Katherine Richmond
What We See:
Waves, Light, and Life
Date installed: March, 2021
Seascapes, Abstracts, and Documentary Photography
Artist website: www.katherinerichmondphotography.com
Artist’s price list for Limited and Open Edition prints
We asked Katherine if she would introduce herself and share a bit about her photography, and here is what she wrote…
A bit about me: In a world of millions of photographers, what can I do differently? It’s a question I often ask myself, which triggers the explorer and adventurer in me, bringing out unusual perspectives, compositions, techniques, and emotions in each of my photographs.
I was born in Wayland and lived near the shore of Lake Cochituate. From day one, I have been in love with water. The way it can be soothing to the soul at one moment and dramatic the next, meditative to energizing. Which keeps me coming back to the water; it's always a unique experience that I love to capture.
My love for photography began as a young teen in my high school photography club and processing photos in the Natick Labs darkroom. Weekend trips to visit my grandparents in Gloucester are where I grew my connection with the sea, photographing the vacation charm alongside the hard-working fisherman.
I am thrilled to show my work here and have selected from my waves, abstracts, and documentary collections for you to view. The documentary collection represents an important, and much called for, homage to those who go to sea to make their living and to provide us all with nature’s bounty.
When I’m not out shooting photos, I’m usually in my studio working on my print editions. If anyone is interested in acquiring an image, I’d love to tell you more.
Welcome to the Mary Jo Rines Gallery: We’re delighted to welcome photographer Katherine Richmond, and you our viewers, to the Rines online gallery. We are fortunate to be able to share the work of a talented, versatile, adventuresome, and caring artist. Katherine’s photographs feature dramatic and powerful coastal scenes, nuanced and delicate abstract images, and a roll-up-your-sleeves documentary look at the hardworking Gloucester fishing life.
Katherine, a Boston native now living in Gloucester, has been shooting since 1976, drawn by the magical interplay of light in the natural world…on water and waves as much as on interpretive closeup subjects. She doesn’t shy away from doing her work in extreme situations, amid roiling surf or out on the deep waters of the Atlantic fishing grounds.
A national and international award-winning photographer, Katherine is an artist member of the renowned Copley Society, and she shows her work in exhibits throughout New England. When not out photographing, Katherine is likely to be spending time finessing her large format prints. Her work in this exhibit is for sale, and we invite you to direct any inquiries to Larry Grob (617-817-3123 or lagrob@mac.com) for an introduction to the artist. You’ll find a link to her price list above.
So, please browse and click your way around…and enjoy the show!
Best wishes,
The First Parish Art Committee
First Parish’s Art Committee Co-Chair Larry Grob recently had the opportunity to interview photographer Katherine Richmond. They spoke about the range of her work—from abstracts, to waves, to documentary—and what drives her to shoot in oftentimes difficult situations.
Click here to see a video of her interview.
We hope you enjoy Katherine’s work. If you’d like, you can click below to send her a comment or question…
Waves. Emerald Solstice…
click images to enlarge and see full proportions
I’m drawn to the sea’s edge. The weather and the wild conditions. The sense of both chaos and calmness that coexist here at one and the same time. The adventure of it all.
Having explored the miles of rocky coastline along the North Shore of Massachusetts, on foot and as close to the ocean’s energy as I can get, I’m forever in search of that magical moment between waves and light…when the wave expresses its true energy and mystery. It seldom disappoints.
I hope you enjoy these three wave collections, in which for understandable reasons I see emeralds. Or feel the storm talking. Or enjoy the colorful gift of a day’s coming or going.
Waves. Dark and Stormy…
click images to enlarge and see full proportions
Waves. Sunrise/Sunset…
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Abstract. Bearing Witness…
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While much of my work embodies the hard edge of reality, there’s another side, too. As a multimedia artist, I’m drawn also to the alchemy in the everyday…the sudden, unexpected magic of a sunset in winter; skies low and molten; the splendor of the sea at high tide, swollen and green and hungry.
In my abstract photography I want to remove these occurrences from their immediate context and imagine them anew. This way, we’re forced to wonder if we’re seeing them as they were live and experienced, or if we’re creating something entirely new just by bearing witness.
These pieces pose an essential question for me: is this the world we’re meant to see, or only the world we’re able to see?
Fishing Life…a Slide Show
click images to enlarge and see full proportions
In my documentary work, I set out to capture the essence of work. I’ve always been fascinated with how people work, the connection they have with their job, and why they do it. I want to convey the rhythm of movement that the work entails. I guess it’s my way of trying to serve a larger purpose, bringing awareness to others for the greater good.
Living in Gloucester with its history of commercial fishing (it’s the oldest fishing port in the U.S.), I’ve chosen to photograph the waterfront workers. I realized I could show how we really get our fresh fish…and though the industry has suffered decline, worsened by both government regulations and depleted stocks, it is still a viable and important livelihood to many.
In this series of photographs, I focus on the work of the lumpers. They’re the guys who do the really hard and oftentimes dangerous work of taking the fish in, sorting the catch by species, and unloading when the boat returns. You’ll see some of this work here. The fishing vessel goes out to sea for five to nine day trips, catching what can range from 75,000 to 140,000 lbs. Taking turns, three lumpers dig to the bottom of the hold, each filling 100 lb. baskets one at a time. Working in a narrow hallway, the lumper signals the winch man when ready, and the baskets are hoisted to the dock.
Fully unloading a fishing vessel with a fish hold ten feet high and 30 x 30 feet wide can take them anywhere from 8-12 hours.
Inside the wharf building the catch gets sorted, boxed, iced, and placed on a palette by a team of people. It’s then loaded onto a waiting eighteen wheeler for the ride to Boston, where it gets unloaded and sold at auction.
It’s important to understand the delicate balance between this hard labor work and the fresh fish we’re still able to buy…without one you can't have the other. Large and automated commercial operations do not give us fresh fish! The fish is frozen on the vessel.
Understanding this and supporting the maintainance of our fresh fish fisheries is critical. And to that end, there is nothing more helpful, or exciting, than to visit Gloucester, watch a fishing vessel being unloaded, and buying your supply from the retail truck outside the building. There’s nothing like it.
(Note: You can learn more about the Gloucester fishing community and its challenges in this brochure from the Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund. The GFCF helps preserve and promote awareness and foster the sustainability of a diverse independent fishing industry in this historic port city.)