A DGX profile of photographer, Foster K. White, by Célange Beck, 2023

Foster K. White is already set up for our recording session when I log in—two large speakers frame the screen that shows nothing more than a dark-patterned backdrop in his studio. The camera is ready and on, but Foster is nowhere to be found. After a brief period of silence and in a moment’s time, Foster and I finally lay eyes on one another for the first time ever.  

We exchange pleasantries and joke around for a while, with him revealing that he accidentally logged in an hour early but decided to stay on so he knew he would make our appointment on time. Although we had not seen each other in person prior to this session, previous chats had already revealed his kind, humble, and open-minded demeanor; this was Foster.

I originally wanted to interview Foster because I’ve seen the variety of work he’s done and the gratitude he expresses for it. And if you’re of the same mindset, you know gratitude is sexy—that it’s engaging, captivating, vulnerable, and even intimate. Just like his photography. 

Foster has something about him that I intuitively knew would represent the current Saturn in Pisces transit. I also figured that he would have some notable Earth placements, and he does. What I wasn’t expecting, however, was how much water, specifically deep waters, play a significant and weighty part in his life. To be honest, I’m not even sure if he even knows. 

The first question I asked Foster was about his own vision, to which he answered with a surprising response. Easily, one would assume it should have been about photography, right? But it turns out that his vision is primarily about music. Music plays such an important role in his life: from the fact that it’s usually playing throughout the majority of the day to the therapeutic practice of working through feelings, or connecting with others—a happy existence for him entails being able to contribute to the music scene. 

Although he does not anticipate viewers of his work to do so, I began to look at Foster’s work through a different lens (wow, pun not intended, but oh well!). What if this was the cover of an album? What story is it telling? Is my own inner landscape reflected in the one depicted here? It made me appreciate the cover art of my favorite albums much more. 

Fun fact: Foster’s favorite album cover art is BLK ODYSSY’s “BLK Vintage,” which depicts Black bodies nearly submerged in the water, beautifully capturing the album’s lingering feeling.

Because Foster is a super Scorpio, it is crucial to bring up the “BLK Vintage” album cover and his love of music. This man has five planetary placements in Scorpio, including his sun sign. 

People like Foster, as in folks with significant water placements in their natal chart, are simply born on days and times that make their senses more heightened. In a lot of ways, I believe such people are reasons for hope in a world like ours. Sensitivity is rebellious in a world that tells you to constantly repress how you feel. Caring, feeling, representing or displaying words that cannot be described, and receiving information that has no form of communication are the greatest gifts a water sign can provide to the world. With so many placements in Scorpio’s deep waters, it makes sense that he’s a photographer—a picture is worth a thousand words.

I wonder and I figure that his appreciation for music may actually stem from an appreciation for someone who can put words to a melody that perfectly corresponds with a difficult-to-understand emotion. 

While Foster has heavy water influences, his rising and moon are both placed in Capricorn. I was recently asked which zodiac signs work best with each other; I believe that certain elements, such as water and earth, as well as fire and air, complement each other well. With this in mind, Foster does have some elemental balance and support within his birth chart. His natural artistic sensitivities and proclivities are paired well with discipline, focus, dedication to hard work, and achieving goals. 

When I asked Foster what the motivation was behind his work, he gave me quite the Capricornian response: he has a natural love for learning new things. This manifests itself in various forms, but most notably obsessing over lighting, as well as figuring out new techniques through lots of reverse engineering until he gets it right. 

A telling moment in our conversation, a part that confirmed my earlier intuition, was when he naturally hit the nail on the head of the whole Saturn in Pisces energy. When I asked him why pursuing photography was more important to him than the typical 9-5 job, he smiled gently and so sweetly, acknowledging his playful personality, what an important part the act of play is in his life, and that settling for boredom just didn’t seem like an option. 

Typically, boredom means things don’t get done or don’t get done well; the one thing Capricorns are not here to do is finish a task poorly or leave things incomplete. 

Foster's answer is a much-needed reminder during this two-and-a-half-year transit that we all should play. Play is such a beautiful combination of curiosity, learning, flow, enjoyment, and structure—I appreciate and thank Foster for this reminder.

Foster's final words of wisdom, which I believe are important to share, are on structure, which I know I've already mentioned several times, but bear with me. When discussing how he implements structure, he gave surface-level answers such as separating home and work life and documenting processes. But he then went further in an unexpected direction. He also stated that he regularly reminds himself of his humanity, schedules time to stare off into space as a form of rest, and is intentional about making things with people he enjoys being with. 

Implementing structure also means creating “boundaries”—a word causing much resentment these days due to overuse. So, hopefully, this definition and framing helps: boundaries aren’t so much about other people as they are about safeguarding your time, energy, and space requirements. This is why I appreciated Foster’s response so much: whether or not he’s aware of it, he’s created boundaries for himself in order to enrich his creativity, nurture his home and personal life, and give himself space to grow. 

In good DGX fashion, we ended our conversation with a touch of advice. Foster encourages you to bring to life something you want to see. Start with reconnecting with yourself, find what feels playful and joyful, and see the value in being unique. 

I hope you all learn and are inspired by Foster—by his playfulness, curiosity, large capacity for feeling, love of music, and even his boundaries.