My name is Rob Tilley. I first became interested in photography more than 40 years ago. I was a photographer for our college yearbook and spent many long hours in the darkroom developing black and white prints. After graduating, however, I decided to be practical and pursue a career in financial services. While I did not completely give up my photography, I was only able to photograph sporadically for many years.
Over the years I found myself devoting more and more time to my photography. Finally, after working in financial services for more than 20 years I decided to follow my passion and work full-time on my photography business in 2002. Since then I have never regretted this decision. While my days are less structured, every day brings a new challenge both in building a small business as well as honing my photographic skills.
I first visited Japan when I was in junior high school and became intrigued with its culture. In college I took some courses about Japan and ended up majoring in East Asian Studies. Things snowballed and I ended up living in Japan on and off for a total of more than 15 years. While there I developed a love for Japanese esthetics and I became a firm believer that "less is more". Now even when I am shooting around the world, my experience in Japan shapes my images.
For the last 15 years I have specialized in making and marketing large format, premium fine art prints. While most graphic arts start with a blank canvas, photography is the exact opposite. A photographer's greatest challenge is to create order out of chaos. Often what is left out of an image is just as important as what is included. I strive to create images that are graphically bold and simple, as well as emotionally moving, creating a bond between the subject and the viewer. I also enjoy using the visual impact of color in relation to all of our senses. Color, texture, patterns and design are all musicians that pull at the strings of our emotions. My subject matter includes nature, culture and the human environment. I hope my images reveal the astonishing beauty and patterns that are often overlooked in places both near and far.