Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephen Goldstein.
Hi Stephen, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised outside of Phoenix, Arizona. Growing up, I was outdoors a lot but never had much of a creative lifestyle until in high school I started taking pictures on my cellphone quite a lot while waiting for the bus in the morning. Late high school, I got my first camera right after I got into rock climbing. I went to Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona and started off as a ‘Fitness Wellness’ major thinking I would be a personal trainer or maybe even a physical therapist for rock climbers and other outdoor athletes. I quickly realized this career wasn’t for me and switched to a photography major in the first year. I graduated in 2019 and then moved back to Phoenix. I was doing various photography-related jobs and “completed” a personal long-term black and white project ‘Approaching Garland’ in rural Northern Arizona. After this project, I got thinking how I wanted to move out of Arizona and try something new. Fast forward to the spring of 2022 and I moved to Los Angeles on a whim. I’m now a freelance photographer in a big new city still trying to figure things out…
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Throughout my years with photography, I’ve had a lot of adversity from rejections from clients and failed projects. I’ve started a lot of photography projects with this place in mind or these ideas in my head to then be greatly disappointed starting the work. I’ve learned over the years this is all a part of the process to evolving my style and “voice” in photography. I’ve also heard nothing from certain clients but have to keep moving on. Like most people who practice a lot at their craft, I like to tell myself the more I go out and take pictures the more it will make sense to me. I’m trying to learn to be more patient and let the pictures guide me.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m currently a freelance photographer for editorial and advertising projects for work. I’m also a lighting-photo assistant in Los Angeles. As far as my personal work and what matters most to me, I’m drawn to working on long-term “documentary style” projects based in the American West, mostly in black and white. I can’t put into words why I gravitate toward black and white, I’ve been trying to figure this out for years. I tend to take day trips or road trips to places far from home photographing people I meet, the landscape and other various photos from the road. I also like to walk a lot locally with my camera and I tend to get the same sort of photos…I am close to the mountains and desert in Los Angeles so that helps. I’d say I’m most known for my black and white photos in rural Northern Arizona. I’m still young and have a long way to go, but I’m most proud of my work being published and written about in The Washington Post in 2022. I was also commissioned by The New Yorker in June 2022 to photograph the last week of the wheat harvest during the global grain shortage in rural Kansas. I feel like I do my own thing and try not to compare myself to others and I think this has helped in the long run…
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I don’t know if there is anything surprising people may not know about me, but I was an avid rock climber for years until a serious injury at the end of college. Some may not know this about me, but it may be obvious due to my love for the outdoors. I just started easing back into rock climbing again after a few year hiatus healing the injury. It feels great to be back and I think it has influenced my photography more than I realize.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.stephenrossgoldstein.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephen_goldstein/?hl=en
Image Credits
© Photographs by Stephen Ross Goldstein
