Coffee Depot Says Goodbye to Featured Photographer

will say goodbye to former employee and local photographer Kayla Hood on Saturday in a closing and goodbye party. Seventeen of Hood's best photographs have been featured in the coffee shop since Jan. 3.

"I wasn't able to have an opening, so we are having a closing goodbye party," Hood said.

Hood, 23, of Providence has been doing photography for the past eight years.

A Rhode Island College graduate with a bachelor's degree in photography, Hood has big dreams for mastering the art of photography. In July of 2010, Hood participated in a test run for a one-day course in New York given by photographer John Dugdale. Hood said the course was unique and special to her because Dugdale, a photography icon, taught her how to do ambrotype photography (a type of photography used in the 1800s that records an image on a piece of glass). 

The photograph she produced during the course depicting a butterfly in a fish bowl on a window sill is featured at Coffee Depot. 

"That's my favorite picture," she said. "For sentimental reasons."

Hood's exhibit includes her ambrotype photograph, darkroom prints of trees and nature, and panoramic views shown by compiling numerous polaroid shots.

Hood's resolution for 2011 is to find some new scenery to work on her skills. After bouncing around from the West Coast to the East Coast, Hood's newest journey will take her down south. She's heading to Dallas, TX, with her boyfriend. But what does she expect to find?

"I guess I expect to see a lot of open spaces," she said. 

Hood's photographs will be on sale and on display at Coffee Depot until Jan. 28. The closing and goodbye reception will be open to the public for wine and hors d'oeuvres  from 5 to 7 p.m., on Saturday, Jan. 22.

Correction: The spelling of Kayla Hood's name has been changed in this article.