When we were attending the Southeastern Wildlife Expo one artist in particularly appealed to us. Photographer Taylor Glenn’s massive photographs of bears, owls and wolves on white backdrops are eye-catching, alluring and stark. Once we started chatting with the man himself we were eager to learn more. We caught up with Glenn to hear about his art and style:
I don’t have one of those stories of being given a camera and making a picture for the first time and suddenly knowing that it would be my calling. That would make for a great narrative but that just isn’t how things happened for me.
I was an Economics major in college and for some reason during my last semester I got fixated on the idea of learning more about photography. I managed to talk my way into a photo darkroom class even though they tried to tell me I couldn’t be there since I wasn’t an art student. It was such fun and my interest started to grow from there.
In 2003 I moved from Eastern, North Carolina to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and that changed things for me in a big way. I found myself in a community of passionate, outgoing people who put quality of life ahead of anything else. That perspective really inspired me to follow my heart and find a way to live off doing something that I love. Being a photographer is a really big challenge in today’s market. I am very grateful that I get to make pictures for a living but it is no accident. It takes long hours and complete dedication and I honestly don’t know what I would be doing instead.
I have a few irons in the fire as they say but my work primarily focuses on people, landscape, and outdoor lifestyle. I also have an ongoing fine art project of animal portraits, which has been a great deal of fun to create. Photography has opened so many doors and allowed me into people’s lives in ways I would never have expected. I think that is one of the real benefits of pursuing your passion.
In addition to my freelance work I recently partnered with a wonderful client and now great friend to start a new lifestyle brand here in Jackson called Outpost. The core business is a property management company but we want to be different. Our guiding philosophy is to connect people to the lifestyle of Jackson through authentic experiences. No one will ever remember the condo they rented but they will never forget watching a sunset behind the Tetons for the first time. As the company photographer I have the great honor to create photos and content to share with our community and hopefully inspire people to come and find their own unique experience. It really is the perfect outlet for the photography I like to create.
You can see more of my work on my website and Instagram
As for my personal style:
Jeans: I have several pairs of Hiltl denim that I rotate through.
Shirts: Lately I have been living in Patagonia’s merino wool tees and polos. Merino is an amazing material.
Pants: See above. Basically denim.
Suits: Not much need for a suit around Jackson Hole.
Shoes: My Frye Engineer boots are a usual go to. I also love Scarpa Vitamins. On any given day I could find myself scrambling in the Tetons so I wear these pretty often.
Accessories: When I am outdoors I typically wear my Suunto Core, otherwise I have on my Rolex Submariner. It’s the only real luxury item I own and was a gift from my father. I love this watch.
Outerwear: My absolute favorite jacket is my Patagonia Nano Air.
Favorite Cologne: none of that stuff in my kit.
Your favorite App: I just recently completed an epic winter traverse of the SW corner of Yellowstone National Park. Before embarking I discovered Gaia GPS. It’s an incredible app for navigation. Not sure how we would have done the trip without it.
Favorite piece of technology: My Nikon cameras and lenses!
Next tech purchase: Just ordered the new Nikon DL compact camera. Can’t wait!
