Today we’d like to introduce you to Guy McCutcheon.
Hi Guy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My photography journey began in high school, where I learned to shoot and develop film for the yearbook. Photography remained part of my life throughout my years in the Air Force and while living in Wyoming and California. I now live in northern Utah, where the surrounding landscapes continue to inspire my work.
While living in California, I became friends with another photographer through our mutual interest in photography. We have stayed in contact since I moved to Utah and still meet up during my trips back to California to photograph missile launches and visit places such as Yosemite National Park. His work inspired me to start shooting film again.
I still shoot digitally, but returning to film has opened an entirely new chapter in my journey. There is something addictive about slowing down, choosing each frame carefully, and waiting to see the final result. It has also led me to collect and use vintage film cameras dating from the 1940s through the 1970s. Each camera has its own personality, history, and way of seeing the world. What began as a return to film quickly became a passion for keeping these cameras working and creating new photographs with equipment that has already spent decades documenting other people’s lives.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
In photography, there are no completely smooth roads. Every photograph, frame, and trip requires preparation, planning, and a little hope that the weather will work in your favor. Even with careful planning, nature often has something different in mind.
One example was a trip to Yosemite to photograph the Firefall from an angle that is rarely seen. Instead, a blizzard moved in and forced us to change our plans. The weather cleared and created ideal Firefall conditions after we had already left, since we only had a set number of days to be there. It was disappointing, but the storm gave us an entirely different Yosemite to photograph.
Because the road to Tunnel View remained closed after the storm, we hiked up the hill and became the first to step into the fresh, untouched snow. A viewpoint normally packed with people was completely empty. We had Tunnel View—and that version of Yosemite—entirely to ourselves.
We did not capture the photographs we originally planned, but we came home with images and an experience we could never have planned. Photography has taught me that when conditions change, you have to adapt and keep looking for the photograph that is still there.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in creating photographs with a “wow factor”—the kind of images that make people stop scrolling and pause for a second. I think what sets me apart is the amount of planning I put into what a photograph could become. I do not simply arrive at a location, start taking pictures, and hope that one of them turns out. I try to visualize the final image first and then determine what it will take to create it.
A good example is the total solar eclipse happening this year. I am traveling to Spain to photograph it, but the preparation began nearly two years ago. I have spent that time researching potential locations, studying the eclipse path, and looking for a composition that will make my photograph unique instead of producing the same image as everyone else.
That level of preparation is what I am most proud of. The final photograph may capture only a fraction of a second, but months—or even years—of planning can go into being in exactly the right place when that moment arrives.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Curiosity is probably the most important quality in my work. I am always asking myself what a photograph could be, rather than simply accepting what is directly in front of me. What would this location look like under different light, during unusual weather, or from an angle most people overlook?
That curiosity drives me to research locations, experiment with different cameras and film stocks, and keep searching for new ways to capture familiar places. It pushes me beyond simply documenting what I see and challenges me to create the image I first imagined.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.guymccutcheon.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/guymccutcheon/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GuyMcCutcheonPhotographer
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/GuyMccutcheon
