emily's photography

english major | aspiring funny person

[emilykato]

July 5th, 2017 | 📍Indianapolis, Indiana

On July 5th, 2017 I went to my first concert ever to see my then favorite band PVRIS (pronounced Paris, like the city in France). Even though they are no longer my favorite band I still have many fond memories whilst being a fan of their music, and this concert is one of them.

I went to this show with my then best friend who had seen PVRIS live multiple times before. We drove the seven hour drive to Indianapolis from the city in Michigan where we are from and the ride down to Indianapolis was fun as we were riding on full adrenaline getting excited, especially me as this was my first concert.

I think this was the best first concert I could have asked for, it was a smaller venue, I was there with my best friend at the time, and my then favorite band was only 10 feet in front of me (looks farther away in the photo, but I was about 10-15 feet away from the front of the stage). I still remember pretty much every detail from that night and I would give anything to relive this concert again as it was just pure emotional fun and was worth standing in line for two hours.

[emilykato]

May 28th, 2018 | 📍 Deer Ranch, St. Ignace, MI

On a trip with my mom to Wisconsin, we made a few stops on the way there, one of them being the Deer Ranch in St. Ignace, MI. The Deer Ranch is the oldest live whitetail deer exhibit in North America. There are dozens of native Michigan whitetail deer and fawns at the Deer Ranch, including a few albino deer as well.

At the Deer Ranch you are able to feed the deer carrots and other deer friendly treats and also take photos of them. Due to the deer being socialized by people and being used to getting treats, they are quite friendly, and most will come and say “hello” to you if you get close enough to the fence that keeps them separated from you.

This photo is of a sweet female deer that was drawn to me right away and followed me around for a while. I made sure to give her lots of treats and take lots of photos of her as she was so sweet and quite photogenic. This photo is my favorite photo I took of her that day. In this photo she was sniffing my phone as she could probably smell the carrots I was holding in my hands earlier.

[emilykato]

April 4th, 2021

Every once in a while, I get to cat/house-sit for my former AP US History teacher, and a little over a week ago I had the honor of taking care of their adorable cats for a little over a week. They have two cats, Phoebe and Freyja, and this is a photo of Freyja. Freyja is of course named after the Norse goddess, Freyja.

I took this photo on the last day I was cat/house-sitting, and it could not have been more perfect. I was sitting on the couch and Freyja was on the back of the couch looking out the window and rubbing her face all over my shoulders and face and purring quite loudly. This day was one of the first nice day’s weather wise and the sun was beaming in its mid-morning spot in the sky. Freyja started watching birds out the window but kept looking back towards me to make sure I was still there. I pulled out my phone to take some photos of Freyja to send to my former AP US History teacher and I noticed that the sun was making the lens in my camera flare and I knew that the photos were going to look great as I am a sucker for a good lens flare.

I cannot wait to cat/house-sit again so I can capture more shots of the cats.

[emilykato]

June 28th, 2019 |📍 Chopin Monument, Warsaw, Poland

When I was travelling Eastern Europe in the summer of 2019, I couldn’t miss out on visiting popular tourist sites. A popular park in Warsaw, Poland is Łazienki Park, which was designed in the 17th century by Tylman van Gameren, in the baroque style, for military commander Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski. The park took the name Łazienki ("Baths") from a bathing pavilion that was located nearby.

The park is also home to the Frédéric Chopin Monument. The large bronze statue was designed in 1907 by Wacław Szymanowski for its planned placement on the 100th anniversary of Chopin's birth in 1810. But the statues execution was delayed over controversy about the design, then by the outbreak of World War I. It was the first monument destroyed by the occupying Germans in Warsaw. The statue was finally cast and placed in 1926.  Every Sunday free piano concerts are held in front of the monument.

I remember visiting the park on a beautiful, extremely sunny day. It was so sunny in fact that I hard a hard time seeing anything at all (I didn’t have sunglasses) and was taking pictures willy nilly just so I could see what everything looked like once I was able to see my phone screen. When I was in my hotel room later that night and was looking at my photos from the day and was in absolute awe of this one. It just has the best aura to it to me, it looks so peaceful and happy.

[emilykato]

August 10th, 2017

This is my first electric guitar and my dad bought it as a gift for me for my birthday in 2017. It is a Fender Stratocaster, one of the most iconic guitars ever made, and is a style of guitar that has been copied over and over again.

I play guitar in the left-handed orientation, which makes it harder to find guitars in a decent price range and to find certain guitars at all available in left-handed orientation as most guitarists play in the right-handed orientation regardless of whether they are left or right-handed. I am ambidextrous, but as I have issues with my right wrist it is easier to play left-handed.

My dad surprised me with this guitar, I thought he wouldn’t get it for me, and I was so happy and grateful that he did. It is a classic Mexican-made Fender with a black gloss body, white pickguard, maple neck, and the standard Fender Stratocaster pickups. I use Ernie Ball regular slinky strings as they are one of the best styles of strings to use with a strat. The Stratocaster is a classic guitar used by many legendary guitar players and rock stars, but the Stratocaster is also amazing for anyone to play as it is versatile despite having a distinct sound, and I think that is the beauty of this guitar.

