People ask me "what sets you apart from the other photographers taking the same photo?"

My name is David Williams. I am a Phoenix based photographer specializing in LDS Temple Photography, Landscape Photography and Indigenous Images of the American Southwest. 

People have asked me, "what sets you apart from the other photographers taking the same photo?" 

That's a fair question and I'll do my best to answer.  First of all, on my website I state "To me, life is a beautiful friction; we are surrounded with natural beauty surpassing the imagination, juxtaposed against our hectic and busy lives.  My hope is to inspire others to see the beauty that was meant to inspire, motivate and heal us."  I truly believe in this statement and seek to connect with viewers on an emotional level with each image.  A photograph is simply a series of lines, colors and light, but larger than that, there is a story that can be told using these lines, colors and light.  This story can create an emotional response with the viewer.  Great photographers have mastered the ability to create specific emotions through their imagery.  I strive to create emotion or drama in my images and one of the tools I use are the beautiful sunrises and sunsets.  Some of my images have dark ominous skies, while others show pastel peaceful colors, but all will tell a story.  I hope one feels the peace, beauty and serenity that can be present in this tumultuous world in which we live.

Secondly, I am a student of the art, meaning I still believe in learning and training in my craft on a daily basis.  Photography is an ever changing world and it takes time and effort to learn and increase new skills.  Gone are the days of taking a hand-held picture and sending it off to the printer.  Today's photography world is 3 fold; with image capture, post processing and printing.  You need the best image capture possible which usually means multiple exposures and lots of focus stacking.  Post production is required to blend and shape the light and colors through exposure blending, color grading, luminosity masking, light painting and a host of other tools to breathe and coax emotion into the images.  The camera, computer monitor, Lightroom, Photoshop and printer all have to have regular scheduled color calibration to bring the emotions to the print.  Finally, there is a myriad of paper types with each one designed to create a different nuance which has to be taken into account. 

Thirdly, I believe in a divine nature to everything in life and there is a Spirit present in our world.  I love to feel this Spirit as I spend time in the outdoors.  I believe the American Indian culture has exemplified this very well, and for this reason, I spend lots of time shooting in the indigenous lands of the Southwest.  Many never catch the vision of why we are here on this earth.  Could it be that the sunrises and sunsets all over the world are meant to remind us of beauty, the beauty of who we are and who we are trying to be?  Are we learning the things we need to learn, are we focused on the things we should be?  Do we understand no matter how bad our day has been, tomorrow can be a bright new day?  I love to ponder these questions as I stand at the edge of a canyon somewhere in the Southwest and I try to bring all of these emotions through to the viewer in my imagery.

I invite you to see my work at https://www.davidwilliamsphotography.com and follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/david_williams_photography_/