Senaite Murray - The Visual Storyteller

Ariana Daniels
Nov 10, 2016
2 min read

This is Senaite Murray, well that exactly isn't her but this is her photo. She is a 19-year-old Atlanta-based photographer, who is probably one of my favorite photographers out right now.

There is something to be said about her work and why it is so good. So let's get into it.

1) Studying

Senaite is a student meaning she studies her craft. Why is this important? Well, it's simply put, any person who is great at anything takes notes or inspiration from someone else. They study. Vincent Van Gogh was inspired by Monnet, Pissarro, and Gauguin. Milton Glaser (a famous graphic designer) was inspired by Herbert Bayer, George Salter, and Paul Rand. Senaite Murray is inspired by Scorsese, Kubrick, Nabil Eldetkin, Petra Collins and Phil Borges just to name a few.

She is also using the principles of photography, things like composition, color, leading lines, symmetry, shape, space,and movement to produce some really killer photos.

She is taking inspiration from these people and these concepts and developing her own style.

2) Passion & Drive

Close your eyes and imagine yourself running a race. You are at the starting line; you hear the countdown "GET READY, GET SET, GO!" You launch, your leg muscles catapulting you from the start line. You are like a rocket that just broke the sound barrier. Your arms are pumping helping you accelerate. You push past 4th,3rd ,2cd and finally, you are in first. Do you slow down now? NO this is where you work harder, first place isn't good enough, you want to be the best. This is passion and drive. Senaite is the runner in this scenario. Starting on her dad's old video camera at the age of 14 she got good, she is getting better, and she will never slow down.

As she explains she wants to quote "Be in The Academy and travel the world making films and exposing people to different kinds of lifestyles. The big meaning behind my work is simply revealing the nature of humanity and showing that through the good and bad, united we are a force energy. If we harness that energy for good we can accomplish anything that we can imagine."

This attitude comes from Senaite's dad instilling in her the belief that she can do anything she puts her mind too. You can see this in her work. There's an undertone of wonder, hope, and love. I don't know about you but I'm really excited to see the work she puts out next!