Meet Kaira | Photographer/Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kaira and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kaira, why did you pursue a creative career?

I always loved photography, and I was surrounded by creativity growing up. I had my first camera (an SLR) at seven. My dad additionally loved photography and videography. He even had a home camera in the 60s! My mother also took photos on our vacations, but her passion is painting.

In high school, I was developing B&W photos in my parents darkroom. I remember once I spent 10–12 hours there trying to get some photos “right”! I was asked to be the newspaper Photographer, and many of my photos also ended up in the yearbook; but my personal subjects always remained artistic.

I love the abstract: architectural details, light bouncing off something in such a way, even a close-up of my dogs nose once! We also got into slides, and on vacation, I would take hundreds of them. Still when traveling, I’m always tailing behind the others, trying to grab those shots!

My high school arts professor told me I really had a talent and that encouraged me. In college, I studied archaeology, but quickly discovered it wasn’t going to be like Indiana Jones (seriously!).  So, I did some soul searching and decided I wanted to be a professional photographer. If I had known that there were colleges where you could get a liberal arts education (as my parents kept telling me) and actually study the “arts,” I would’ve pushed for that. But my dad told me to major in “computers or business,” so I pursued computer science. I was crushed, and it wasn’t long before I became severely depressed.

I didn’t get into flowers until the 1990s when I had a home, and built up my garden. It was then that I got my first digital camera: a Canon – and it took pictures really well! I delighted IN taking photos of the flowers I had planted and loved taking macro shots of bees landing on my clematis.

Doing my working years, my focus was on work (yep – software/internet), but I still took a ton of photos on my vacations. I’d see a lot of things I wanted to take along my car travels too, and knew I should keep a camera in my car, but I didn’t. My time was devoted to other distractions. I’m very proud of many of my vacation photos, but haven’t had time to edit or post them yet because they’re stored on my computer drives, and I work on my iPad or iPhone now due to my upper body disabilities (in 2015, I became permanently disabled, my right arm being the worst).

When my dad passed in March 2021, in my grief, I rediscovered my love for photography full-time. I think I had to find something beautiful in the world while I suffered the loss of someone I loved dearly. I found solace in it. When I’m shooting, I am truly loving my subject and its beauty. It gives me joy.

I have even felt my dad with me at times when I take or edit my photos, and I know he’s happy that I am finally pursuing my passion.

I also felt I needed to get my grief out on canvas and have started painting. Another creative outlet for me in the past several years has been acting. Overall, I see myself as an artist, but my first love will always be photography.

I only started my Instagram page in September, and there are soooo many photos I want to post, but I have also been juggling helping my 83 year old mother navigate her way as a widow, and managing the healthcare of my sister who has multiple sclerosis.

For a long time, I’ve dreamt about publishing a book of my photos called, “I find beauty everywhere.” In the meantime, I enjoy sharing my photos with others however I can. If I can also bring a little beauty and joy to their lives, that also brings a smile to my face.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I’m really excited about what I call my “floating” series. Most of the subjects are flowers, but I also include shells, other items, and even recently, a gorgeous, iridescent “scarab” beetle!

My challenges are both setting aside time to edit my photos and my physical disabilities. Although I do very little editing, which will surprise most people, there’s only so much editing I can do on a mobile device. I can use my arms and hands, even my right arm, but the more I do, the more pain I’m in, and computers cause too much pain for me to be on them more than a few minutes. I am eternally grateful to Apple for creating “Voice Control,” which allows me too navigate my iOS devices purely with my voice (e.g., “tap send”).

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The beach. Being near water makes me feel whole, and who doesn’t love the beach! That’s why I had to live near it again. I would especially bring them to Del Mar dog Beach, so my pup could also enjoy feeling the sand between her toes.

Taking visitors to Cabrillo national Monument is a must; what a spectacular view! Ocean beach is fun. I have great memories of playing the arcade games at Belmont Park and going on one of the few wooden roller coasters in the world (another is in Santa Cruz where I also lived). They are better than the new ones in my opinion.

If the horses are racing, I would take them to the Del Mar race track. I have a knack for picking out the winners haha, and the thrill the audience is catching. The restaurants are great in the Gaslamp Quarter of course, and riding the trolley feels like a novelty, but I also always enjoy Old Town and ITS great Mexican food.

You know I’ve never been to that mural of “San Diego” so I definitely need to take one of my visitors there so I can have a photo as well!

I also have fond memories of camping off-road in Anzo Borrego and stopping IN Julien on the way back for apple pie. The stars are amazing at night and once I ran across a wild horse 500 feet away. A lot of people don’t appreciate the desert. but it has its own beauty if you look for it.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I thank both of my parents for introducing me to photography, and especially my mother to the arts in general. I clearly inherited my dad’s passion for photography, and very grateful for my mother’s tremendous encouragement in me pursuing it. I’m also grateful to my high school teacher, Mr. Vilaubi, for helping me recognize that I had a talent for it. I think kids need mentors outside of their homes to fully recognize their value.

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