Today we’d like to introduce you to Paige Howell.
Paige, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Being an Arizona native and growing up around such vast desert scenery my entire life, I didn’t always think too much of it. As a young child, I remember running around in the dusty lands and cacti were just something I was trying not to fall into (which happened anyway, many times.) It wasn’t until I was in high school when I started getting into taking photos that I found an absolute love and appreciation for photographing the desert. I grew an immense fascination with the many unique and historical places around Arizona, taking many road trips and exploring these beautiful places. Over the years I have grown to feel a deep bond for the southwest and can only hope that my photos can give anyone looking at them a little taste of how magical the desert is.
Great, 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?
As a teenager, I had a hard time finding my place and fitting in with kids my age. I was very shy and struggled with anxiety which made it difficult to go out and socialize. I eventually transferred to an online school where I had a lot more free time to focus on the things that I was interested in. That’s where I discovered my love for photography and just dove right into it. I started posting photos for fun and was able to connect with some amazing people around me who were passionate about the same things that I was. I began feeling so excited and motivated to create and share content with such a rad community of people who I felt finally “got me.” Photography has always been therapeutic for me, I feel at home when I am in a beautiful place and able to capture one of the kind moments that I can look back at and relive for even just a moment.
Please tell us about your work.
I mainly focus on landscape photography, focusing heavily on the southwest and the Sonoran desert. I’m a big fan of any kind of cacti, so you can find a lot of those in my work. I always lean towards capturing and editing my photos to give them a sort of nostalgic feeling, since that’s what best describes how it makes me feel. I finally leaped this past year to open my own Etsy shop (RadicalWest) and have been selling my prints there, and have prints displayed for sale at Action Rideshop in Mesa as well.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood
My favorite memory from childhood is running around with my sister and neighborhood friends through the desert. Being completely carefree, exploring the washes and the dusty lands we grew up around. Seeing the javalina and coyote roaming in front of our home. Hearing the rumbling of the monsoons during the summer time, and the rain bringing some relief from the 115 degree days.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/radicalwest
- Email: pandaige@yahoo.com
- Instagram: @radical_west
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