Meet Samantha Anderson | Artist & Storyteller

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

Hi Samantha, how do you think about risk?

Risk is inevitable. It’s part of our daily lives. We’re taking risks every time we make a decision. There is always a risk that another decision would have been the better decision. When we make decisions throughout the day we are slowly building our future while also sacrificing countless alternative paths. We are all risk takers, some people are just more intune with their decisions than others.

I’d love to say I’m a huge risk taker, steadfastly following my dreams no matter what, but it’s only partly true. I play it safe more often than not. I have phases where I’ve taken more risks than others. So far I’ve found that the big risks do indeed cause the bigger rewards, you just have to be patient enough to see them unfold.

Main risk 1 : After living in NYC for almost 10 years, I wanted a change. I wanted to get back to nature, get back to my creativity, just get back to “me”. My fiance (now husband) and I applied to countless jobs in Colorado to make this change a reality. After almost two years of no luck, I finally decided we’d take matters into our own hands. We needed to show the universe that we were serious about this change. So, we quit our jobs in NYC, traveled Europe and South Africa for 6 weeks, moved in with my mom in Florida, and continued to look for jobs in Colorado. I finally received a promising job interview, so we flew out to Colorado a few days before the interview to look at apartments in the hopes of landing the job. At the end of my interview I was very blunt and gave them a deadline of when I’d need an offer so I could secure the apartment we had already put a deposit on – I was all in, it was now or never. I received the job offer mere hours before needing to sign the apartment lease.

Main risk 2 : As I mentioned earlier, I tend to play it safe. Although many people would consider quitting my job in NYC to show the universe I wanted to live in Colorado risky, in my heart I knew it was a safe risk. I knew I could get some sort of corporate job. What I really wanted though was to be my own boss, to pursue my art. But, I was too scared and too unsure of what that meant to take two big risks at once. After 4.5 years of working at the job I moved to Colorado for, I chose another risk. I finally chose to bet on myself. I left my job in May and have been pursuing my art. It was not a “smart” decision, I had no business plan, we weren’t financially stable enough to live off one salary, I just knew it was another “now or never” moment. It’s been a long time coming for me to take this specific risk, I’m still terrified, but I am so excited about the possibilities.

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.

I’m a lifelong artist that recently took the plunge into full time artistry.

My art varies in mediums, but I strive for storytelling to be a part of each piece. My main focus is photography – travel, wildlife, portraiture.

I thrive and look forward to the moments of unknown. What or who am I going to encounter on my hiking adventure today? What or who am I going to meet on our travels? How is this family going to interact with me during family photos? I plan my shoots in advance and I hope for certain things to happen, but I mainly hope for the unknown, that’s where the magic happens.

I’m most excited about my new photojournalism project I’m calling “ We Stood in the Same Spot”. It’s a photo series that connects us hikers. Over the course of a year I will continuously visit specific hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park. During my hikes I hope to connect with other hikers and take their portraits in the same spots as others.

After I’ve done this during all seasons, I’m going to turn their portraits, their stories, their hiking tips, etc into a book. But this won’t be a book about hikes. I mean, it will be, but it’s also not. It’ll be a book about hikers, about humanity, community, and connection.

Why the same spots? Have you ever seen a photo that someone posted at a landmark or other attraction and you’re like “OMG I have that same photo!”. Then you go down a rabbit hole of reminiscing over the memories you had from that day. You feel a sort of connection with the people that have the same photo. The same spot allows for a deeper connection to all who have stopped there before you and those that will stop there after you. Selfishly, it allows me to really get to know certain areas and to share the knowledge I learn with you. It allows me to be a “guest” instead of a “tourist”.

Check out the project here! https://www.samanthakanderson.com/we-stood-in-the-same-spot

What I hope sets me apart from others is that I genuinely care about the people I meet when I’m creating art. It’s not about a paycheck (although yes, it would be nice to get paid. lol) but I genuinely want to meet people, to hear their stories, to actually stay connected with them in the future. I want them to enjoy their vacations they’re on, I want them to continue to grow their families, I want them to succeed in whatever wild dreams they have, and I want to be there to help document it for them and support them.

Besides photography I’ve also been creating physical items such as : wood postcards from my photos, photo frames, and flowers in resin. I love being able to take an idea and turn it into an actual physical piece. Turning nothing but an idea into something.

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

Hiking or Exploring :

• Rocky Mountain National Park, I know it sounds cliche but this place truly feels like home to me, I can’t get enough of it.

• Brainard Lake area

• Golden Gate Canyon State Park

• Nederland

• Mount Blue Sky (originally Mount Evans) – is a beautiful scenic drive where you can see mountain goats.

• Horesetooth Reservoir

Drinks / Food :

• Knotted Root Brewing in Nederland

  • The best brewery around if you like IPA’s. It’s a very relaxed vibe with the nicest bartender and wonderful food trucks. It’s a local spot for sure.

• Liquid Mechanics

• Acreage by Stem Ciders

  •  for the drinks and the food and the views!

• Birdhouse in Erie

  • Their Ramen is the best.

• Lucilles

• Jax Fish House

• St.Julien Hotel in Boulder

  • happy hour – their tater tots are AMAZING. Fluffy potato squares sent straight from heaven. I don’t even like tater tots.

•  Sonnys Mediterranean in Denver

  •  owned by the kindest couple you’ll ever meet and the falafels are the best, honestly all their food is delicious.

• Grizzly Rose

  • If you’re into country, this is a really unique spot.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

Oh goodness, I couldn’t agree with this more!

I wouldn’t be able to do any of the things I do without the support of my husband. He has supported my wild and crazy ideas since day 1 of meeting him. He’s never once told me “you can’t do that” or “that’s stupid”. He always comes to the table with a “how can we make this work” mentality. We’re a team.

My parents’ love and encouragement are unmatched. Although they might get scared and have hesitations about my dreams, they have always been there to cheer me on. Whether I’m telling them I’ve decided to travel solo to Peru, move to NYC, run a marathon, go to college for photography, they’ve been there through it all. I could tell them I want to own an Alpaca farm one day and they’d be like “huh, thats interesting, but we support you!” Haha. P.S – that might actually be a dream of mine one day.

I have a few very close friends that I consider siblings. They are all insanely supportive in their own ways.

Websites: https://www.samanthakanderson.com/ &  https://www.skandersonphoto.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samantha_k_anderson/

Image Credits
©Samantha K Anderson