the light, and you have to be able to stay and see that."

She credits her artist mother for giving her a sensitivity to composition. "I grew up with conversations around the dinner table about composition," she explains. "My mother taught me to trust my eye." So that clients can get in on her vision, Russell brings a laptop to jobs and collaborates as she goes.

Russell shoots for magazines and design professionals, and is currently wrapping up a book with Santa Fe interior designer David Naylor called Old World, New Interiors for Gibbs Smith Publisher, due out later this year. Another Gibbs Smith design book is on the horizon for the following year.

In the meantime, Russell, who's also worked as a restaurant manager, furniture maker and professional skier, hasn't given up the performance world altogether. She shoots dance, theater and circus performances in between the architecture and interiors. "Performance photography is really a labor of love," Russell says. "You don't really make money doing it." Additionally, Russell, who trained as an acrobat and aerialist, occasionally performs with a New Mexico circus and teaches circus skills to kids.

Occasionally, Russell's photography and circus worlds combine. "I'm pretty athletic," says Russell. "I can actually climb up on a roof to do a shot if that's the best angle. I also like to take handstand breaks on shoots…."

Kate Russell Photography, 126 Huddleson St., Santa Fe, NM 87501; (505) 820-0927 or www.katerussellphotography.com.