Meet Ken Strieby | Fine Landscape Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ken Strieby and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ken, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I’ve always been an Entrepreneur. I had my own auto paint repair business for 25 years but my real love has always been photography or really anything artistic like painting since a young age. In high school I took photography and college photography and graphic design. At the time in the early 90’s I felt I could make more money in the car business, so I went that route as Landscape Photography was not as popular back then without social media. But now after doing pretty well with my auto business, it’s allowed me to turn my hobby of many years into my dream of being a professional Landscape Photographer. In just 3 short years I’ve been named a top landscape photographer in Arizona by 2 publications which was a real honor in such a very saturated market.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

My passion for photography and just getting out in nature are what gets me most excited.  I feel I have a good eye for seeing things in a way some others may not look at the same way. That’s the “real art” of a good landscape photographer I feel anyway… finding those cool artistic angles and lighting along with amazing compositions. You want it all to come together and tell a story to the viewer! It can all take months of research finding great locations and traveling to them and waiting for the correct lighting. Then after all that the most important part is getting your settings all correct in camera for those big shots that you usually have to get in a very short period of time, it’s seriously all a real great challenge!

But my favorite part of it all is just honestly sharing beautiful landscapes with all you people and showing a place maybe in just a little different way then normally seen or sharing something they may have not ever seen before which gives me a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction hearing what they have to say.

There are many styles and directions you can take your landscape photography.  I would say from studying past great landscape photographers and some of the top photographers of modern day I came up with my own personal style that fits what I like best. I like wide angle lenses (Sony & Zeiss) and tend to try and fit as much as possible into a scene.  I also like a lot of color and won’t pursue a composition if it does not have good color or light or something different about it to give it a little of that dreamy dramatic effect. And finally, and most important, it must be a good composition. Of course, that’s always subjective to the viewer just like any art is in general, and everyone feels differently about any photo depending on how they connect with it on a personal level, but I like to shoot compositions and beautiful places people generally like and could relate to in a personal way and hopefully if so I’ll sell a few along the way.

If you’re ever in the market for investing in my limited-edition fine art landscape photography or just adding a conversation piece and beautifying your decor, please know I use only the very finest museum quality mediums being used today, along with beautifully crafted frames made in Italy. You can find all that info on my website. It’s always my pleasure to help!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

There are a lot of cool spots around Phoenix area, especially in the cooler months. Hiking up South Mountain or Camelback for a good view of the city or maybe take a day drive up to Sedona or go out on one of the local lakes outside the city and go boating or hiking around the Superstition Mountains. From time to time I like to go to Old Town Scottsdale to Main street and go to view the art galleries in that area, and maybe catch a bite after at one of many cool restaurants around Old Town Scottsdale too many to list!  I was also huge into sports growing up, so I like going to college and professional sporting events. The desert botanical garden in Tempe is cool to see if you have never been there, it’s even better when they have events going on in the garden.

I live on the south end of town in Ahwatukee, so we go to downtown Chandler a lot and they have done an amazing job of fixing up that area and bringing in a lot of new restaurants and bars down there. A few of my favorites are DC Steakhouse, The Hidden House, and The Perch. Downtown Phoenix I like this cool pizza place that’s in an old house called Cibo, it’s a very cool atmosphere and their pizza is amazing. It’s fun to go there on a first Friday night, then walk downtown and check out the street artwork. Sometimes I like to also go to a neat Mexican restaurant built in an actual church off Osborn and 51 freeway called “Taco Guild” very cool place! I could go on and on but I have to keep a few secret spots to myself lol …..

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My wife and I have been married for 18 years. Besides being an amazing wife, she is an extremely hard worker. She is a pharmacy manager, honestly hearing some of the story’s dealing with Covid the last 2 years and knowing all the long hours she puts in, I don’t know how she gets up and does it day after day truthfully!  She is my biggest inspiration in life she is amazing and honestly deserves to be interviewed more than I do for shoutout. So many people love her. She has done so much for so many people in her profession.

Website: www.striebyphotography.com

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