“I have a sanguine personality, which defines how I approach life, let alone photography. I feel that you can find beauty in the everyday. So, I go about my days looking for it.”
Who: Todd Reynolds, 43, lives in Arlington with his wife, Andrea, and sons Kyler, 19, and Kaden, 11.
What: I find myself photographing flowers, landscapes, nature, old buildings, old cars and, on occasion, people. I feel in today’s modern era of high-quality cellphones and good point-and-shoot cameras, most people can pull off a “technically” good image. I like to go beyond the norm and push my images to bring out a surreal feel. My go-to camera is a $650 Sony Alpha a6000 with a 55-210 mm lens and a 16-50 mm lens.
When: I started doing photography my senior year in high school in 1991. At that point, I had taken every art elective that I could and photography was last on my list. I fell in love with it. This was way before the digital market emerged. It was all black-and-white film, developed by myself and then printed in the darkroom. Sometimes I miss the smell of those chemicals.
Where: I take pictures while I am out and about. I always carry my camera with me. Since I spend most of my time between Snohomish and Skagit counties, that is where the majority of my work comes from. I have learned that there are many fleeting moments that go unseen by the general population, and I want to capture them.
Why: I graduated from the Art Institute of Seattle back in ‘96, and I thought that I was going to be some great artist. Alas, life has a way of moving you in different directions. I got married, had a couple of kids, found myself in sales and completely unsatisfied. While out to lunch with a friend in late 2012, I expressed my general lack of excitement in my life. To which he asked why I was not, at least at a hobby level, doing photography. It was a simple but very profound question. I took it on myself to kick off 2013 with a goal of making a photographic effort every day. So began my growth back into an old love. I still make that effort daily.
How: It’s more than the light, the angles and the lines. It’s putting the pieces together to make a great composition. It’s not just about taking the picture, it’s more about taking the image where you want it to go after it has been taken. When it’s right, you feel it.
Favorite photo: One that continues to stand out is my Burning Wishes picture. I lit dandelions on fire and captured the flame in that brief moment before the flower was consumed. Another is of the old tugboat out in the slough between Everett and Marysville.
— Andrea Brown, The Herald
See more: www.ToddReynoldsPhotography.com
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