I am a part of the KAGE Collective. Whoa.
I’ve been aware of Kage for a long time, as Flemming has been a member for yonks. The Kage guys are all respected professionals in their fields, and I follow most of the others on various online channels. As an X-series user, I’m interested in what they do with these cameras we have in common. As a photographer, I’m intrigued by how each presents his view of the world, and how it evolves over time.
So when I was asked to be a part of Kage, I lost my eyebrows somewhere on the ceiling. In a previous post, I wrote about finding community, and opportunities to grow in my craft, in the digital world. I wasn’t expecting my words to manifest in this spectacular fashion, a day after writing them.
It’s an honour to be a part of the Kage Collective. It’s also an honour to be the one that disbands the boys’ club ;)
Flemming, his sister Vibeke and I celebrated with kage – “cake” in Danish.
charlene winfred 
Congratulations! But what’s it for? I’ve never quite understood that.
Hi Ian, In the fine tradition of In the fine tradition of photography collectives, Kage is a community of like minded photographers focused on visual storytelling. Our common goal is to explore and revisit the boundaries of visual expression. We help each other grow photographically.
I’ve never been a part of something like this before, so I’m pretty damn excited.
You see, that’s what confuses me. In general you’re a top writer but that was just jargon. We’re all “focused on visual storytelling” and “revisiting the boundaries of visual expression”.
I’m not trying to be rude, I’m a big fan of your photography and writing. But you haven’t actually said anything here. So really, what is it for?
And if you’re excited, I’m probably missing something and I’m happy for you.
Hi Ian,
My name’s Patrick and I’m also part of KAGE so I thought I’d chime in. I’m not sure what ANYTHING is for in the grand scheme of things but first and foremost this is for us. Beyond the public face it’s about a very tight knit group of photographers evaluating each other’s work, bouncing ideas off of each other and pushing forwards day in, day out. It may seem quaint but having a close support system where everyone respects the other’s work is pretty amazing. I know I’ve grown through the experience, in terms of how I view my own work but also photography in general. Now publicly, it’s about stories. Is this a revolution? Of course not. It is what it is and we’re certainly not the first and/or the only ones doing it but we’re photographers and we work within narratives—that’s it. And we try to do it well, without forcing any specific agenda.
I believe Charlene is excited to join us for the same reason we are to have her: we’ve just become stronger. We have someone new and talented to share and build with. There are projects ahead, things we wish to do as a collective rather than as a collection of individuals (there’s a difference) and we’re stoked to be doing it together. This isn’t jargon Ian—it’s the absolute truth.
Hope this helps in sharing the joy :)
Doing projects together – that makes sense. There are plenty of precedents for that, from the “A day in the life …” books to 6 Magnum photographers shooting the production of “The Misfits”. Anyway, best of luck to you all and yes, you’ll certainly be stronger with Charlene.
Congratulations, I like that idea of photography quite a lot!
Thank you!