Meet Austin Williams | Photographer & Fine Art Sales Consultant

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

Hi Austin, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I have always been a risk taker, it is a habit that has had plenty of negative consequences in my life – like the two vertebrae I fractured while snowboarding – but it has also been the trait most essential to my growth. “Everything you’ve ever wanted is sitting on the other side of fear.” This quote by George Addair is one that latched onto my consciousness early on, because of that, fear has become a sort of barometer for me. If there is fear behind a pursuit, it must be the right kind of fear, then I have confidence that I’m pushing myself in the right direction. All these huge decisions in my life – whether that’s building a bed in the back of my 4Runner to live on the road and become a rock climber, moving to California to work on a pot farm during Covid, or deciding to turn my passion of photography into a business – all of these decisions have been accompanied by fear. Not all went as planned, but all resulted in tremendous growth.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
It was a long journey to discover a love of photography. Initially I borrowed my mom’s camera and just enjoyed running around and taking photos of anything. Becoming a dirtbag rock climber living out of my 4runner was a time in my life that nurtured that joy for photography even though I was only shooting with a GoPro. When Covid hit, I decided to buy a professional quality camera and spent time road-tripping all over the US. That period of about a year resulted in my technique and eye developing at a rapid pace. It’s only in the past couple of years that I recognized that my true joy in photography is people. I love being around people and meeting new and interesting people, and it turns out that I’m very talented at capturing the essence of someone in a moment of time. That has now led to my pursuit of concert photography which I enjoy so much. I previously thought I would be a jazz saxophonist so music has always played a large role in my life. All I hope is that the love that I have for photography, for people, for music, and for art is apparent and contagious.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
So I live in Keystone at about 9,200 feet so I have a lot to choose from when people visit me. We definitely need to catch some live music, whether at Red Rocks or the Dillon Amphitheater or at a local bar, live music is a must. The summer is the time of year that I prefer up here so I love taking people out on the lake or on a hike or out rock climbing somewhere with me. I am also a huge foodie and have been known to drag my friends unsuspectingly to very nice restaurants, like Rootstalk in Breckenridge or The Wolfs Tailor in Denver or getting omakase at a number of sushi joints. I know all the hole-in-the wall restaurants as well, don’t worry. A week? Give me a year.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I definitely owe a ton to my parents, we moved around a lot when I was a kid. My dad was constantly moving for different jobs and bringing us along with him. At times that is difficult, but it teaches you that you have power over where you want to be and what you want to do. My mom has been the emotional foundation for our family and has always encouraged me in all my pursuits telling me to “throw mud at the wall and see what sticks”. I’m also very grateful to Raitman Art Galleries and all the wonderful people I work with there as an art consultant. Being hired by the Raitmans and being immersed in the art world has given me a degree of confidence to pursue photography as a profession that I didn’t have before.

Instagram: @divinedetailphotography

Other: divinedetailphotography@gmail.com