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  • Welcome to my blog!

    Welcome to Denver Photographer Katy Tartakoff’s world of photography. With more than 35 years of photographing people all over the world, from birth through death, Katy loves photography more than ever.

    In this blog, Katy will be sharing her adventures in and out of the studio as she professionally documents the the spirit of life shining through the eyes of her subjects.

    You can follow her on Facebook as well. We invite your feedback, suggestions, thoughts and requests.

    In grace and gratitude.
    Katy, Marianne and Reece

Austin & Emma

Austin first came in for photos in 1994. Emma first came in 1999 when she was three.

When the two of them walked through the doors of my studio the other day, Austin, twenty one and a graduate from Johnson and Wales Cooking School and Emma, fifteen and an up and coming photographer/artist, I was moved by the depth of life I saw in their faces and the depth of soul in their beings. The two share a love and respect for each other that is deepened by distance and celebrated in one another’s presence. As I made pictures of Austin and Emma, along with their Mom and Dad, I was moved by the passage of time and the convergence of lives coming full circle.

I had gone to Colorado Women’s College which is now Johnson and Wales. The art and theatre department where I spent a great deal of time, is now Denver School of the Arts. As I have the continued honor of photographing children growing into women and men, many traveling through places that helped make me who I am today, I am moved by the clarity and strength of spirit I see in these amazing people. I feel warmed and blessed that families like Austin and Emma’s, come back to me all these years later to document yet one more right of passage. I am grateful.

May First Friday 2011

May First Friday at Photographer Katy Tartakoff Studio was a huge success. I did 19 free sittings as WINE Veil, Ambajam and Reece visited with people about their work. The energy was great, the studio looked amazing, we had a steady stream of over 100 people throughout the night and a good time was had by all.

The sittings were light hearted and filled with laughter as I did snap shots of new friends and old.

Thank you to all who made First Friday a night to remember.

Rogers Fulton Family

I first photographed The Rogers Family in 1993 and again in 2002. When Lisa and Bret walked into the studio today with Laurel, Madison and Mariel, I was stunned. I looked at the photos from 1993 of three very little girls being playful and then at the three gorgeous young women who were standing in front of me today. Wow! Lisa decided that what she wanted for her 50th birthday was a new set of family photos. I said in all honesty, I think she looks better now than the last time I photographed her. Bret and the girls agreed. Lisa looks fabulous. As you can see from the photographs, this is a family who enjoys laughing and playing together. I know the photos were a gift for Lisa, however, it was truly a gift for me to have the chance to be with this wonderful family and once again document a special day in their lives. I am grateful.

An Invitation

My Vision

I have a new vision for my life’s work.  I want to share my vision with all of you.  Within the next 5 years I will exhibit my work at a major New York venue to a world audience.  I am incredibly inspired by this new dream, and I know it will take a village to support me on my quest.

The Story

Field of Dreams

Three years ago in March I moved into my new space here at the Taxi Campus on the edge of lower downtown on the Platte River. Some may know the location by the now famous, exceptional FUEL Cafe located across the parking lot from my studio on our campus.

When I chose to buy my studio and build it out, I had a vision that it would become a ”Field of Dreams”.  A place for my dreams, the dreams of those I work with, and the dreams of my clients to come true. I believe in infinite possibilities.

At my studio I have created a sacred space that is love filled, peaceful, aesthetically pleasing and has everyone who walks in the front door feeling like they have just walked in to their own home.

Time

In the past three years I spent much of my time developing my digital photography skills, working with L. Reece Photographer who has developed and implemented our current website, built the Constant Contact format for keeping in touch with all of you, created my online Photo Galleries for ease and convenience, and a relatively new presence on Facebook complete with my Blog.

As a team, Marianne Weiner (our framer), L. Reece Photography (Web and Social Media aficionado as well as an Architectural and Real Estate Photographer) and I, have evaluated and re-evaluated what we offer to our valued friends and clients. We have listened carefully to your needs and have increased the scope of our products and services accordingly.

I have invested my time in becoming proficient with digital photography and all the technology involved with this exciting format.

Lastly I wanted to share that I have completed my book:

CUP HALF FULL: LIFE IN THE FACE OF BREAST CANCER.  My book was a work of passion that took me 10 years to dream and to complete.  The book has been out since the late fall of 2010.

Two printings later, CUP HALF FULL was a finalist for THE 2010 Colorado Book Awards and has been sold nationally.

You can find it on our website: www.cuphalffullbook.com as well as on Amazon.

A special thanks to everyone who made this possible through their time, energy, money and sharing of expertise. I extend my deepest gratitude to Russ Chilcoat of Asher Design Studio for his remarkable design skills and the team at Cottrell Printing for going the extra miles to make the book everything it could be. Last but not least, I wish to thank Marianne Weiner, L. Reece, Anne Patton, Chris Casey, Julie Whitney, Jeannine Balsamo, Shilpi and Kumar Dandavati, Bob Blair and the crew at Fuel, Trisha Bourland, Ali Mayer and my family for holding my hands and lending theirs through this journey.

Vegas Photography Conference

I just returned from a photography conference in Las Vegas. It is indeed an otherworldly place on the planet. The truth is, I never left the hotel. There were 16,000 photographers from around the world who were all interested in learning. We were in classes day and night for 5 days. I was awed by some of the photography I saw and overwhelmed by the information being shared.

One of the many exciting things about photography is, you can never know enough. I was also struck by the fact that many of us are essentially using the same professional
equipment, have similar focus, such as portraits or weddings, and yet bring our own unique style to the finished photos.

I am passionate about photography. I am especially devoted to using photography as a way of keeping people’s family history alive. There is no way to measure the value of printing photographs and either placing them on our walls to enjoy and share, or making books and photo albums so the stories can be passed forward.  How many times have you heard someone say, the first thing I would get from my house if there was a fire (besides the children and the animals) are the photographs? That is certainly true for me. I love looking through all the photos of family and friends. It brings me great pleasure.

My question to the world is, how much is a photograph worth to you? When was the last time you made prints of the photos that are sitting in your telephone or in your camera or
on your computer? I’m just sayin’.

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