CCLaP Photo Feature: Heather Killion

Heather Killion

Chicago Center for Literature and Photography Photographer Feature January 2, 2014

Location: Sacramento, California

Line features heavily in your work, do you have a design or architectural background that draws you to it?

I don’t have an academic or professional background in design or architecture, but I do have a lot of interest in both of those fields. My parents were very into Art Deco design, and I was raised with a great appreciation for design and form. Over time I my taste has shifted and I have developed a affinity for Mid Century Modern architecture and design. I am very drawn to it, I really love the clean lines and simplistic beauty of it. It has definitely been an influence on how I take photographs.

You have a gift for framing picking and framing signs to photograph in such a way that they take on perhaps unintended meanings.

Is finding these little verbal/visual quirks merely an issue of keeping one’s eyes open to the world around you, or do you actively seek out signage to photograph?

I have done photography thoughout my life, but had stopped for many years.

When I picked up my camera again I started photographing primarily signs.

There are a lot of people out there that photograph old signs so it’s a challenge to try to find a way of doing it and making it unique. My approach is to find signs that are unexpected or humorous.

I struggle a bit, and sometimes for me photography seems so heavy and serious, so finding subjects that are funny is a good way to keep it light.

What is your relationship with light as a photographer? I hate to lead, but you seem to take joy in its ability to illuminate and sparkle rather than merely its ability to light a subject; in a lot of ways light is your subject in its capacity to color, to expose, and to reflect. You don’t seem interested in manipulating it.

It’s pretty recent that I’ve started experimentng more with light. Of course I know that light is a huge part of photography, and it seems like there are a lot of rules about what you should and shouldn’t do with it, but I think it’s sometimes fun to ignore the rules and just play. I understand that light is a tool, but I also love the idea of light being part of the art, or being the subject of the artwork itself.

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