I’m in need of a “Talor”
Talor Stone,
A red-headed genius. Really? No, really. I mean… really. She is a former federal agent turned professional landscape photographer. Sounds pretty interesting, I think!
When she is not studying to write her dissertation for her Ph.D. she is running photography workshops to teach others how to better their skills as a landscape photographer.
Name: Talor “without the ‘y’” Stone
Age: 33
Place of Birth: Arlington, TX
Place of Residence: Pensacola, FL
Talor is an Executive Producer on the next TracingThought documentary! This documentary is being filmed in Greenland where her expertise lies.
Furthermore, I asked her a few questions before she officially joined the TracingThought Productions team!
- First, I asked some “generic” questions -
Hobbies include: Forgetting people’s names immediately after they say them…you don’t want to admit it, but you know deep down that I’m not alone in this one. In all seriousness though, I really don’t have time for a hobby. I managed to turn my passion – photography – into my full-time job so that is both a blessing and a curse but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Pets? Okay, this part isn’t a joke. I’ve had a pet 10-gallons of water for 3 months now. I’ve wanted a pet for a while, but my lifestyle just won’t allow it. In a moment of desperation, I decided I could probably keep a fish tank alive for a while. So, as you do, I got a 10-gallon tank, the rocks, some plants and then I let the water cycle before adding fish. I never made it past this point. I’ve been caring for 10 gallons of water for 3 months now. I remove algae, test the water, even perform water changes every week…but yeah, no fish. It turns out that caring for 10 gallons of water is all the commitment I can manage right now and I’m pretty proud that I haven’t killed it yet!
Favorite food? Those who know me will say it’s Cheese-its…and they’re probably not wrong. I know I shouldn’t, but I just can’t stop myself. But in terms of adult food, I love Thai curry in all its many varieties. I really enjoy international foods of all kinds.
Favorite joke? …I left a structured job with limited work hours to follow my creative passion and ended up working 24hrs a day, 365 days a year. I honestly take (maybe) one day off of work a month and pretty regularly pull 12-14hr days, so let that be a cautionary tale to anyone who wants to turn their hobby into a small business!
The thing that means most to you: It used to be the freedom to set my own agenda and choose my own path. And that’s still pretty high on my list. But lately what has meant the most to me has been all of the relationships I’ve made along the way. I have an amazing community around me and I really cherish that.
Favorite part about your job? When I’m teaching workshops, I really love that moment of shared awe the first time I show someplace spectacular with my group. I’ve been to these places many times, but when I share it with them I’m able to experience a favorite location through their eyes like it’s the first time again. I love that! When I’m shooting for myself, I love that when I enter a creative headspace it transports me away from my daily anxiety over my never-ending to-do list. In those moments, nothing else matters but the creative pursuit.
PICTURED -
DISKO BAY, GREENLAND
aUGUST, 2019 @ 10:05pm
federal agent, photographer, researcher…
Back when you were a federal agent, did you ever daydream about a different career path?
Was that career path landscape photography? Wow, yeah…like always. Honestly, it was an interesting job and an important one.
I’m so glad there are people out there still doing it. But I never want to be one of those people again! I don’t thrive in a bureaucratic or super structured environment. I don’t do well when I need 4 signatures of approval before doing the basic steps of my job. I really need autonomy and creative space, so no matter what my future held there was no way I could have continued in that career field. At the time, I never thought photography would be my career path. I thought it would be a fun hobby and it came to me when I really needed a creative outlet to work through some personal things.
However, it wasn’t long until I changed course and pursued it as a career. Within about a year, I had sold most of my personal belongings and was living in my car chasing the seasons across the US to build my first portfolio. I was all in.
If you could make money doing ANYTHING in the world,
what is it that you'd do and why?
…..
It would be doing exactly what I’m doing right now! I’m living my own dream. Like anything in life, it’s not without its ups and downs, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I love that I have the chance to teach and work with others, I really enjoy sharing and mentoring, and bringing new people into the photography community. At the same time, I love having the space to pursue my own creative visions whether that’s through personal projects or collaborating on a documentary with Tracing Thought! Today, I have a nice balance of structure and freedom and I honestly think it’s the sweetest place to be.
I've followed you and your work for years now, and I'm curious to know which place do you have the most emotional connection to? When do you think of those ethereal moments of being alone, doing your passion, where are you?
I have to say I’ve created the strongest emotional connection to Greenland. It’s such a unique and dynamic landscape and ice in its many forms is my favorite thing to photograph. When you visit Greenland, if you spend any serious amount of time out in the landscape then you can’t help but feel the urgency of the climate crisis. I’ve spent two summers backpacking in Greenland with much of it spent living in a tent on the tundra, hiking into the backcountry, or visiting small villages. Sharing intimate experiences with the land there is truly spiritual and you can’t walk away from it without this overwhelming compulsion to document the changes that were taking place right beneath my feet.
As I am familiar with the world of film, I am aware that there are quite a lot of controversial means of attaining footage. Have you come across any controversy when photographing landscapes in particular places?
