Meet Kort Havens | Director & Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kort Havens and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kort, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Relationships are the most important factor behind any success I’ve ever had. People want to attribute success to talent, hard work, luck, or any number of things, but no one gets anywhere in life without other people. The only reason I am where I am is because of the friendships, mentors, and relationships I’m lucky to have. The lessons learned from others, introductions from friends, referrals for projects, and the camaraderie between my peers has allowed me to build a career and help other people build their’s too.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a photographer, commercial director, and host a podcast called “Design, etc.” from the LA Design Festival. My work is humanistic, heavily influenced by design, and is often described as photo-journalistic. I am forever curious about humanity, and that shows up in the interviews I do as well as my interactions with my subjects. I love to make something aesthetically pleasant, but it feels worthless if it lacks humanity. I have done a little bit of everything. I was a banker, barista, cook, event planner, copywriter, and restaurant manager. It took a lot of adaptability to pivot into the work I do now. I spent a lot of spare time making stories, taking pictures, and writing. Little by little, doors opened that allowed me to turn that passion into a viable career.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Everyone has expectations of Los Angeles; traffic, sprawl, vapid influencers, and pop culture fanaticism. I always recommend seeing the opposite of that when people come to visit. My first recommendation is don’t drive unless you absolutely have to! Find a place to stay near the city’s metro line, and take the train, a bus, a bicycle and walk around. My partner and I are lucky to live just off the Expo Line in Exposition Park, and I love spending time in the different pockets of the city accessible from the train. I’d recommend spending time in Downtown Los Angeles, West Adams, Culver City, and Santa Monica to get a sense of how each pocket of Los Angeles feels completely different. As an urbanist and fan of architecture, Downtown Los Angeles offers endless stimulation. I don’t know many cities that offer such an intact stretch of relatively untouched Art Deco and Beaux Art high-rises like you find around 7th and Broadway. Look above the store fronts, and you’ll find incredible details and motifs. Stop at the Last Book Store for used books and records. For food, I love Sonoratown, Sushi Gen, Yuko Kitchen, and Grand Central Market. I also love grabbing a book at the book shop and stopping for some wine, a snack, and a read at Mignon. Hauser & Wirth and MOCA are great for some art. I also love walking through the fashion district and Santee Alley. I always leave the area seeing something completely new and feeling inspired. The only way Los Angeles will survive climate change and hopefully become a more equitable place to live is through increased density, transit centric development, and creating more bicycle and pedestrian spaces. Cars are killing us, and we have to learn to be less dependent on them. When I get off the Expo Line at Culver City, I feel hopeful that Los Angeles can become a more livable and equitable city. From the train platform, you can see a whole swath of new housing, office, and retail projects that incorporate more green spaces and walkability. You can access great food, design, and drink options all within a short walk of the stop. I highly recommend Roberta’s Pizza at Platform, Arcana Bookstore at the Helm’s Bakery, Cognoscenti Coffee on Washington, Destroyer for some strange breakfast, Bar & Garden for some natural wine, and spending some time at the small park connected to Platform designed by terremoto. West Adams is an historic neighborhood filled with stunning architecture and a rich history of black culture in Los Angeles. There are pockets of the neighborhood that were historically filled with people from New Orleans, so you’ll find great soul food like at Harold and Belle’s or Earl’s. The Underground Museum always offers an incredible exhibition and events. There are also a lot of new restaurants popping up like, Alta, Highly Likely, and Mizlala. I mostly just go to Santa Monica for the ocean. Ocean Park, just south of the Downtown Santa Monica stop has quieter beaches and charming neighborhoods to walk around. My favorite thing is to grab a sandwich at Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery and head to the beach for lunch and a swim.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have been lucky to have great mentors and guides in my career. I had the chance to do an internship with a production company in Seattle called Kontent Partners. They create beautiful campaigns for advertising agencies and businesses. The partners there taught me a lot and encouraged me to explore my areas of interest, and we’ve been working together ever since. They always instilled the importance of being kind, working hard, and taking care of the people around you.

Website: www.korthavens.com
Instagram: @korthavens
Twitter: @korthavens

Image Credits
All images by Kort Havens