Kristy Ahumada - Volatile Photography

My name is Kristy Ahumada. I’m a photographer based in Sonoma County, California, living in the charming and historic town of Petaluma. I began my photography adventure before age 20 by taking a few film classes to learn photography fundamentals and film development. I’ve never been a big fan of only coloring within the lines when it comes to art, so it didn't take me long to want out of the classes to further explore on my own. I wanted to learn more about myself as an artist through experimentation and pushing the limits. Over the years I gained tremendous experience with portraiture, as well as the wedding and event industry, which introduced me to digital photography. No matter what digital advancement has shown, film still has that “thing” you just can’t fully achieve in any other way.

I appreciate digital photography for what it offers, especially for situations requiring peace of mind, like photographing an event. This said, I also find with digital that it’s easy to lose sight of what you want out of the photos in the first place and you become dependent on the instant feedback on the camera’s screen. I always go back to film, and I often shoot a few rolls during my client sessions, to keep that “thing” alive. With film, the shooting process slows down drastically because each shot really matters, as each shot should. You are hyper aware of composition and highly observant of light, all while carefully considering color vs. black and white. Once you’ve got your film scans in hand after crossing your fingers, you rarely have to do anything with the images in post processing because film is so forgiving and most often looks perfect straight out of development. I also really love the excitement that film gives me through it’s somewhat uncertain nature. Not knowing 100% what you got on the film until you see it is an experience every photographer should have. It’s what I love most about it.

What I really love about Kono’s films is that they add even more mystery to the photo taking process, and using them you obtain an otherworldly look to the images. My favorite Kono films are Sunstroke and Monsoon. I have found that Sunstroke is a great choice for maintaining a lot of detail and color in the shadows, while Monsoon delivers a calm and eerie feel to any setting, that I don’t believe is as successfully achieved through other experimental film stocks.

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Volatile Photography