We were lucky to catch up with Roger Taylor III recently and have shared our conversation below.
Roger , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
There was so much I didn’t know when I first began my photography journey. I began my photography journey in high school taking canid photos with nothing more than a pocket camera. Eventually I took some photography courses in college to develop more skill with my shots. Over the years I have worked to expand these skills and capture images that inspire me-whether it be landscapes from my journeys in other parts of the world, beach scenes here locally in So. Cal, or candid’s and portraits of individuals in the cosplay world.
Much of what drives me is my stubbornness and not being willing to give up even when the odds against me. If I know I will most likely fail-I persist. Determination, patience, and resilience have been critical tools I’ve learned along my creative journey. At times I would be told my aspirations were childish or unrealistic. I would hold on to the value that with an open mind- there’s nothing an individual can’t achieve. With my first book I wrote, I listened to the input others gave me. I feel it added to my knowledge and used it to improve my writing skills for my following books. It is natural to become a little upset when a friend’s input isn’t what you had hoped for, but it still helps the process. I’m beyond grateful because my first stories grew and evolved into greater stories than they would have been if I didn’t accept the advice of others critiques. Never stop learning what you can. Approach your passions as if you were a student of life itself.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
There are two artistic passions that reside on opposite sides of the same creative road that I walk on in this life. The left side of the street resides my photography, the right my writing. A common chain that I share between my two passions is my love for horror movies. This genre of stories possesses unique twists of suspense that leave people frightened and thrilled. The nightmare on Elm Street movie franchise sparked my interest to begin developing my own horror stories. Another great source of inspiration for me are the ancient myths and legends- original horror tales that were told around fires at night in ancient times. These tales fueled my desire to write horror stories that tied to the ancient myths of the world. This fire eventually ignited my passion for photography to focus mainly horror theme events. I currently shoot candid’s and portraits for fellow cosplayers at events and private sessions. I love capturing images of the unique, thrilling, inspiring, and avant-garde. I work with both digital and film cameras. Shooting with old school film- there’s no going back once you press that shutter button. With digital cameras one doesn’t have to worry too much about the limited space on a film roll compared to SD card that can hold huge amounts of photos. The risks are bit higher with film.. In a way, working with film has made me a far better photographer. I began using color film but gradually grew towards black and white film photos when the occasion calls for them.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I hope to one day to see my stories I write to be published and see them sit on the shelf of a bookstore. Seeing my stories being adapted by a theater company and turned into a play would be amazing. My biggest dream is that one of my stories be turned into either a TV series or a motion picture. This is one of my personal goals I strive towards- whether that be a book, movie, or TV show. I wish to spark something creative for others.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
Learning and growing from my past mistakes have been a critical part in my creative journey. There have been many moments of failure, as well as unforeseen setbacks with both my photography and book writing. The learning process itself is enough to discourage many individuals. There will be several moments I guarantee that giving up and pursuing something else that others would call ‘more realistic goals’ would be easier.
I came across that split road more times I care to confess to even myself. It wasn’t until many years of perseverance that my photography work began to get noticed by others. And it’s those very same individuals I’ve had the honor to be working with on the horror movies they film. I assist them by taking behind the scenes photos for their films. Once I began embracing and surrounding myself with others who share the same creative passions, determination, and work ethics- my “unrealistic” dreams starting to become more of a reality.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wolfsbane_mystic/
Image Credits
All Photos were taken by me, Roger Taylor III.