Kathleen McFadden
Fine Art Photographer
Kathleen McFadden shares her sharp wit and experiences with us via her Americana style photography. Her photos are filled with a sense of anticipation or maybe memories that are just out of reach.
Kathleen's style was influenced greatly by life in the midwest. The McFadden family took hundreds of road trips in the trusty 1966 Oldsmobile that Kathleen still drives occasionally. Staring out the back windows of that car, watching the small towns, farms and rangeland roll past inspired Kathleen to document real American culture before it disappeared entirely.
An avid shooter since childhood, Kathleen grew up in the panhandle of Texas where shooting usually meant guns and ammo rather than cameras and film. Kathleen excelled in both. She revels in her western upbringing and enjoys shooting in silhouette rifle matches with her marksman father by her side. "Competitive shooting and photography share some common ground; both require training, a respect for the equipment, complete concentration and single focus that culminates in the satisfaction of a shot well-taken," Kathleen says.
When she received her A.A. in Journalism from Amarillo college, Kathleen packed up her cameras and cowboy shirts and moved to California where she earned a B.A. with honors in Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, all the while working in a local camera shop. Upon graduation, she continued to pursue her passion for photography. She moved to San Luis Obispo, California where, for 12 years, she owned and operated a successful camera store and fine art photography gallery featuring her work. Desiring a more central location in the U.S. and a dramatic change of scenery that would bring her home to her western roots, she moved to Colorado. Kathleen opened Range Gallery, a fine art photography gallery dedicated exclusively to her work in Maniotu Springs in June 2008. She has now expanded, opening a larger Range Gallery in Old Colorado City, Colorado Springs, Colorado. The new address is 2428 W. Colorado Avenue.
All images in Kathleen's gallery were taken in the U.S. with film cameras. From a 1927 Kodak Brownie, a 1937 Zeiss Ikon, mid 50s Rolleiflex to modern medium and large format cameras; she actively shoots with about 30 cameras. She derives great satisfaction in working with old cameras, pieces of history. Shooting a nostaligic scene with a camera from a past era, frequently a camera that was actually made in the U.S., is a combination of the present and past that gives her great satisfaction.
Kathleen's latest project is the "Third Dimension," TM a real breakthrough in photography. Her new "Third Dimension" images take photography out of the flat, two dimensional presentation, into a three dimensional, sculptural 180 degree photograph. The scene comes alive, "You are there. You really see the scene as I did. It's not just a photograph, it's an experience." For a preview of the "Third Dimension" visit Kathleen in the new, expanded Range Gallery in Colorado Springs, Colorado. One of her other recent projects can be viewed at www.justleaves.com where she combined her interest and knowledge of wine with innovative leaf images in a botanical series. Kathleen's work is constantly evolving, utilizing her vast technical expertise to incorporate original ideas into fun projects presented with wit and style that only Kathleen McFadden can create.
February 27, 2009
Kathleen McFadden and two of her latest Third Dimension Images.
Meet Kathleen at Range Gallery, 2428 West Colorado Avenue, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
(719) 685-1201
Read the feature article about Kathleen in the April 19, 2009 Colorado Springs Gazette.