Today we’d like to introduce you to Andy Wickstrom.
Hi Andy, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I got started in photography while living in Chicago after college. I was working as a graphic designer at Intelligentsia Coffee and slowly realized we needed in-house photography to expedite our regular graphic projects. It coincided with my interest in cameras and photography and launched me into my career as a photographer. After we left Chicago for the open road – quitting this job and my wife’s job, we opted to start our own business, and I took that opportunity to hone my outdoor and adventure photography skills. After years of working with outdoor brands and athletes and documenting an ever-growing list of subjects, I was asked by a friend to document their elopement, which was happening near Vancouver, BC. After that experience, I continued to shoot outdoor subjects and occasional weddings until I moved to Asheville. My friends, successful adventure elopement photographers based in the PNW, also encouraged me to jump into it. They loved it and said I would for sure love it, too. After we moved to Asheville, I got to work creating a brand, building a website, and putting myself out there. I did a few styled shoots, but honestly, I wasn’t super comfortable working that way, and any photos I got felt pretty flat – in that I didn’t know the model, had no real rapport, etc. I was new to posing a person in that setting (it made me clam up), and that just wasn’t for me. I preferred finding that friend who was dating someone and offering to take their photos for free. That felt like a low-investment, safer environment for me to be myself, try things, make mistakes, etc., without worrying that I screwed up the couple’s wedding day photos. In the end, doing a few of those helped me build my website with enough photos to make it obvious I knew what I was doing with the camera, had a distinct style or aesthetic, etc. It was a slow start, but eventually, things picked up more and more.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
The road to where I am has taken a long time for me. I never attended photography school, so any common-sense business knowledge, studio knowledge, technical experience, etc., has been self-driven. For example, I’d think, ‘How do they take such cool climbing photos?’ – then spend time trying to emulate the ones I enjoy looking at. Or take those photographers whose work I loved and try to put my spin on it. I also did that with other forms of photography – not the least of which has been elopement photography. I’d like to make work that looks distinct and not too predictable. I want to keep changing and push myself creatively with the tools I have or should have to achieve my idea.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m an elopement photographer based in Asheville, NC. I specialize in adventurous outdoor elopements in the mountains and forests around the region. I’m known for my outdoor adventure work with athletes and brands, and I bring some of those sensibilities to elopement photography. I’m most proud of an elopement I helped plan and execute that involved climbing a multi-pitch climbing route on Looking Glass Rock in Brevard, NC. The couple, our guide, and I climbed the route over a few hours. I documented the whole thing with two digital cameras, a medium-format camera, and a drone. The experience was wonderful (albeit exhausting by the end of the day).
I’m proud of that elopement because it was successful on all fronts: we climbed the route, though easy, to the top. The couple’s family hiked to the summit to meet us. So did the officiant. The weather held! I didn’t drop my cameras. We got all the photos we hoped to get before dark. We descended safely in the dark and hiked back to our cars, and everyone had fun! If I had to think of a quality that sets me apart from other local photographers, it is my outdoor adventure/climbing experience; my own climbing and outdoor experience makes me comfortable moving around in that environment to get the shots I think are most interesting to me. I’m also silly enough to carry probably too much gear on a day of shooting – whether it’s multiple camera lenses, a flash, a tripod, a film camera, food/water, a coat, lights, etc. Most people might not want that much physical weight and discomfort over an 8-10 hour day of photography. 🙂
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I live in Asheville, NC, and I like it!
Contact Info:
- Website: mountainwed.com
- Instagram: @mountain.wed
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mountainwedAVL/
Image Credits
Andy Wickstrom | MountainWed Photography