[emilykato]

May 25th, 2018 | 📍 Eau Claire, WI

On this particular weekend in May in 2018, my older cousin was graduating from her high school. The day of her graduation which was the day before her graduation party we all decided to go out to dinner. On our way back to my cousin’s house after dinner we ran into a classic springtime Wisconsin thunderstorm.

Michigan thunderstorms are very different from the thunderstorms I experienced in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The sky turned a weird green-grey color that caused a bit of worry from both my mom and I, but my aunt assured the both of us that it was normal. While on our way back to my cousin’s small town which is outside of Eau Claire the sky kept changing colors as the storm rolled through and I started taking pictures.

While taking pictures my aunt pointed out that there was a rainbow in the sky, and I followed the rainbow for a few minutes. The two photos I have attached were taken five minutes apart. The sky went from a dusty orange-brown to a blue-grey with purple and pink. I think the pink was starting to come through due to the sun beginning to set on the horizon.

[emilykato]

March 4th, 2020 |📍 St. Augustine, FL

This photo was taken exactly one year ago today, and it is probably my favorite photo from my trip to Florida and Georgia. I remember watching the boats gliding on the water peacefully, soaking in the early sunset warmth while I sat on a bench on the pier and just watched. I remember wondering what it would it be like to be on one of those boats, living carefree and enjoying my time in the Florida sunshine. Spending the day in St. Augustine was a early spring-time dream come true as it was warm and slightly humid, but it wasn’t unbearable it was quite nice in comparison to the cold and rigid Michigan spring-time weather.

I’ve always been attracted to water and I love living in a “costal” city, in the sense that I am always close to a body of water, I find it peaceful and homey. Visiting cities that are based around bodies of water will always be my favorite, simply for the fact that they remind me of home. Being in St. Augustine for the day felt way too short, but I appreciated every moment of my day there and I can’t wait to go back one day.

[emilykato]

June 24th, 2019 | 📍Flight from DTW (Detroit) to JFK (NYC)

This was my first ever flight, it was from the Detroit Metropolitan Airport to JFK Airport in Queens, NYC. I wasn’t terrified at all and was actually quite excited. I have and still have never been to NYC but being in the airport was a cool experience all on its own. Despite how many people may feel about airports, I like them. After the TSA part, that part is ridiculously nerve racking even though I have literally no reason at all to be nervous, but anxiety never knows when to stop.

I had managed to get a window seat to my excitement and my friends’ dismay, but I took a bunch of photos for her to make up for it. It was a relatively short flight and a good practice flight for the next one we were taking from JFK to Berlin’s BER Airport, which was a long flight that never seemed to end. While sitting in my window seat on the flight to JFK my eyes never left the window, for so long there was so much to see. The most exciting part was seeing NYC from the sky for me, and this is one of the amazing shots I was able to get as we circled for landing.

[emilykato]

July 5th, 2018 |📍Summerfest, Milwaukee, WI

The Summer of 2018 was a busy one for me, I did a lot if travelling. Every summer I also like to attend a concert and 2018 was no exception. Summerfest is the biggest music festival in the United States, it takes place on the Lake Michigan waterfront in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The festival spans 11 days and is a giant outdoor space with multiple stages, street vendors, and an amphitheater.

I personally went to Summerfest to see one of my favorite artists at the time in the amphitheater of the festival and stayed to see another one of my favorite artists play on one of the larger side stages.

This photo was taken in the amphitheater on the outside lawn part while I was walking towards the section to where I could walk down some stairs to get to my seats. Initially I did not realize that Summerfest was so close to Lake Michigan, and I was thrilled when we reached the landing to where we could see the water. The view was absolutely breathtaking, and I wish the amphitheater had the crowd facing the water, but with how the Summerfest park is set up, it couldn’t be done that way sadly. Regardless, this was one of the most fun nights of my life, and I can’t wait to go to concerts again.

[emilykato]

October 19th, 2019 |📍 Headlands International Dark Sky Park, Mackinaw City, MI

This photo was taken at Headlands International Dark Sky Park in Mackinaw City, MI. I was here for my cousin’s wedding. The ceremony was held in the afternoon, and in the time between the ceremony and the reception, I was able to take lots of photos as the sun sunk into the horizon line. I wasn’t able to get any photos of the sky after the sun had set. This photo was taken as the sun slinked below the horizon and began to be covered up by clouds. I had noticed that it was going to be dark soon, so I panicked and pulled out my phone to snap some photos before it was too late. I didn’t really look at the photos I took until the next day in my hotel room and it sunk in how effortlessly beautiful the photos came out.

Right now, with COVID-19, my job, and school, I am unable to go back to the dark sky park, but I know that one day I will be back to visit. I took an astronomy class spring semester 2020, so I am more prepared than I ever to go stargaze in the deep dark. I will definitely go before sunset so I can get more photos much like this one.

