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Raphaël Gaultier is a self-taught freelance portrait and documentary photographer from Seattle, WA currently based in Brooklyn, NY. He works across a variety of genres to capture the intimacies of daily life. His work has been featured in The New York Times, i-D magazine, GQ, and New York Magazine, just to name a few recent commissions.
In what ways does nature inspire or inform your work?
Growing up in Seattle, nature was always a part of my identity. As I grew interested in photography, naturally, the outdoors was a place in which I could explore, fail, and try again through my work. I’ve always been inspired by the ways in which the natural world allows me to be more spontaneous in my work, whether thats the way the light from the sun is falling at a certain time of day or how the wind blows a leaf in a certain direction. No matter where I live, nature will always be a core part of who I am and how I work.
What does it mean to you to be part of a thriving ecosystem?
I recently read a fantastic book called Braiding Sweetgrass in which there’s a chapter about taking exactly what you need and nothing more, and then giving back to what you took from. This is a philosophy that I’ve always attributed to a thriving ecosystem – whether that’s in nature or in a creative community of individuals. I always think about the resource and knowledge sharing that is integral in the creative community that I’m in, and I feel so fortunate to be surrounded by individuals who are constantly giving more than they’re taking.
