Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathryn Zdan.
Hi Kathryn, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started the “OBRA: The Art of Work” project in 2017 and it was equally inspired by the Humans of New York Instagram account and the book “Working” by Studs Terkel. While reading “Working,” I loved the first-hand accounts of what people did for work, and I thought it would be an interesting long-term project to follow the same format, but focus on women and add a photography element. I started contacting acquaintances and cold-contacting people in industries I was interesting in hearing about and it has continued from there! I try to post one story a month, and there are now almost 70 stories published on obrastories.com.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The first struggle was getting the process as streamlined as possible. The first interview I did was four hours long – it was so much fun but because I transcribe the interviews myself, that was a nightmare to transcribe! So I’ve learned to tell people to expect to talk with me for about an hour; sometimes the interview lasts longer than that, but an hour to an hour and a half usually provides a lot of great info. I also don’t get a response back from everyone I reach out to, which I completely understand, but it took some getting used to. Also, in the very beginning of the project, I was shooting film, but now that I’m using a digital camera, I can shoot in almost any lighting condition and not worry about the results.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
One thing that I’ve gained personally from the project is the ability to walk into any interview and setting and walk away with great content. It was very stressful in the beginning not knowing what kind of setting I’d be shooting in or whether we’d be in a super loud cafe that would affect the recording. Now, I have been in so many unique and varied settings, that I feel like I can capture the subject’s image no matter what. Also, I do all the work for each post myself: image editing, transcribing and content editing, and posting everything to the site, plus any social media posts.
What matters most to you?
It’s very important to me that the person I’m interviewing is happy with the final piece. This is their story, and I want to make sure that even though I’m using their own words as told to me, that the final edited version and images is an accurate representation of what they shared with me. It’s going to (hopefully) live online forever, so I want each story to be as true to the subject as it can be.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.obrastories.com
- Instagram: @kathrynzdan
Image Credits
Kathryn Zdan
