HomeTravel & LeisureCulture › Celebrating the American West: Q&A with Fine Art Photographer Cheyenne L Rouse
 
 
 

Located on Marshall Way in Old Town Scottsdale sits an eye-catching yellow stucco building with a red barrel tile roof. Tucked in the building's quaint courtyard is an art gallery that will summon your inner cowboy or cowgirl as you take a visual journey through the Four Corners of the United States. Adorned with a feather bangle and necklace, owner and photographer, Cheyenne L Rouse, exudes a free-spirited ambiance about herself that is similar to her welcoming gallery. By taking Digital Fine Art Photography to new and exciting levels, Rouse opened Ancient Light Gallery and has captured the life of Western and Southwestern cultures by holding it still.

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AFM: Where are you from and what brought you to Arizona?
CLR
: I was born and raised in Miami, FL, I moved to San Diego in 1989 where I started my stock photography business with my specialty in adventure sports, health and fitness, then I moved to Park City, UT where I shot more extreme adventure sports and finally, I came to Arizona just last June to open Ancient Light Gallery. I had already spent a lot of time in Arizona taking photos but I avoided it because of the heat. After 12 years of living at 7,000 ft I realized that I would pick heat over snow any day.

AFM: When were you first introduced to photography?
CLR
: My father got me my first camera at age 15 and after getting an A in photography class I thought, 'Gosh, I'm finally good at something.' After high school I stopped doing photography because I went into the clothing design business with my twin sister. However, it was not until after my trip out west I decided that I would try to make a living from my passion.

AFM: What did you do prior to becoming a photographer?
CLR
: Well I have always been a photographer but making a living as an artist is not an easy path so I have done just about everything to pay the bills while I pursued my passion. I call myself Cheyenne 5.0 because I feel like I am on my fifth incarnation. I worked with my twin sister creating high-end kids clothes, had my stock photography business for 17 years, then got my real estate license, had a personal training business and then after a five year break from photography I felt the creative spark again in 2008 and picked my camera back up.

AFM: What sparked your interest in the West and Southwest?
CLR
: Before I left Florida in '89, I met up with some friends in Albuquerque where we decided to take a little road trip. We went through New Mexico and Southern Utah and I was floored by what I saw, the landscape, colors and the wide-open spaces just captured my soul. After that trip I thought, 'I have to live out west and I am going to make a living with my camera.'

AFM: What inspires you the most?
CLR
: So many spiritual and emotional experiences when I am on the road inspire me; my photographs are my journal of those experiences that will last me forever. I am also inspired by other artists who are passionate and true to their calling whatever that might be.

AFM: Are photographs considered works of art?
CLR
: Some might say that photography is still on the fringes of the art world and there are different segments to that world. However, it just depends on whom you talk to because some will classify it as fine art where others say it is just a photograph. I take my work very seriously and to me each moment in time that I capture and create is a work of art. When I am on the road shooting photos it is a very sacred experience for me, time stands still and the sights and things that I see move me like nothing else can. And there is nothing more gratifying then to get to share it with patrons that come into my Gallery. I am told that my passion comes through my photographs.