About

Hello, my name is Sam Taylor.

I am from West Virginia. I love exploring and working outside my comfort zone, always aiming to find beauty in unexpected places and tell compelling stories.  This means that much of my work is not from the “usual places.” My pride in my work largely comes from a steadfast effort to demonstrate that the beauty and wonder of this state and country are not confined to well-known places and parks.

I enjoy pushing the limits – both of myself and my equipment – to capture images.  I describe my work as “landscape photojournalism”.  I strive to create images that represent what I saw and experienced the moment the image was made, without added or subtracted elements or compositing.   My photographs document my journeys, and are a part of my story - I believe that the context of those moments is more important than simply making “pretty pictures”.

I am drawn to dramatic places:  cliffs, waterfalls, the mountains and the desert, and enjoy using slow shutter speeds to capture motion and change.  I enjoy working at night and in wider formats and angles, as I am intrigued by the thought of capturing things that aren’t usually seen, and hope I translate this to the viewer. 

In short, my subjects are the people, places, and things that I enjoy, and I enjoy being a good ambassador for the State of West Virginia. 

These gathered photographs demonstrate these themes by illustrating the variety of images possible in simply capturing what the day presents, and the energy that comes from those interactions.  I hope my enthusiasm and effort to capture what I see shines through. 

Outside of photography, I enjoy rock climbing, traveling, and generally playing outside.