Kelsey Garcia Visits Section 36 Forevers

Section 36 Pageants has its first visitor! Kelsey Garcia, of K.

Garcia Productions, is a talented photographer whose work I have admired for some time. (I have especially enjoyed her photo sessions with visitors to Section 36.) We had been trying to figure out a way to include her work on the blog and elsewhere in the Section 36 Pageants experience. So, when she came up with the interview suggestion, I was thrilled to jump on the idea. Hopefully you’ll enjoy this as much as I did.

So, let’s see what happens when Kelsey Garcia visits Section 36!

When did you realize that photography was something that you loved?

I have had a passion for video production for as long as I can remember; but I knew videography and photography was something I wanted to do as a career when I was in high school, because of my TV and Yearbook instructor, Kevin Reilly.  

How did you decide to turn that passion into K. Garcia Productions?

I always knew I'd be an entrepreneur, and because I love photography and videography I thought that would be a great direction to go. So one day I was sitting in my room and was on the phone with my friend Courtney, and when I said I wanted to start the company she asked why I didn't just do it, instead of talking about it. 

What would you describe as your photography style?

I love to try many different styles, I love fashion shoots, in studio and all over Massachusetts and Rhode Island; I also love product photos, especially photos of food! I'm also a really big fan of a photo-journalistic style and want to try that soon! 

You been able to do photo shoots with several Section 36 visitors, including Nicolette, Meg, and Lyndsey. What do you like about working with titleholders?

Nicolette Peloquin
by K. Garcia Productions

First of all, they're all fabulous ladies! I love their input with the shoots, they are all familiar with being in front of a camera so they have some ideas of their own, but they also are great with just going with the flow. Some of my favorite shoots are with them too. I have one photoshoot with Nicolette in the water and it's just so fabulous, and she was just willing to jump right in the water! Another favorite was of Lyndsey with a set of angel wings I designed and created for a book of my photography called "SouthCoast Style." 

You’re also involved in commercial photography. What sorts of things do you enjoy doing in that area?

I studied marketing at UMass Dartmouth, so commercial photography is something I'm very passionate about. I like capturing a brand with my lens. I also have the opportunity to meet so many entrepreneurs; and learn about how they got started. But my favorite thing about it is helping their marketing and helping these businesses grow. 

You mentioned your recently published book promoting products from the South Coast area of Massachusetts, which was a great idea. What should I know about “SouthCoast Style”?

SouthCoast Style was a side project for me, I love fashion 

Lyndsey Littlefield
By K. Garcia Productions

photography but never get to do it very often, so I did a little something about that. I'm from Fall River, Massachusetts, and it has a rich history in the textile industry; but it's not just a history. So many products are still manufactured in the South Coast, so I wanted to put something together to promote products not only made in Massachusetts but in my community. What I really like about SouthCoast Style is the possibility of it doing great things and getting others involved in getting products made in America. One big issue with manufacturing here is that there isn't enough workers, and we now know it's an issue we can do something about it! 

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That definitely sounds like a wonderful project!

As always, I want to give huge thanks to Kelsey for doing this interview. I’m glad we were able to work together to add an interview to this blog. I also want to thank her for providing the pictures to accompany the interview. As expected, they were wonderful pictures that show off her incredible talent. And stay tuned, because she sent in even more pictures than the ones on this post. They’ll be showing up periodically in other places on the blog, as well as on Section 36 Pageant social media (Facebook and Instagram).

And, speaking of finding her work other places, I encourage you follow all of the K. Garcia Productions social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) as well as check out the official website. If you’re looking for a photographer for just about any reason, that would be the perfect place to start. I also cannot recommend too strongly that you track down a copy of her book SouthCoast Style. It’s a fun example of her work, and a way to help the local community. (See how many of the models you can recognize from seeing them on Section 36.)

And, if you talk to her don’t forget to tell her you saw her on Section 36 Pageants!

Thanks again Kelsey!

Starting Out The Runway!

 I know I’ve said this before. But, I really really didn’t see this happening. Section 36 started off as a Red Sox fan blog, and that’s still exactly what it is. Being involved in any way with the Miss America Organization was never something that was on my radar. But, I’m certainly glad it happened. It started with the realization that some of these incredible women were Red Sox fans. Or, they represented regions deep within Red Sox Nation. Either way, it occurred to me that they could add some welcome variety to the blog. So one thing led to another, and the first visitor, Miss Massachusetts ’14 Lauren Kuhn, arrived. Her interview was so much fun to do, and an incredibly popular post.

That led to more visitors, and more fun. It has all worked out better than I could have ever imagined. It got so huge, that they needed their own page on Section 36 to properly display them. But, then I came to another realization. Not everyone who might be interested in these women is a Red Sox fan. After all, if you’re a fan of Miss Washington, chances are you’re a Mariners fan…like Kailee herself was. If you’re following Amanda Debus, you might be a Pirates fan. So, I realized that hiding these interviews in a Red Sox blog might be doing a disservice. Not everyone who would want to hear what they had to say could easily access them. When it was just one or two visitors, it wasn’t such a big deal. Their fans would just have to deal. But, now that the numbers of visitors crossed over twenty, with no signs of slowing down, I realized something needed to be done.

Enter Section 36 Pageants.

I had already dipped my toe into the waters by creating an exclusive S36Pageants twitter account. The idea was that it would be something for people who weren’t Red Sox fans to follow, and only get updates on the pageant visitors. This really expands on that, and gives my pageant visitors their own little Section of the web. (See what I did there?)

So, at the moment I’m not sure if this blog will have original content, or not. The working plan is to make it “Section 36” with everything but the content related to my pageant visitors edited out. All of the interviews will be organized for their fans to find easily. The sidebars will be filled with visitor and pageant related information. As we move forward, I may find some content related to my pageant visitors, but having nothing to do with the Red Sox. That may find a home here. But, we’ll see how that goes.

For now, I present Section 36 Pageants. I hope you’ll find it a fun section where we can celebrate the amazing women who have agreed to visit Section 36.

Here’s to them!