Vaughn Meadows' Spectacular Photographs will Open your Eyes to the Everyday World
“I go past it every day. I never knew it was there.” I’m certain you’ve said those words before. Most days we go about our lives, oblivious to the many things around us. In part, that’s because much of our environment blurs into one. However, without proper inspection, we fail to see those nuggets of gold. Don’t worry though, as the talented photographer Vaughn Meadows finds the things we didn’t know existed, and shows them to us through his sublime images.
It amazes me that some photographers can take the simple things in life and turn them into mesmerizing pieces of art. That’s why when I discovered Meadows’ photography, I instantly felt it pulling me deeper into it. The color palette, the quirky compositions and the slight haze in the final frame create a photographic cocktail that is rich and easy on the eye.
Located in the American Southwest, Meadows is no stranger to the natural wonders of the earth. However, he doesn’t just document what he sees. Rather, he creates unique perspectives in order to show common scenes in ways you have not seen them before. And while nature is at the core of his creative pulse, his interest in the man-made is becoming a familiar part of his portfolio, continuing the trend of a high standard of imagery.
Born 1998, you could label Meadows a new school photographer. Although young, he has a balanced mind, which is reflected in his interest in the digital world, and his appreciation and love for the real world. We talk about all that, and more, in his interview with Them Frames.
Them Frames: Tell us more about your “fascination with the things that we often just drive right past”. Where does it stem from and why has that become, in part, a focus for your photographic practice?
Vaughn Meadows: My interest in everyday scenes didn’t develop until recently. I spent a good amount of time over the past few years photographing and capturing the beauty of dramatic landscapes which was incredible but it left me craving more of a challenge in my creative process. To take something that’s beautiful and awe-inspiring like a mountain scape for example and capture that properly is a beautiful and challenging thing in its own right.
However, to me, to be able to find that same beauty in the things that we see every single day and potentially take for granted, is not only a challenge but also an incredibly healthy process for appreciating your everyday environment in general.
Them Frames: The scenes you document are beautiful. In your opinion, why do so many people overlook the mundane beauty that’s around them?
Vaughn Meadows: I think it’s very easy to start over-looking the things that we’ve become so accustomed to. From a psychological point of view, I think it’s even natural. If you drive by the same old things every day, they start to capture your attention less and less. You have to actively try to see them in a new light in order to rekindle that almost child-like perspective of curiosity.
Them Frames: You love nature, and you have a recent focus on things man-made. How does the experience of capturing nature vs nurture compare and which one gives you the most happiness?
Vaughn Meadows: This is a really unique question and one that I don’t get asked often so I appreciate you asking it. I think there’s adequate room in my heart for both. I don’t actually think I could place emphasis on one over the other because they’re so different in their own experiences. I’ll always love capturing a beautiful and dramatic landscape because of my pure love for the outdoors but there’s also something truly so gratifying about taking a scene that others might view as mundane, and bringing it to life in such a way that others can see it in that new perspective as well.
Them Frames: How do you keep connected to the world around you, ensuring you don’t miss frames you may wish to create?
Vaughn Meadows: I observe things constantly. Often, throughout the day, I’m imagining what certain things could look like if captured at the right time or in the right light.
I think the key to staying connected is to be consciously aware of your surroundings and the moment that you’re living. It’s easy to become distracted in the world we live in but I think that if people made more of a conscious effort to stay present, they’d be surprised at how much they’d been missing.
Them Frames: You turned Desert Oddities into a gallery through Oncyber. For those unaware can you tell them what that is and share what the process was like in terms of creation implementation, please?
Vaughn Meadows: Gladly! Oncyber, is essentially a platform that allows you to create your own augmented reality gallery experience. Think of it as a real-world gallery but held strictly online and filled with any NFT photography you may hold in your wallet. Creation of the Desert Oddities Oncyber gallery was as simple as connecting my wallet that I used to create Desert Oddities and then loading them into a gallery offered by Oncyber.
Them Frames: Society is getting a lot more virtual. Could you imagine a world where you could make photographs anywhere without leaving your home? How would you feel about that?
Vaughn Meadows: I think that might rob me of a bit of joy if I’m being transparent. As much as I enjoy the digital era that art is transitioning to, I think I’ll always place more value on real-world experiences. A large part of why I chose photography as my creative outlet was because it coincided with my love of adventure so harmoniously. For me, nothing will ever top the feeling of a good road trip or exploring a new place for the first time.
Them Frames: Project wise do you have something you’re currently developing or hoping to develop in the future?
Vaughn Meadows: I’m currently working on a project called Family of One which I don’t want to give too much away about just yet but I will say that it’s much different than what I think people are used to when they think of my work. It’s more of a personal and self-expressive project than my others but one that I think might resonate with quite a few people. Outside of that, I’m also working on a project that is focused on documenting the area around where I grew up. I wanted to challenge myself to see things there in a new light and maybe become more appreciative of the things I took for granted while living there.
Them Frames: Finally, please finish this sentence: I practice photography because…
Vaughn Meadows: I practice photography because nothing in my life has ever given me as much drive and fulfillment as it has and I’m grateful every day to have found that.