[emilykato]

July 6th, 2018 |📍 Lake Michigan, Manistique, MI

[click photo for full resolution if on mobile]

This photo was taken on Lake Michigan just outside of Manistique, Michigan, which is the upper peninsula. I was driving through Manistique to head to Wisconsin for the weekend as my mother and I were heading to my cousins’ graduation party. When driving through the upper peninsula, the majority of the state highways are quite scenic and often have places where you can drive off the main road to get to beaches, historical landmarks, and even lighthouses.

I used to travel through the upper peninsula all the time when I was little as my parents loved to go there for vacations. My father loves lighthouses, and we would always try to visit as many as possible on our trips. In between lighthouse stops we would occasionally stop to relax and stretch out for a bit on the small public beaches we would see. Even though at the time of taking this particular photo I was about 10 years older than I was on those vacations, it still felt special to take the time to pull off the main road and explore the beach for a little bit. I have always felt very attracted to water and beaches so whenever I end up at one I always make sure to take plenty of pictures and videos.

[emilykato]

June 25th, 2019 |📍Berlin, Germany

I took this photo on my first day in Europe. We had landed in Berlin around 10 am local time and the second I walked off the plane the summer humid heat hit me like a wall. I remember not sleeping well on the plane due to excitement and also being 5’9” and crammed into an economy seat. At least I had a window seat to make up for the cramped knees.

My first day in Berlin was amazing, it was nice to stretch out my legs and take in the amazing cityscape. This photo was taken in the late afternoon while exploring. These particular buildings were the center of young life in Berlin before WWII and housed quite a few young Jewish people. When renovating these buildings lots of WWII era personal items such as books, journals, and clothing were found.

These apartments have since been modernized, but they still have the same structure to them that they had over 80 years ago. These apartments are still mostly rented out by the younger people of Berlin, keeping the essence of the place very much the same. I loved the energy in the small square where I was standing look up at the buildings, the square had a small café with a brick street and warm summer breeze energy, I felt like I was in Italy, not Germany.

[emilykato]

March 4th, 2020 |📍 St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, St. Augustine, FL

Before I got a chance to explore St. Augustine as a city, I visited the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park. Alligators are one of my favorite animals, so just the thought of seeing some up close and personal was extremely exciting for me. The zoological park does not just home alligators, but also other animals such as monkeys, lemurs, cranes, parrots, swans, ducks, snakes, fish, and other tropical birds. The park functions not only as a way to see these animals in person, but also as an educational tool and a conservation foundation for animals worldwide.

The photo attached to this post is the closest I was able to get to one of the alligators. There is a glass wall separating myself and the alligator, and it was so hard to see the animal due to its natural camouflage. The alligator in this photo is one of the largest at the park in both length and weight. I don’t remember the alligator’s exact measurements, but it definitely looks more massive in person than it does in this photo. Many people miss the alligator at first due to how well camouflaged it is, which I think adds to the shot.

[emilykato]

July 5th, 2019 | 📍Bavarian Alps, Berchtesgaden, Germany

[click photo for full resolution if on mobile]

The summer of 2019 I had the amazing opportunity to go to Europe. This photo was taken up by the Eagles Nest, nestled in the Bavarian Alps that ripple through southern Germany and Austria. The trip I had taken to Europe was an educational trip focused on WWII and the Holocaust. Despite the topic of the trip being dark and serious, we did have time to break away from the seriousness and explore the cities we were visiting on our own. When we were up at the Eagles Nest, we had about an hour and a half to explore the mountains and the museum that the Eagles Nest was turned into.

I have always been a sucker for an amazing view, and the Bavarian Alps truly delivered. Due to it being July, the weather was hot and humid which created an eerie misty haze that surrounded the mountains and made the photos I took much more interesting. This day was the last day of the trip so the pictures I took this day meant a lot more to me as it meant it was my last day to soak up the wonderful views and atmosphere that Europe in general gave me. I learned a lot on this trip, cried a lot, and feel a lot more enriched as a person due to this trip. I will always be grateful for this trip and will cherish the photos I was able to take.

[emilykato]

March 4th, 2020 |📍 St. Augustine, FL

I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Florida and Georgia before the world shut down due to the pandemic. By far my favorite place I visited was St. Augustine as I had spent most of the day there and had a chance to take in the scenery and enjoy the historical parts of the city. I distinctly remember walking down this brick main street and looking at the palms swaying in the warm early spring breeze and feeling inspired to take some photos. When I had visited Eastern Europe in the summer of 2019, I made sure to take many photos of the beautiful and intricate architecture, so I had gotten used to taking interesting angles of buildings. That experience applied here with this photo. I am not entirely sure what this building is (residential or a business), but I remember being charmed by the exterior and thinking that this photo would be a great shot. The green shutters, red woodwork, and off-white concrete exterior paired with the hazy blue-grey sky and the greenery of the palms and the flower boxes on the front of the building create a magical feeling for me, and hopefully you as well.