Art & Life with Austin Corbett

Today we’d like to introduce you to Austin Corbett.

Austin, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
My name is Austin, I am 25 years old and I currently live in Flagstaff, AZ. I was born and raised in Scottsdale, AZ and lived there for about 22 years with my parents and older sister. As a young boy, I spent most of my time playing sports and doing typical boyish things like playing video games and doing stupid activities with my friends. My freshman year of high school I played baseball for the school, but by the next year I realized that pursuing baseball seriously was not something I wanted to commit to. Naturally, I needed a new hobby to occupy my time. I had always been intrigued by photography but it took me a while to take a chance and buy my first DSLR. When I got that Canon T3i into my hands, something clicked and I was instantly hooked. I started traveling and spending more time outside hiking and camping with my camera always in hand. Fast forward to 3 years later and I decided to move up to Flagstaff and pursue my bachelor’s degree in field photography. Moving up to Flagstaff turned to be one of the best decisions I ever made. The natural world around us absolutely fascinates me everyday and Flagstaff as well as all of Northern AZ is the place to be if you want to be outdoors and capture amazing landscapes. I graduated with my degree in May of 2018 and I am currently working at Historic Brewing Company as the assistant head brewer and social media manager. I shoot a lot of different types of photos for work, but I also try to get out exploring as much as possible to photograph for my personal projects.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I create photographs of landscapes, people, and products. Growing up I spent a lot of time on road trips and camping with my family, which sparked my interest in the outdoors early on. Once I started traveling more and getting outdoors regularly, I realized that I wanted to capture landscapes in a way that would transplant the viewer into that moment in time. When I’m out in nature in a gorgeous location, watching the sunset, I can’t help but grin from ear to ear. To me, there’s no place I would rather be. I want the viewers of my photos to be able to feel the slightest sense of my joy and peace when I capture an image. In turn, I want people to realize that our planet is fragile and we must do everything we can to preserve it. Battling climate change has always been an extremely important aspect of my life. I hope my photos will inspire people to protect the planet, get out and explore, share those special moments with friends and ultimately pursue the life they want to live.

In your view, what is the biggest issue artists have to deal with?
Social media and the internet. I have a strange personal relationship with social media, because I think it has so many benefits but also a lot negative aspects. As a photographer, I see a lot of other people that shoot photos, but they choose to use their efforts to follow the trends and not truly be the artist they want to, because the likes and followers are more important to them. However, on the other end, social media is such a great way to network and get your art seen by thousands of people instantly. I try my best to stay away from copying others work and being unique, which is the most important to me.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I have photos hung up at Historic Barrel and Bottle House – Flagstaff currently and occasionally other bars in Flagstaff. The best places to see more of my work would be at my website (austincorbettcreative.com), or my Instagram (@austcorb).

Contact Info:

• Website: austincorbettcreative.com
• Email: austincorbettcreative@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austcorb/

Image Credit:
Siobhan Webb

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