Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Kat Hobson discovered the joy of sandy feet and sunkissed skin at a young age. Her family vacationed in Gulf Shores, on Dauphin Island, all along the Alabama Gulf Coast. It wasn't until she began to visit with her own children that she realized how special it is to be able to adjust to being on "island time" and just enjoy the days. The music of  the surf soothes her spirit and rekindles her energy and the beauty of a squadron of pelicans brushing the crest of the waves as they come out of the troughs just in time brings her joy.

She began to print her pictures at the urging of a special friend who felt that the way our beaches make her feel is translated into her work. She enjoys being able to help people feel that peace through a lasting memoir of our area. She began showing in the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach area before Hurricane Ivan came ashore in our state park. One of her favorite shots is of a palm that she called "Tenacity".  It was a lone palm, scrawny really, that had been through at least five hurricanes she knew of. Sadly, the force of Ivan was, for him as well as a LOT of our structures and habitats, too much. The funny thing is that, to a person, everyone who has ever seen that picture and was familiar with the area knows exactly where that tree was. Sometimes it is the little things that let you realize that what you consider special is often shared.

A strong aspect of IslandKat's photography is conservation. While the pictures here are offered as escapism, the BP/Mississippi Canyon oilspill has created more long-term devastation to our Gulf coast than Ivan. The animals in peril and suffering, the people who depend on tourism for their livelihoods, the shrimpers, oystermen, and deep-sea fishermen have all been catastrophically effected by the oil in our waters. Documenting the results of this situation has been a method of coping with it.

Kat enjoys supporting various charities through donations of her work. She loves to print and mat a piece that will help someone winning a silent auction remember our area and the feel of a sea breeze on their cheek. As she says, "You do what you can".

While she is fairly busy, she is always open to new projects. No job is too small. Email  or give her a call. She'll be glad to work with you.