Taylor Castle is a Seattle based commercial photographer.
How/when did the photography bug bite you?
I was 14 years old, and skateboarding was my life. I was obsessed with Thrasher and Transworld skateboarding magazines, and started taking photos of my friends with a camera I borrowed from my high school. I was absolutely entranced with it, but couldn’t convince my mom to get me my own camera. To be fair, I was a skater punk and perpetual a-hole to anyone in authority. One morning my mom woke up with a terrible pain in her stomach, but refused to go see a doctor and wanted to stay in bed and rest it off. I knew something wasn’t right, so when I got to school I called my neighbor and pleaded with her to take my mom to the hospital. She obliged, and it was soon discovered that she had a softball size tumor in her abdomen that had ruptured and needed emergency surgery. Her doctors told her that if she had waited much longer the cancer would have spread, and her situation would have been much more dire. Shortly after she got out of the hospital she surprised me with a Canon Rebel SLR and said “Thank you for saving my life.”
If you had $10 Million to shoot whatever you'd like, what would you shoot?
My new Ferrari.
What is the craziest thing that has happened to you on set?
I shut down a water park for 3 hours during peak operating hours in 85º heat. I only had to shoot a few background plates, which took less than 30 minutes. I then had the entire place to myself for 2.5 hours. There was a line of 100+ children behind the gates, staring on in disbelief, as me and the crew ran amuck in our own private waterpark. It was glorious.
What is the coolest piece of shooting gear you’ve ever used and why?
Hasselblad 500cm: my first medium format camera and a true masterwork of Swedish engineering.
In a film about my life, you’d like to be played by…
A Muppet of some sort.
A word or phrase you overuse…
“Crushed it”. It’s completely involuntary at this point.
My dream collaboration would be with ….
Wes Anderson or Christopher Guest. More specifically, photographing the cast of characters from any of their films.
A great piece of advice you received…
“Make eye contact dude! When you don’t look at me I think you’re some sort of scared child. Are you a scared little child?” ss said by Kwaku Alston, a photographic hero of mine, while conducting a review of my first portfolio. I peed a little.
What is something that people would never expect about you?
I was the lead singer in a mediocre cover band called “The Fat Digits”
What 3 items would you take onto a dessert island other than food and water?
My girl, my dog, and my guitar.
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Represented by: Held & Associates
