Photographer Shawn Boyle

My name is Shawn Boyle, and I am a landscape photographer.

Ever since I was little, I always indulged my creative side. I loved the art classes at my elementary school, my parents enrolled me in painting classes at our local YMCA, and I was always drawing. I was also interested in photography, but I didn’t pursue it because at the time it was very expensive. My family had a Kodac Instamatic that was only pulled out on special occasions, and I was never allowed to play with it. A roll of film could last up to a year!

Some years later, however, a photographer friend of mine took me to a dark room. I watched as the first piece of paper was laid into the tray and the chemicals began to work their magic. The image slowly appeared, and that was it. I was hooked. 

So I began to pursue photography. I took classes at the Community College of Rhode Island, where I met a fantastic professor named Larry Sikes. He recognized my potential and became an incredible mentor. He gave me, along with five or six other people, keys to a dark room at Rhode Island College to use whenever we wanted—any time of the day or night. In fact, we often worked there at night. When we heard the janitor approaching, we’d shut off the water and the music, and wait until he passed to turn it back on again. Sometimes we’d be there until the early hours of the morning. During these years I experience an incredible sense of creative freedom. I learned more about black and white photography, toning, and I even continued painting, trying to convey my emotions on canvas. 

As far as school went, however, I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do. I loved my photography classes, but I hadn’t declared a major yet. Instead, I began to work at a camera shop, where I was also a camera assistant and eventually managed the store. But then, I decided to take a break from photography. Photography is the kind of craft that requires both a creative and an analytical side, and the latter had become exhausting for me. Every time I picked up a camera, I caught myself thinking about the cost of film, of having to file taxes, and it just wasn’t fun anymore. So I decided to put my camera aside for a while, which coincided exactly with the transition between film photography and digital photography. 

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During this break, I didn’t want to do anything commercial, or anything in business or management. Instead, I went to New England Tech and took a class in computer programming and web development—I’m a bit of a nerd! The class led to an internship, which then led to a job, and then another job, until I ended up working full time in web development for big companies. 

I married and enjoyed the luxury of working from home. Then, one day, my wife bought me a little nikon camera. In the four or five years since I’d put my camera to rest, digital photography had evolved to take really good pictures, and editing programs like Photoshop made it feel like I was back in the dark room again. My creative side made a comeback, and I haven’t stopped since. 

Now I wake up before dawn on Saturday mornings to chase sunrises with my other photographer friends all over southern New England. We have fun, chat, and then post our pictures on social media, where I’m part of several Facebook groups. Through those groups I meet other passionate photographers who ask for my advice, so every so often I invite them out with me and teach them how to shoot, compose, and edit. 

I’ve even displayed my photography in open galleries and art shows, where I like to walk around and pretend to be just another viewer, so I can listen to people’s unfiltered commentary on my photography. I continue to be inspired by beautiful sunrises and landscapes, and my philosophy is to capture now what I see, but how I see it. That’s why I’m so invested in the editing process that follows the excursions into nature: it’s how I can share my vision, and emphasize all the small things that are constantly overlooked.

I credit photography masters like Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, and Michael Kenna for my style; I love the quietness and peace of their work, the minimalism, and their use of black and white. I also, however, enjoy cityscapes like abandoned factories: I find beauty in its history, the lights and the shadows, the composition of the ruined building. 

The world outside my home is where my workspace begins, but the majority of my work actually takes place in my head. I try to imagine what the photograph will look like before I even capture the picture so I know exactly where to stand and how to angle the camera—and then it’s on to my computer, which means I can work on my couch, at the kitchen table, or even at my nearest Panera. 

My biggest obstacle right now is getting my images out into the world, like marketing and displaying them. Ultimately, however, I want to capture images that make viewers stop and consider the beauty of what they see. I want my photographs to touch people in some way, to make them feel and think. My wife has a bracelet with a Michelangelo quote that says, ancora imparo, meaning, still I learn. I will continue to do this, and continue learning, as long as I can.

Thank you,

Shawn Boyle