By Mark Stanley and Tracy Steely
When Will Sullivan was young his father called him “Eagle Eye” for his ability to see things that others couldn’t.
“I was always able to pick out little details within a scene. Like sharks’ teeth for example. I could always find sharks’ teeth on the beach when nobody else did.”
Will was able to turn that visual skill into a career in photography. He has done work for the likes of Architectural Digest, Coastal Living, Outdoor Photographer, Better Homes and Gardens, Time, People. He has collaborated with some big names in the industry, like National Geographic’s underwater photographer David Doubilet.
He is now based here in Santa Rosa Beach.
Will grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, just down the road from Oak Ridge, birthplace of the atomic bomb. All four of his grandparents were involved in the top-secret Manhattan Project. His mom’s stepdad, Alvin Weinberg, was a top administrator at Oak Ridge National Laboratory during the development of the first atomic weapons and later became its director. His paternal grandfather and namesake, William H. Sullivan, was the Lab’s chief chemist. The family still has in its possession letters of correspondence from Albert Einstein, Neils Bohr and Robert Oppenheimer.
“We had these parties growing up where basically you’d have all these scientists from all over Oak Ridge there at the party talking about physics and nuclear power and green energy and all that kind of stuff. These guys were all about saving the world.”
Will got his first professional style SLR camera before he was a teenager.
“I had that love for the American West. The desert, the mountains. And I still do. Some of the pictures I took when I was that age I still sell. They were good. I realized right away that I had a talent for it. It was in my blood. I wanted to help with the cause, you know? To contribute to the future. I realized I could help preserve the world with the pictures I took.”
Will enrolled in the professional photography program at Colorado Mountain College, high in the Rockies.
“I spent about two years in a dark room. I really dove into it and graduated with about a 3.82.”
Armed with his new credentials Will went to California to look for a job. The Los Angeles Times made him an offer. He declined. He would have been photographing celebrities and red-carpet events. Not the kind of thing he was interested in preserving for posterity. Later, Will met Mark Lukes, founder of the North American Nature Photography Association, and he was hired.
“That company did all the reproduction for National Geographic photographers and for all these different artists. We did oil paintings, pastels, and watercolors. I became an expert in reproducing somebody’s art in whatever media it was.”
After years of preserving the work of other artists Will was ready for a change.
“I bought an RV, printed out my own stuff, started a website, www.willsullivan.com. I printed 50 different images in five different sizes, put them in a trailer. Had them all framed and matted and mounted. I registered to a bunch of art shows. I did pretty well. Sold a lot of pictures.”
Soon after arriving in Walton County Will was on the beach, taking sunset pictures, when he happened upon Haruko Shi, who was doing the same thing. They now own a home together.
“This is a beautiful place to live. You should see what Haruko and I have photographed here. There’s interesting real estate here, architecture, design. A lot of love, thought and passion goes into these things. And I get to photograph that stuff.”
Tracy Steely and Mark Stanley are the hosts of a community website called The Faces of Walton County. The project aims to showcase the diverse residents of our community, one Face at a time. To nominate someone for an interview visit www.thefacesofwaltoncounty.com or call Tracy at 850-803-9822.
Author: SWal Life
Views: 0
