WEEK 33 IN PHOTOS

08/17/18 — Heydon Hatcher

Photo by Gillian Shewaga.

We continue the guest photographer series this week with Gillian Shewaga picking up the lens. Gregarious and saturated with creative vision, Gillian is a powerhouse art director here in Austin. We are elated to share her take of farm life - striking and vibrant still-life shots, as well as captures from the Mueller Farmers' Market.

We chatted with Gillian to learn a little more about the shoot and her relationship with photography, in general, below. Check it out!

Photo by Gillian Shewaga.

What was the inspiration for the shoot?

Colors and local community. When I think of JBG, I instantly think of the farmers market and how it brings people together to either buy their weekly veggies, pick up a CSA box, or try something that might be seasonally new to them. It gave me the chance to get to chat with a few people about what they were planning on doing with their box and what they were most excited about this week. Visually, it was really fun getting to show off all the beautiful colors and textures in my CSA box. I played around with smooth surfaced squashes and eggplants juxtaposed by rugged root vegetables, as well as contrasts in size and colors. You don’t need much to make those look great.

How did you get into photography?

I kind of had a weird habit of documenting things as a kid. Starting with journals, then moving to photos, I almost felt like one day I wouldn't remember what that exact time in my life felt like. When I saw vintage photographs of family or even just pictures from other decades, I always experienced a sense of nostalgia from a time that I never even knew. I think that feeling is what sparked my interested in documenting culture, people, and places around me since they’re all constructs that are forever constantly changing.

How do you use photography in your career?

I'm the art director and social media manager of two local Austin boutiques on South Congress. I've been working professionally as a social media manager for about six years and it's been interesting to see changes within digital platforms and consumer landscapes as they shift towards more transparency from brands. Photography definitely plays a huge role in my career for not only content creation, but for helping give a more authentic voice to businesses of all sorts. The cool thing about photography is that there is no right or wrong way to do it. Style and outcome are both totally subjective and the results could mean different things from one person to the next. Hoping that I’ll get to continue to use photography in my career to eventually tell more impactful stories to better the world.