Bio
I grew up in a household full of art, design, music and color. Whether it was mid-century furniture or interesting art work on the wall or Mose Allison playing on the stereo, that’s the space that was home to me. At the time, I did not realize or appreciate how much this was an influence until I got into spaces where art was not present. So, in my own life I have been filling it with those same aspects that resonate with me by my choice of profession, marrying a woman with those same ideals and appreciations for the arts, and surrounding myself in spaces with color and design. In my work, as a professional photographer I challenge myself to put that design, color or muse that I am so fond of up front. The marriage of creative with technical.
Akin to all the art surrounding me, it was no surprise that I became interested in photography as a kid. I never thought of doing it as a profession until faced with the reality that I could not live with my parents forever. So, I went to Savannah College of Art & Design and got a BFA in photography graduating with honors. Upon recommendation from a professor, I was hired to work in a fine art photography studio in Taos, New Mexico under Chuck Henningsen, a photographer who had apprenticed with Ansel Adams and whose work is both contemporary and traditional Western fine art. His studio concentrated in a 19th century alternative process known as platinum printing as well as a state-of-the-art color printing process called Cibachrome.
After three years in Taos, my wife and I moved back to the east coast to be closer to family and start one of our own. Moving back to my home town was strange but it offered a lot of opportunity for the both of us. My next step was finding a commercial studio that would take me in, school me on all the finer things and some of the not so fine things of commercial photography and running a business in a creative field.
I worked in a local commercial studio for almost eight years then decided to start my own in 2006. The experience in fine art and commercial photography blended nicely with the creative and technical sides of my brain being challenged. At this point, I have been working in this industry for almost twenty-five years. I could not have done this without all the help and support of the Spartanburg community along the way. I am so grateful for this and I hope I am returning that favor to others every day. There is still so much to learn and explore with this medium as it changes constantly.
When I’m not behind the camera, you’ll find me on adventures—running trails, mountain biking, and stand-up paddle-boarding. I am an avid lover of Little River coffee, VW buses, and live music! In 2015, I made my fourth trip to Africa with the local non-profit, globalbike.org, where I am able to combine my love of biking and passion for photography.
Spread peace and joy everyday everywhere you go!
Carroll’s work has been in many gallery exhibitions, as well as published in books, magazines, billboards and digital media of all types. His work has even made the big screens in Times Square as well as the New York Yankees stadium!