Kaye has followed an eclectic career path from her rural Tennessee roots, to the bright lights of television and theater in New York and Los Angeles. Creativity runs in her veins. “I knew from the time I was five that I would be an artist of some kind,” says Kaye. “My mother was always profoundly creative and that rubbed off on me.”
Kaye began a serious pursuit of photography in 1990 with the birth of her son Walker, her muse, which accelerated two years later when she began a collaborative friendship with the noted New York fashion photographer James (Jimmy) Moore. Considered one of the most accomplished photographers in the U.S., Jimmy mentored Kaye in the development of her photographic eye and emphasis on black and white fine art portraiture and taught her darkroom. He championed her thematically linked project that became her extensive folio entitled “Old Friends,” which has seen Kaye crisscross the country photographing nearly 100 people who have been most influential in her life.
Kaye has shot portraits and parties for a variety of clients, and her photos have also appeared in national magazines. Most of her time behind the camera today is for “Late Bloomer,” but she still enjoys shooting with her classic cameras, especially a 1953 Rolleiflex, a favorite of Jimmy’s as well as former Life photographer Jack Birns, who took Kaye under his wing from 2003 till his death in 2008. Most of the photographs shown on this site were taken with a Rolleiflex.