Unraveled Expert Artist Interview | Meg Koning, Unraveled

September 23, 2020 Sarah Driscoll

Congratulations to Meg Koning for becoming one of our newest Unraveled Expert Artists!! We are beyond thrilled to have you on our team and in our community. To learn more about becoming a UEA, please visit here.

Meg was born and raised just a stone's throw from where she lives today with her husband, four kids, and badly behaving pup. The Denver-metro area of Colorado may be her home but she breaks out of the paved sidewalks and the lined up recycling can life to partake in what this amazing state has to offer. There is nothing that gets her blood pumping more than a secluded mountain area, the right sunset, and a family ready to love on each other.

Other things that really make her happy are s'mores with the family in the backyard, hot coffee and the perfect amount of too-much creamer, the way it drives her husband nuts when she wears overalls, and everything-Christmas. She has been described as an Olaf among Elsa's, and likes to invite people to do things. Any thing really, just as long as they're all together. If anyone asks she's the best enneagram number; a seven (you saw that coming, right?).

Maybe one of the few things she takes very seriously in life is her work in photography. Her work is an ongoing goal for her to continue to grow in her art and in the art of capturing the togetherness. For her to visually validate the moments that are so often felt but not capture; the dinner table every night, or in the school drop-off, or the way a partner looks at the other over coffee on Sunday mornings.

Creating portraits that rely heavily on environmental surroundings and vulnerable moments, Meg aims to capture the visual poetry of the subject she is photographing. The ethereal, often timeless themes of her work support broader connections to the viewer. She creates an undeniable relationship between subject, setting, and light that constructs visually striking photographs.

For more inspiration from Meg:

Website | Instagram | Facebook

Here is Meg, Unraveled…

What inspires your art?

I am inspired. Period. Sometimes it's a location, or a family's story, the light hitting the face just so, or just the way a child's hand falls on her mother's face. I've always been a huge fan of trying to "illustrate" with my photography a favorite poem or song, or just a feeling I get when listening to something in particular.
I also gravitate towards the unique relationship between partners in a family setting. With four kids ourselves, my husband and I work hard not to be left in the background of our family's story. When photographing a family I really love to draw out the "foundational" narrative of the parents who work hard to steer the ship of their own family. I think capturing that love story is important not just for them to look back on, but for the children to have one day when they are grown and looking back on photos of their parents.

What do you shoot with? Camera body and favorite lens?

I shoot with my Canons, Mark IV and Mark III
I love my Canon 50mm 1.2L
I also really love my 35mm 2.0
On occasion I break out a different lens but these two are my workhorses

What other ways do you express your creativity?

I am working on a personal project right now about couples and relationships, and I do hope to combine my love of writing and these photographs of couples into something one day. I don't know what yet that will be but I am willing to let it evolve slowly and take its time.

How do you de-stress at the end of the day?

A cold Blue Moon, some 60s soul music, and journaling. Journaling my thoughts has really been a game-changer lately and I have really dug into the "meat" of my thoughts this way. It's helped my dreams and deepest secrets feel acknowledged, and I have grown so much in the revelations found in my string of words.

What kind of music do you listen to while editing?

Eclectic shit. Haim, this one song "Green Lights" by Sarah Jarosz on repeat, Amanda Opelt, Josh Garrels, Neil Young, everything from The Highwomen, I'm With Her, slow jazz, Bob Marley, and lots of songs I like in random commercials.

What is your favorite book?

The Alchemist and The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton.

Name one movie that inspires you.

Not a movie but Handmaid's Tale gives me goosebumps every single episode.

What has been the most difficult part of your creative journey?

I think it's been, hands down, juggling my personal life with my creative one. There is no balance; I am always, always careening too far into one and neglecting the other. I don't have any belief in someone having the quick answer for this either; I know this is just life, especially a mother's life. To accept the off balance day-to-day is part of also accepting grace in yourself and others. To not lay the heavy burden of "perfection" on myself is really the only thing that keeps me sane; knowing there are days that will be about creative work and days with my family and the stars will never truly align to accommodate both equally is not only relieving but also normalizing what I believe every creative goes through at some point.

Who is one of your favorite photographers?

Right now its Lisa Sorgini.

How do you handle selfdoubt or creative slumps?

I don't. I usually have my super-cute phase of crying or moaning or contemplating hanging it all up. Most likely all three. I think it's pretty shitty that as creatives it's almost a sure thing that we go through this rite of passage in self-doubt. We muddle through these crazy ditches where we really doubt everything we've done and are working on. I think the goal is to accept these happen to everyone, jump the comparison ship, and keep picking up the camera. There's a narrative out there that each of us are telling, uniquely our own; it's fathomless and only we can tell it. If we hang up our camera then we give up that story it may never be told. I think that's our desire here as creatives; to pursue the story, to visually equip the saga of a life.

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