Hi I'm Tamara Lackey on this episode of reDefine show for AdoramaTV
I speak with travel photographer and lead host of Creative Live Kenna
Klosterman about how her role on that high profile platform has evolved from
host to guiding creatives and she shares her extraordinary passion for shooting
and leading tours throughout Cuba
check it out!
(Tamara) Hi Kenna (Kenna) hi Tamara
(Tamara) How are you? (Kenna) I am great.
(Tamara) This time I'm asking you the questions. (Kenna) I know normally I'm on the on the other side
I know so Kenna and I first met at Creative Live you are the lead host at Creative Live.
(Kenna) That's right (Tamara) and the first time we met was 2010
(Kenna) so long ago
(Tamara) which was crazy so the first program I gave there before I went on to
do nine of them (Kenna) crazy
(Tamara) but you have done how many would you say you've done?
(Kenna) I can't... (Tamara) what is your guess?
(Kenna) my guess yeah I guess I think we have over a thousand classes in the catalog
(Kenna) I've probably done half of them ok yeah (Tamara) so I've taught nine classes and she has
completely managed and oversaw and moved it all along and hosted, and asked questions for 500
(Kenna) while we'ee live (Tamara) what's that?
(Kenna) I said, while we're live. (Tamara) while we're live.
(Tamara) that's crazy that's a lot (Kenna) it's a lot of fun
(Tamara) and how do you like it? (Kenna) I love it, it's the best job in the world.
(Tamara) Yeah (Kenna) I wake up every day
and I think to myself like, how how did I get here, been involved with Creative Live for
six years which again you were there at the very beginning
(Tamara) right (Kenna) but I get to connect with millions of people all
over the world every single country and who are all there for the same purpose
of learning and transforming themselves
(Kenna) it's like the best thing ever (Tamara) and people having very emotional
(Tamara) breakthroughs often (Kenna) all the time
(Tamara) wheather they're either teaching or learning all the time yeah
(Kenna) all the time
and it's a transformative experience for the educators as well and I get to be
part of that I consider my job to actually be sort of the guide
(Tamara) yes (Kenna) a guide for the educator
(Tamara)yeah (Kenna) the guide for the audience all over the world,
and the guide for the people who are in the studio audience, the guide
for the content you know working with the whole team and just kind of bringing it
(Kenna) all together and live (Tamara) and live, constantly live
(Kenna) which means you're just there and present
(Tamara) and you are going because having been with you through so many of
these you are on all the time, not just here, but you're getting lines
and your quickly memorizing, then jumping up and saying them and
(Kenna) or just making them up again along the way
what but again but it's for other people they might look at that job is like oh
my gosh it's so much stress but you obviously thrive in it
yeah you know I think part of that is because I just I was part of creating
(Kenna) the role but it didn't exist (Tamara) right
(Kenna) it's not like I can look out there and be
like oh yeah there's all these other roles that are similar
(Tamara) right (Kenna) because it is such a unique thing
and so part of it is it so ingrained in
what I do, that it's just it's what I do
(Tamara) yeah (Kenna) it's exciting it's a challenge every single time
(Tamara) yeah (Kenna) every single time we are creating something
(Kenna) as a team (Tamara) Right
(Kenna) and so I think I do thrive in that sort of, it's almost like a puzzle in a game
(Tamara) Yeah (Kenna) each time, because you don't know what's
(Kenna) going to happen (Tamara) yeah it's interesting that you
say guide because I remember, I don't know if I even told you this, but I think it is
the last time I was on? Or no it was like two times ago and it was just when we were
about to announce our beautiful together project (Kenna) yes
(Tamara) for the bathroom renovation (Kenna) yes
so we had ah, we were unveiling a project
for our nonprofit 'Beautiful together' and we wanted to raise funds to renovate a
bathroom in an orphanage and I remember talking to you about how I was a little, kind of
nervous about launching it and I was nervous about asking for people to help
support this project for other people and I remember you saying in very much a
guide like caption saying a lot of people care and they want to help and if
you can show them how they can help and set it up for them
you know that's that's a way that they can contribute make a difference and it
reframed it for me from feeling like I was asking people to care about
something that mattered over here
(Kenna) yeah (Tamara) to right, people do want to help people are
(Tamara) good they do care (Kenna) and you're actually giving them an opportunity
(Tamara) yeah (Kenna) to give, because not everybody knows but
(Kenna) through you and having that connection through you
(Tamara) right (Kenna) then it actually means something to them
or you know something
like that and that's that's actually what I love as well is just connecting
(Tamara) right (Kenna) connecting the dots of all these
(Kenna) people and subjects and everything that
(Tamara) and that is why guide is perfect because that's what that is
you're kind of looking at all the pieces and, and moving around helping and I want
to thank you for that because I really clicked something for me that helped
(Kenna) well you're welcome I didn't even know (Tamara) yep and that same day
by the end of that segment the entire project was funded which was a shocker
(Tamara) we were both like (Kenna) it was incredible
I was a little more in shock than you were. You were like see!
So outside of Creative Live, you also teach photo workshops right?
Photo tours
I do I take people on photo tours primarily now is Cuba is the destination
(Tamara) yes (Kenna) and so I've been doing that for a
(Kenna) couple years now and I love it. I realized I wasn't sure I'd never been on
(Kenna) a group tour before (Tamara) Right
(Kenna) I did my, led my first one, (Tamara) Yeah
(Kenna) I co-led (Tamara) Yeah, yeah, yeah
(Kenna) I didn't know if i would enjoy it (Tamara) you co-lead with John Gringo
(Kenna) who is also a creative live instructor (Tamara) Yeah
(Kenna) and I felt like it was the same thing as actually what I do on Creative Live
(Tamara) mm-hmm (Kenna) I'm guide
(Tamara) yeah (Kenna) and so I'm making sure everybody's okay
I'm you know want everybody to have the best experience possible
I'm really sort of holding the space for people to enjoy this experience
(Tamara) yeah (Kenna) and I absolutely love it
(Tamara) so you have a lot of intention around what you're doing
(Kenna) well I didn't know that at the time
(Kenna) yeah but then the dots, then they clicked
(Tamara) why Cuba, why do you love Cuba so much?
(Kenna) you know I don't know it's unlike any other place that I've traveled.
I've traveled to probably 44 countries and over the years and it's that combination
of the, everything that's changing right now but the culture the people their
ability to innovate with having very little but unlike certain places and you
know it's a country that is 99% literacy rate and yet
like after Syria and North Korea the least access to the Internet in the world.
yeah and that's changing right now dramatically they have Wi-Fi hotspots
where people can go and video call their relatives in Germany or wherever
(Kenna) in the world and that's in like the past 3 months (Tamara) that is extraordinary
but the culture is just so rich with arts with all the things that they value
(Tamara) yeah (Kenna) is just an end it's just beautiful place to
(Kenna) photograph as well (Tamara) hm-mmm
(Kenna) it is a photographer's sort of candy store
(Tamara) yeah you've beautiful photos from there (Kenna) thank you, thank you
(Kenna) and I just I just love it (Tamara) that's wonderful
Thank you so much Kenna, check us out here next time on AdoramaTV
while we dig into part two of my conversation with kenna where she actually
gives us a great shortcut saying what her biggest
takeaways are from over 500 shows she's been a part of on Creative Live.
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