STEPHEN SHELESKY

Ambassador Spotlight

By Stio

Stephen Shelesky is a photographer based in Jackson, Wyoming. Through his work, Stephen seeks to evoke an emotional attachment to the environment by capturing human connection in the outdoors. His imagery is vibrant, happy, colorful, and reflects his mission to bring positivity and inspiration to others' lives. Stephen is openly gay and proud to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community, weaving an additional layer of depth into his work. Since coming out, he has prioritized storytelling that promotes the outdoors as a space that uplifts, accepts, and includes everybody.

What do the outdoors mean to you?

When I was in college and trying to grapple with my sexual identity, the outdoors served as a place where I could escape to find a sense of comfort. All of the social pressures that come with college and being in a fraternity made me crave solitude. When you’re hiding that part of yourself, it takes so much energy. Every social setting is exhausting to take part in and it wears you down. The options were to get really drunk and numb my anxieties or just remove myself from it all together. So, I would leave Boulder on a Thursday or Friday and go 4 hours in any direction to shoot photos of beautiful landscapes - Rocky Mountain National Park, sand dunes, the San Juans, wherever. I loved the feeling of shooting a landscape that was hard to get to. Summiting a 14er by sunrise. Doing it by myself. Wake up at 1am. I was so deep in the denial of accepting my sexual identity that the challenge of pushing myself physically to capture these landscapes was the only thing that made me feel happy. I loved the prep work of writing the agenda, getting to the summit at sunrise, and capturing a moment that only I ever saw. Doing this by myself, without relying on or depending on anyone else made me physically and emotionally stronger. The outdoors is a place where I can be myself.

Now, as a professional outdoor photographer, it’s where I want to be. I strive to share the surreal feelings that people experience in the outdoors. Freezing a moment in time that will capture the imagination of someone and inspire them to get outside. There is nowhere better to feel present than in the outdoors and photography helps me share that feeling with others.

How have the outdoors helped you find comfort in your identity?

The solo trips served their purpose at the time, but more than anything, the outdoors helped me find my community. Beyond the landscapes, the people who I share these experiences with have shown me that I deserve to be here and that I belong here. It’s a newfound sense of purpose and a place where I feel comfortable being myself. When you’re in the closet, you’re shutting off a huge ability in yourself to be able to connect with people and establish meaningful relationships. Even my best friends didn’t really know who I was. No matter how talented and hungry I was, if I didn’t own my sexuality, then the ceiling would remain low. Now, I’m all here, these people accept, include and uplift me. So this shared experience makes the outdoors even more rewarding.

The other aspect of this is that the outdoor industry is dominated by straight, white men which felt intimidating for a long time. It was hard to feel like this was a place that would include me. I would internalize these fears about what a gay person is supposed to be. After a while, I came to realize that the outdoors was my place and should be a place where anyone can feel comfortable being themselves.

What role has photography played in shaping your identity?

After college, I went on a solo road trip to capture the most stunning landscapes I could find and build my social following. Beyond the photo goals though, I wanted to come to terms with my sexuality - I wanted to figure out why I wasn’t happy. Throughout the trip I captured amazing landscapes and grew my social following the way I wanted to, but still wasn’t happy. This unhappiness eventually led me to write the words, “I’m Gay” in my journal for the first time, which was a huge break through moment for me. I’ll never forget that road trip. Five months exploring the western US taught me a lot about the landscape and even more about myself.

How did coming out change the way you approach everyday life?

It was both challenging and exciting. By owning that part of myself, I opened all these other doors that had always remained closed. I realized that I can be whatever I want to be. For so many years I didn’t know the genuine pieces of my identity to the core. All I knew was what interests and activities helped insulate me from my anxieties and cover up my identity. All of it is stressful, but now I’m surrounded by unique people who I can develop real relationships with. Professionally, I've shifted my perspective about where I want my career to go and who I want to work with. I want to become more than just an activist. I want to be a role model and help lift those people with suppressed perspectives and stories. I want everyone to feel welcome and included in the outdoors. I want to collaborate with other photographers rather than compete against them. There are gatekeepers to this industry, which makes it exclusive. This attitude needs to go. A new wave of people are uplifting and supporting each other. Everyone brings their own eye and perspective. That intimidating perspective that comes with the gatekeepers is not acceptable anymore.

What do you want to accomplish in your photography career?

My heart lies in work that helps build awareness for inclusivity and conservation. Right now, my goal is to create beautiful imagery that could have an impact on someone's life. I hope my work can inspire perspective and create change. Right now, my biggest goals lie in endurance based missions. I want to go to the ends of the earth to share imagery of landscapes we haven’t seen before, places that are extremely challenging to get to. I still really enjoy the mental and physical challenge from a stamina standpoint (similar to the Colorado 14ers). Really long walks inspire me. You learn so much about yourself in that amount of time. It’s immensely gratifying in the end. Even if it's a failure, there is always something you gain and you never know what you’ll find unless you go. If you dedicate the time to it, anyone can do this.