Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven Bearden
Hi Steven, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
While growing up I was always fascinated with airplanes and seeing the world from above. When Covid hit and slowed the world down I saw a commercial for a new drone out. I immediately went out and purchased the drone. After my first few flights I was addicted by what I could see with this flying camera. I would take the drone with me everywhere I went looking for new perspectives and unique vantage points.
In 2019 I was very lost as a person and fighting depression. I needed help. Something to give me value and keep my brain in healthy place. Photography came along and completely changed my mindset of how I see things in life. Photography was never the goal. And believe me some of my first videos and pictures were terrible. But something that always interested me. After many many hours researching the best settings and ways to improve my photography something started to click and I was gaining traction on that this could be something I really enjoyed doing.
Fast forwarding to 2024. What started as a fun way to see the world from high above has turned in me getting out to explore so much of our corner of the world and looking for best ways to capture the beauty of the area.
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?
There have been many learning curves. But really its been a real blast getting to where I am now. Photography is given me a space where it can allow my creativity to flourish and give me something to get me out of the bed every day (no, really sunrises forces you to get out of the bed every day ha).
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
While photography is not my full time profession it is something that would be fun to explore about going full time. What do I specialize in and known for: I would have to say for providing unique views of the Knoxville skyline and beautiful pictures of Neyland Stadium.
One of my most proud moment is in the fall of 2022. One morning I woke up early to capture sunrise near the University of Tennessee. The morning was perfect settings for capturing photos. Big orange sky, fall color was at peak, and of course the VOLS letters sitting high on Neyland Stadium. Capturing all this and making Instagram Reel that would go semi viral was just a ah-ha moment like I could do this. My work was getting seen and recognized.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
AI in photography is starting to settle into social media platforms, and as a primary landscape photographer I’m seeing more and more AI-generated photos of locations. It’s scary how good these photos are looking, but it’s even scarier that the art of getting out to locations, setting up your camera and getting the shot could be replaced by some computer-generated processing.
Short form video has been on the rise over the last few years. But, with the world so connected and mental health declining, there’s going to be a tipping point where we hit our limit for how much content we can healthily consume. What that’s going to look like is anyone’s guess, but I think the demand for photography and videography will still be there.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevenbeardenphoto/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steven.bearden.photography/
- Twitter: https://www.threads.net/@stevenbeardenphoto
