How Kate Sterlin Turned 30 Years of Negatives Into a Poetic Love Letter to Life and Loss - Still Life
Welcome to this edition of [book spotlight]. Today, we uncover the layers of 'Still Life,' by Kate Sterlin (published by Anthology Editions). We'd love to read your comments below about these insights and ideas behind the artist's work.
A technically perfect photograph means nothing if it doesn’t make you feel something.
Kate Sterlin’s Still Life: Photographs & Love Stories is filled with those kinds of images—raw, intimate, and full of emotion. For over 30 years, she has been photographing love, loss, and the small moments in between. This book is about the way we remember and hold onto people through images.
Not all stories need words. Some are best told in the quiet space between light and shadow.
In Still Life, Sterlin pairs photographs with personal writings, turning memory into something tangible. Looking back at decades of work, she explores how images shape the way we see our own lives. The result is a book that feels more like a collection of memories than a traditional photo project.
Some photographs fade with time, but the ones that truly matter—like the stories in Still Life—never stop speaking.
Still Life: Photographs & Love Stories
For over 30 years, photographer Kate Sterlin has explored the spaces between love, loss, family, and identity. In Still Life: Photographs & Love Stories, she weaves together intimate portraits and poetic writings, creating a deeply personal meditation on memory and human connection. What began as an archive of decades-old negatives evolved into a reflection on the way images hold onto the people and moments we can’t afford to forget. Moving between past and present, photography and text, Still Life captures the quiet beauty of relationships, the weight of absence, and the stories that live on long after the moment has passed. (Anthology Editions, Amazon)
Concept and vision: What inspired you to create Still Life: Photographs & Love Stories, and how does it reflect your journey as both a photographer and storyteller?
The vision for Still Life came in 2020 when the world shut down. I suddenly had the time to go through my archive of negatives from the past 30+ years. Looking through the past when the future felt so unknown was grounding and a way to focus inward. Then, I started writing. Initially about the people that I had loved and lost - family members and friends who had died, leading to the loves that ended in abrupt or brutal ways. It wasn’t really an intention, more like a way of recording what came to the surface. I have always tried to tell a story with a photograph (through my photographs - or - through photography) being quiet enough not to disturb it but present enough to witness. With writing, I tried to excavate the memories knowing how tarnished and clouded they can get with time like old dried fossils. My goal was to travel back and try to see the wallpaper or the nurses’ hair color or any physical components in the scene to recreate the moment as accurately as I could.
Were there any photographs or stories that surprised you or revealed something new about yourself as you revisited them after so many years?
I found it interesting how many images I overlooked and what time and nostalgia do to an image. Logging my development, as I learned to frame and decided what to print. Being self taught and a high school drop out, I’ve always felt like an outsider in the art world but wading through years of negatives helped me see how much I have built on my own.
Exploration of themes: The book touches on love, race, family, and death. How do you approach capturing such deeply personal and universal themes through your photography?
The portraits are of people that I love and share my life with and it’s been a journey navigating how and when to document. Sometimes when it didn’t feel right to take photographs, I would sit there and write instead.
Interplay of text and image: How did you balance the poetic writings with the photographs to create a cohesive narrative? Was one medium more challenging to work with than the other?
I had help. Jesse Pollock at Anthology was integral in this process and through his lens I was able to see the thread and when it veered away from the emotional tone of the project. With the stories, Mark Losifescu, the literary editor at Anthology, was instrumental helping me chisel and hone the pieces, examining what we needed more or less of. I think the writing was the challenge for me, having someone in that space with me was special and new. Initially I was afraid of it but grew to actually love it.
Intimacy in portraiture: Your work often captures vulnerable and intimate moments. What advice would you give to photographers looking to build trust with their subjects and create authentic portraits
Patience. Try to observe without using a camera. Always have it with you but start slow. Think of it as a collaboration. Invest time and love and try to share in the vulnerability of the situation. With portraits I think I should be just as nervous as the person in front of the lens. It’s a crazy weird idea to try and capture a moment that feels real when it’s set up. I think it’s about getting to a place where you both feel comfortable enough to let go.
How do you navigate the balance between honoring their vulnerability and your artistic vision when creating such personal portraits?
I think it’s about trying to record that intimacy respectfully. That is the vision. Because without it, there’s no trust.
Connection with memory and identity: You describe photography as a way of documenting life and memory. How does this practice influence your perspective on identity, especially in the context of race and family?
Photographing was such an early discovery that it became a part of how I experience life. Creating historical documents to immortalize time feels especially important right now in this dangerous political climate.
Challenges of creating the book: What were some of the most significant challenges you faced while putting together Still Life, and how did you overcome them?
I had reached out to several publishers but It was challenging to find an open door. I feel lucky to have met Jesse when I did. Working together to fully realize the vision of Still Life by carefully considering every tiny detail was a dream for me and at the same time my mother became very ill. She died just as we were finishing the book so it was strange and confusing to be celebrating this big accomplishment in a daze of utter grief.
Finding stillness in creativity: You’ve spoken about photography as a way to find stillness. How does this stillness influence your creative process, and what tips would you share with others looking to find clarity in their work?
Impatience is my biggest challenge so finding stillness is imperative in anything creative. Sometimes I like the quiet when I’m cooking just to hear my own movements in the space and feel present and in touch with what I’m creating. I started painting with oil paints recently and being able to move the paint on the canvas day after day while it slowly cures is magical and makes me appreciate time. With writing, I throw a lump of clay on the page and revisit it over and over chipping away at the words until it reveals it’s shape. I have several stories going at the same time in different stages of development but I find that leaving and coming back is sometimes more helpful than trying to grind it out. How ever you can construct a practice that helps change your perspective and slow down a bit throughout the process will help with clarity.
How does this idea of stillness influence the way you approach storytelling, both visually and through writing?
For me, I need to quiet my mind to find the thread to a story or memory. Sometimes it’s a practice and sometimes it’s about doing something physical to get out of my head and allow it to reset. As an over thinker, finding ways to be still and quiet are imperative for me to be productive.
The role of vulnerability in art: Your images and writings are deeply personal. How do you navigate the vulnerability of sharing such raw moments with a wider audience?
I think I’m learning how to do that all the time.
Advice for emerging artists: What lessons from your career and the creation of Still Life would you share with aspiring photographers who wish to explore deeply personal themes in their work?
Question your intentions every step of the way and then question them again. I think the line of exploitation is always there with photographing and storytelling. Be patient and kind to yourself and find solace in the long game of developing personal projects.
To discover more about this intriguing body of work and how you can acquire your own copy, you can find and purchase the book here.
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