Justin Sheely

Seeking beauty in a messed-up world.

I am primarily a flawed person who has been saved by the grace of God. This has deeply influenced my perspective and purpose as an artist.

I’m passionate about photography. Drawing on six years of photojournalism experience, I seek to capture authentic moments and meaningful images – not digital manipulations.

The goal of these endeavors is to give credit to God, the creator of all beauty.

Despite the mess in this world beauty can be found: among the noise, beauty is found in the silence; in the chaos, beauty is found in the stillness; among the hurting, beauty is found in those who help; amid the pandemic, beauty is found in spaces extending love and fostering hope.

The aim of my work is to reflect these contrasts. Messages of hope in the midst of despair, light in the midst of darkness; vibrant color in the midst of muddling bleakness.

Background

Justin’s interest in photography was sparked when he was ten. He was watching the behind-the-scene techniques of The Lord of the Rings and learned how the cinematographers used basic wide-angle lenses to create a forced-perspective illusion of making actors appear Hobbit-sized next to actors closer to the lens.

As a teenager, Justin borrowed his dad’s 35mm Olympus camera and lenses to experiment with how various lens angles worked and the perspectives each lent to the world around him. After graduating from high school, he continued to explore photography with the emergence of digital cameras and photoshop. Later he moved to Sheridan, Wyoming, and worked at a camera shop, which hosted photography workshops sponsored by Canon USA and hosted lectures by Canon Explorers of Light. In this context, Justin learned more about photography, gained experience, and eventually lead his own classes in Sheridan and started a photography club in the Sheridan community.

In 2013, Justin made the leap into photojournalism by accepting an offer to work for The Sheridan Press. It was an unusual move since he did not have any experience in photojournalism and he quickly discovered that he was out of his league. However, a friendly photojournalist from Cheyenne reached out to Justin and offered to critique his work and offer advice to help Justin grow into the role. Because of this mentorship and willingness to learn, Justin improved as a photojournalist and won photojournalism awards and photo contests locally and nationally throughout his five years at the newspaper.

During his photojournalism days, Justin kept his passion for film photography alive by photographing the beauty of Wyoming’s landscape and adjacent National Parks. He allowed the principles of photojournalism to inform his artistic expression by attempting to capture what he was experiencing through the lens but not relying on photoshop to manipulate his images. To this day Justin uses photo editing in a minimalistic sense.

In 2018 Justin left photojournalism as he felt a calling to enroll at a small Bible college in Billings, Montana, and pursue what he feels God is calling him to make a difference in other people’s lives. All the while, Justin maintains a passion for photography and keeps his skills sharp as a “family photojournalist.”

Justin is a husband and a father of one little girl.

He loves light roast coffee brewed in an AeroPress, a good IPA from Red Lodge Ales, and beard oil.

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