SAAS senior Ruby Colwell discovered a new passion when she decided to take digital photography as an elective her sophomore year. Prior to taking a digital photography class at SAAS, Colwell had little experience with photography. Since then she has earned multiple honorable mentions in scholastic competitions and has been approached by many people who wish to buy her photos.
Recently while walking down 15th Avenue, Colwell came across a sign in the window of Coastal Kitchen, a local restaurant that serves recipes from different cities and regions in the world each month. The sign mentioned that they were in search of art that would channel their upcoming Baja theme. Colwell instantly thought about a series of photographs she had recently taken while on vacation in Mexico and decided she had nothing to lose by e-mailing the provided address a sample of her pictures.
Coastal Kitchen loved her photos and had her print and frame them to be displayed on their walls. Five of Colwell’s photos from her Mexico trip can be seen hanging in the Stream Commons as a permanent installation. Since having her photos displayed, Colwell has sold many prints to restaurant goers and SAAS parents/faculty.
When asked what she loved the most about photography, Colwell said, “I appreciate the art of capturing a specific moment in time and being able to say something about that moment through lighting, framing, and many other factors.” Colwell primarily shoots digital, but she also enjoys shooting in film. Wherever she goes, you can be sure she has at the least a disposable camera on her.
Colwell enjoys taking photos of numerous subjects, but as much as she can she’ll go to skate parks and take pictures of the different skaters. “I like the diversity in the people at skate parks and enjoy being able to take photos of people that are extremely different from the individuals I’m surrounded by daily,” Colwell said.
Colwell enjoys the connections that can be made with people through photography, often times with people one wouldn’t typically approach. As an early graduation present Colwell’s parents bought her a compact fixed lens camera that she can easily carry with her wherever she goes so she never misses the perfect shot.