There are a couple of big debates in landscape photography at the moment. The first would be where composite photography lies in the spectrum of photography vs art. The second would be the introduction of NFTs and the environmental implications of this. To be honest I don’t have strong opinions on either. I think purist photography and composite photography are both valid forms of expression. Personally, I do no structural alterations to my images, but it’s not because of some moral boundary. I’m just not interested in creating composites at this time. And on the NFT debate, I’m not sold on the arguments against it but I’m still forming my thoughts on this. Either way, I think the debate is always a good thing because it generates new ways of thinking and new innovations and as a result, the field of photography keeps moving forward.
If you had to choose between the East Coast and the West Coast (USA) to only ever take photographs which would you choose and why? Oh man, this isn’t a fair question! The west (CA, UT, AZ, NM) have by far the most diverse landscapes to work with so my hands are kind of tied. However, a huge chunk of my heart lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I can’t even tell you how many amazing memories I have of exploring those hills and hunting for hidden waterfalls. It’s a tough call.
So you take your workshop clients to various national parks or forests. What do they get out of going with you? I think there are three main reasons people join a workshop. First, to learn. These are people who really want to work on specific skills and improve their photography. Second, for efficiency. These are clients who already have strong skills but are relying on my years of expertise in a location as a way to visit locations that might be hard to find during ideal lighting. And third, for the community. Some clients simply put want to go shoot with a group. Not all of us are lucky enough to have a strong photography community at home so workshops are a good way to join with others and create a sense of community around something we love.
Those are their reasons for joining, but I think by the end of the trip people get much more out of it. I try to create a collaborative and creative space where we work together and share ideas. I also try to creatively challenge people to look beyond the grand landscapes and focus on less photographed intimate scenes. And, something I’m very proud of, I always infuse my workshops with education. I’m an academic at heart and I share a lot about the environmental issues in the locations we visit. I hope by the end of a workshop clients leave with a deeper appreciation of the place they’ve visited and because of that new knowledge they’ve created images that tell a story and that are filled with meaning.
If you had to write a love letter to your camera, how would it go? It must be taken seriously. Ha!
Dear camera. You rescued me from the darkest part of my life. When I needed to escape, you were my life raft. When I needed to grow, you invited me to learn. When I needed to find myself again, you showed me what true creativity meant. In all of life’s dark moments, you were the one source of consistency and a safe haven from the struggle. We grew together from nothing into something and for that I am forever grateful.
Talor and I met via Instagram and found each other by chance. I believe she came across my profile and had shot me a message, and after, we had talked for a long time sharing stories and tips. What was crazy about the whole thing was, my husband and her boyfriend at the time were bunk-mates in Navy boot camp in 2012! The odds of this were staggering and is a cool little side-tale we like to share when explaining our meeting.
What were your first thoughts when you followed TracingThought on Instagram?
I thought you were fearless! I went from Instagram straight over to YouTube and fell in love with your storytelling. It honestly was an “aha” moment for me because at that time I was really struggling with finding my own creative voice. In my photography journey, I was in a place where pretty pictures just weren’t doing it for me anymore and I was searching for new ways to be creative through storytelling. Pretty immediately I knew I wanted us to work together someday!!! And look at us now!
What was your initial goal for this documentary?
The idea for the Greenland documentary first was about the waste management problems faced by the country. My earlier trips revealed so much plastic waste and, in a country without roads, the government had a really difficult time managing the collection of refuse from more remote settlements. I still think there is a MASSIVE story to tell about this and perhaps we will get to tell it together someday.
This first dream, however, quickly morphed into something much larger. It became less about a single issue and more about the existential problems facing an indigenous community at the edge of the Earth. It struck me that we can’t really tell a story about waste in a community without first telling the story about the way the modern world is changing the very fabric of Greenlandic culture.
Is this your first job as a Producer? Do you see yourself doing this again in the future, or are you firm on staying as a landscape photographer and teacher?
Yes! And I’m SO excited to work with TracingThought! I’m really grateful for this opportunity to dive right into the deep end of producing and I can’t wait to see what doors it will eventually open as a result. I know that my career is undergoing a shift right now. I’m consciously moving more towards storytelling, but I don’t think I will ever leave still photography behind. I absolutely love the challenge of creating stories through still images, especially of landscapes. It can be comparatively easy to build a relatable narrative with images of people or animals, but it is extremely hard to do this with strict landscape shots. I’m still developing in this regard and I know I’m not quite “there” yet, but I can really feel my goal approaching. I also really love teaching and I can’t imagine ever stopping. For me, photography has always been about sharing with others and I love to physically bring people into spaces that I love and share not just moments with them but also knowledge. It’s core bonding at its finest and I truly love that. With that being said, I really do hope there will be more opportunities to produce stories in this format in the future…especially if it’s with TracingThought!
I am heavily anticipating the amazing opportunity it will be to divide duties as Producer on my next documentary. I am even more excited to partner with Talor Stone, for her experience in the country and attitude towards working in a new medium! Our combined expertise, I believe, is going to form an amalgamation of excellence that will tell this story better and in more personal, finite detail than ever before.
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