Behind the lens of 21-year-old Ethan Gulley’s camera is a creative individual with a passion for displaying people in their raw element.
Gulley, senior in industrial design, from Athens has made a name for himself with his photography career.
He started taking pictures when he was 12 years old by capturing moments on family vacations.
He said his mother gave him his first camera, a fully manual Pentax K1000, which he said he still uses today.
Gulley said he is influenced by many things including travel, movies and people.
“I love traveling with a film camera and not having to overthink everything,” Gulley said. “When I travel and take pictures, it goes back to the basics of photography.”
People such as Butch Anthony and Bill and Jackie Strong, owners of barbecue restaurant Turn Baby Turn in Notasulga are also a large part of Gulley’s work.
Gulley said he values “any genuine person with a story to tell.”
He draws inspiration from other photographers, including his current favorite, Jason Lee Parry, as well as Annie Lebowitz, Chuck Close and Ryan Murihead.
Gulley has met fellow photographers by connecting on social media.
“There’s a lot of negative things about the Internet, but it’s cool; you can connect with someone, go meet them and they turn out to be normal people,” Gulley said.
He said he met one of his favorite models to shoot with, Emma Maris, this way.
Maris introduced Gulley to Willow Shields, the actress who plays Primrose Everdeen in “The Hunger Games” series.
The two were able to shoot together at the botanical gardens in Atlanta.
Gulley said Shields was “totally normal and really mature for her age.”
“I’m sure if it was the right person I would be a fanboy, but I’m not really someone who acts different or weird around a famous person,” Gulley said.
Maris’ and Shields’ fathers went to college together.
Maris, an Atlanta native, said she enjoys shooting with Gulley more than any other photographer.
She describes shooting with other photographers as work, but is very comfortable with Gulley, because he said he values her input.
“He has such an innocent, fresh way of looking at photography as an art,” Maris said. “You look at his work and can feel the honesty in it.”
Shea Tillman, associate professor in industrial design, who taught Gulley’s basic photography for industrial design class, agreed with Maris.
Tillman said Gulley is “a soft-spoken fellow.”
“Ethan doesn’t have to shout about his work, the work shouts for itself,” Tillman said.
Gulley said his passion for photography is similar to industrial design. However, he said industrial design is his backup plan if he doesn’t obtain a career in photography.
Tillman said the photographs students produce during projects play an important role in finding a job.
Gulley said he plans to pursue a career in industrial design, while still working with photography.
His future projects include working on a lookbook for U&I Boutique in Auburn.
Gulley’s work can be viewed on social media and his website, ethangulley.com.
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