Kathy Yates began her photography career after moving to New York City in 1979 and seeing an exhibition of the black and white street photographs of Joel Meyerowitz in 1980.  She was inspired by this style of photography and decided to become a street photographer because she had a similar way of visually connecting to the world and an endless curiosity about people and the world at large.  At that time, she had a career in management with Eastern Airlines, but both the airline and the industry were experiencing challenging times which resulted in a loss of opportunities for advancement and she was ready for a change. 

She began studying in the evenings at the School of Visual Arts in 1980, and later studied at The New School and The International Center of Photography to acquire a foundation in photography and darkroom printing.  With a passion for photography and an avid traveler, she resigned from her job in 1982 and went on hiatus for four years, hitting the streets of New York, Paris, Shanghai and Venice with her camera. She has continued her ambitions in street photography for the past 35 years while working in the evenings in a Wall Street law firm. 

Her first exhibition was in a group show at the Center for Contemporary Art in Paris in 1984, followed by a solo show at the Puchong Gallery in New York in 1985.  She has exhibited in numerous group shows, including at the Soho Triad Gallery in New York City, with her work hanging beside that of the world-class photographers Carl Mydans, Alfred Eisenstadt and Ida Wyman.  Her work is in a number of public and private collections. 

In 1995, Kathy joined the historic Salmagundi Club, which was founded in New York City in 1871, and was a traditionally established art club for men only in the mediums of drawing, painting and sculpture, with such acclaimed members as William Merritt Chase, Stanford White, N.C. Wyeth, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Norman Rockwell, Augustus Saint-Gaudens and many others.  Salmagundi only began admitting female members in 1973.  Kathy successfully championed the idea of photography being included and gained a permanent venue there, with photography now exhibiting alongside drawing, painting and sculpture for the first time since the Club’s founding.  She was appointed the first Chairperson of Photography from 1998-2002 and recruited other photographers as members in order to build a foundation there for the medium.  She organized and curated the annual photography exhibits as well as exhibiting in the various group shows with the painters and sculptors throughout the year, where her work earned numerous awards. 

One her of favorite quotes which she incorporates as a street photographer is by the renown photographer Walker Evans:  “Stare.  It is the way to educate your eye, and more.  Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop.  Die knowing something.  You are not here long.”

Kathy currently lives and works in Chicago since 2013.