Interview | Sarah Beets — theVisualVoices.

As we curate hundreds of photos every day, one photographer that stands out amongst the rest is Sarah Beets (@sugabeets). See what she has to say about photography in our interview below:

Could you introduce yourself, your background, where you live, and where you’re from?

My Name is Sarah Beets. I have always loved learning about and honing skills in a wide variety of subjects Rock n Roll, perfume, geology, treasure searching, wine, evolution, movies, art and of course photography.I am truly fascinated by so many subjects, and photography gives me the opportunity to express my sense of wonder and love of beauty. I am originally from Kansas City, MO, and moved to San Francisco four years ago. There are many reasons I decided to make the move west, and photography was definitely a motivating factor.

Describe your journey as a photographer. What camera do you prefer to use?

I have never studied photography, had no formal training, I’ve never even owned a camera. I started taking pictures on an iPhone 5 five years ago, and currently shoot on iPhone 7 Plus. For me photography started as an afterthought and over the course of a couple years became an obsession. I started looking at a lot of photography, reading about photography, and started taking a ton of photos. Like 2000 photos a day, and I began editing all of my photos using the VSCO app, and it had a huge influence on my work. The VSCO community is a wonderful platform not only for editing photos, but sharing and discovery as well. There are so many talented artists sharing photos from all over the world, and I have been truly honored to have many shots featured by the VSCO curation team.

What inspired you to pursue photography? What is your biggest source of inspiration?

San Francisco is a muse of many facets, the city, it’s citizens and the natural beauty of the west coast all influence my work. I love the juxtaposition of grit and grime of the Tenderloin district to the unabashed beauty of the California coast sunset into the Pacific Ocean less than a mile away. I believe my photos show a diverse range, and I enjoy many types of photography just like my passion for variety in other fields. Street photography is a genre that I love because of the wild unpredictable aspects of a constantly changing canvas. The high of catching the perfect shot is addictive, that feeling of skill colliding with kismet. I also love portraiture, people are so complex and inspiring, and there’s an intimacy, a bond that’s captured in a click, and a connection made. I always learn something new about myself or the person I’m photographing.

How would you describe your aesthetic?

I would describe my aesthetic style as eclectic eye candy. I am often drawn to and inspired by intense color and interesting shapes, but just as in all other aspects of my life,there are no hard and fast rules, in fact some of my personal favorite shots are high contrast black and white edits. I hope that my work will continue to evolve in weird and wonderful ways, and that I personally will grow and learn from the many new avenues this art form allows.