Sarah Rose Smiley: Interview
I got the chance to interview the talented Sarah Rose Smiley. Enjoy!
When did you start getting into photography? You're so young (15 years old)!
I’ve always been a creative thinker -- all my life I’ve wanted to be an artist of some sort. Photography was an art form I had admired but never saw myself as being a part of, until I started researching cameras and photography, and got my first dSLR 6 months ago. Seeing the amazing potential of so many other young artists around the world inspired me to create my own art, and motivated me for improvement. Since then, I’ve only fallen in love with it more!
What inspires your work?
Sometimes I’m inspired by the strangest, quirkiest things, while other times I’m moved by normalcy. Most of my ideas come from the convoluted depths of my brain; sourcing them would be difficult! Not a day goes by in which I don’t think about some aspect of photography. I’m really quite phobic about my work being too similar to someone else’s -- which is one reason I make sure I look at a variety of photographers works, so as to ensure my own art isn’t parallel to one specific style.
How would you describe your style?
One of my main goals with my work is to convey a message to the audience, and tell a story through my art. I think, because of that, my style is very dreamy and, hopefully, thought-provoking. I don’t want to just take pretty pictures – I want to show the world exactly how I see life. In a way, photography is akin to writing for me -- only I use pixels and light instead of ink and letters.
If you could shoot anything in the world, what would it be?
Ohh, that’s hard! I’d probably choose something run-down, something classified as ‘ugly’ in most people’s eyes. I’d love to turn viewpoints around and reveal the beauty within the grime -- give a new perspective of the world.
What's in the future for you?
Before I found this new love, I had my life all planned out; almost every detail was accounted for, and I knew exactly what I would do -- write. But photography has quickly turned into my main passion in life, and in turn, flipped everything upside down! Now, I can’t picture it not being a part of my life in the future; and frankly, I don’t want to. All I can hope for is to be happy; and I have a feeling that as long as I remain on the road I’m following, that goal seems attainable.
