I am Sanford Tullis. I am a Georgia native living in the Athens area. I am not the photographer who “was born with a camera in his hand.” I am a photographer who picked up a camera as a way to stay active in the sport of rodeo, which I loved but had to bow out of.

I survived as a bull rider for a couple of years, until a bull put his hoof down in the wrong place…in my back. I rode my last bull 9 days later and told my traveling partner I was going to take some time off to heal. I never rode again competitively, but I gained something very dear to me.

During my healing time, I picked up a point-and-shoot 35mm camera and shot a roll of film at a local practice pen. Those pictures were not great from a photography point of view, but from a rider’s view point they were excellent. I was able to use my knowledge as a rider and read the bulls. When looking at them you could feel the riders’ emotion, smell the sweat and dust, hear the crowd and the snorting bulls, and feel like you were there. It was the start of a road that I have been traveling for the past 25 years.

Photography isn’t about operating a camera or getting the lights just so. I put effort into that of course, and I eventually learned those details. Photography is about seeing. Just like I was able to read the bulls all those years ago, and get shots that no one else was getting, I can read your mood and capture the essence of who you are, not an image of who someone else thinks you are. The most beautiful photos are natural, and your nature comes out when you are being yourself. That’s who I strive to capture on every shot.

I will put the experience, knowledge, and insight that I have gained on my 25-year journey into every photo we take to produce artwork you will be thrilled to have created with me.

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