Life moves by quickly, so how do we take it all in and appreciate the beauty around us? For Frank Williamson he takes a photograph of it.

Frank has been photographing nature, people, and his surroundings since middle school. He is always on the lookout for something that inspires him.

“I’ve found myself in the snow with a camera, sticking cameras outside a passenger window, and sometimes being in places where I ought not be, “ said Williamson fondly remembering his adventures gathering photographs.

“Photography has changed my life,” he said. “It has trained my eye to look for interesting lighting and color and be proactive when it comes to interesting landscapes or people scenes with lots of action on the street.”

Photography causes Williamson to slow down and look at what is going on around him. Photography is also a way for Frank to express himself, tell a story, or remember a moment. One of Frank’s favorite things to photograph are people, photographing people from all walks of life, telling their story with a single frame. 

With a photographer’s eye, it’s hard not to be visually involved in every environment you enter. Williamson uses photography as a way to find hidden beauty in the world. What may look like a boring city street can look like a work of art when taking a single photo with the right perspective. Not every work of art needs to have a story, somethings are just nice to look at

“Photography can often be used for self-expression. There isn’t always some message, but pictures do speak volumes,” he said.

Williamson also takes photos are of his travels to places like Taiwan, Appalachia, D.C., New York and wherever else wanderlust may take him.

“I usually research the places I want to photograph first, but in the end I always want something that’s visually striking, something that captivates your attention,” he said.

Photography doesn’t always need to be premeditated. I have personally been with Frank on trips to New York, and D.C, and even on school field trips he was never without a camera, and always on the lookout for interesting shots or landscapes. I’ll never forget the horror on the faces of his roommates when they walked into a hotel room to see him hanging out of a window holding his phone, trying to get a time lapse of the busy street six floors below.

Photography is Williamson’s passion and he has dedicated much of his time to it, creating a website, youtube channel, and more to share his work with the world. “I can remember the strange euphoric happiness whenever I could pull a sunrise landscape shot off blur-free in windy and below freezing temperatures or getting a good street photograph. It’s always a good feeling,” he said.

Williamson speaks about each experience vividly and affectionately, making it clear to see his appreciation for the art form. It is his way of putting an artistic twist on a single moment in life, and he has literally changed the way he looks at the world.

Photography has become a hobby and a big part of Frank’s life, occupying his time with traveling to take photos and looking for the perfect shot, or looking at the works of other photographers. Like any other medium there are those who pioneered photography and brought it into the limelight.

“You can’t go far without naming the classic photographers, such as Robert Frank, Yousuf Karsh, Annie Leibowitz, Bresson,William Klein,” he said. “They all made pictures of people that were intriguing in that there could be some story told.”

Photography also occupies his mind, looking for the next place to go with his camera, or thinking of the next sunrise to photograph, “It’s always a good feeling,” said Frank.

Check out Frank Williamson’s work here.