Artist, traveler, storyteller… the work of Sam Aslanian

Wherever his adventures take him, Sam Aslanian travels with his battered SLR cameras that are often held together with duct tape.  In his bag can be found all manner of film, yes the kind the photographer loads carefully, gingerly, and spools into position in the camera’s belly.  It is a hard commodity to come by in the modern world which is both the blessing and the curse of Aslanian’s medium which is to use film deemed by others as past its prime.  The film tells his story with often unpredictable results.  The challenges of digital technology have made camera film practically a dinosaur, and therefore available expired film an even sweeter reward, at least to Sam, for the hunt.

He scours the likes of Paris, Rome and rural America in search of his unique photographic voice and scours the unlikely shelves of ancient film purveyors and Craig’s List to find his film.

Though featured works of images captured far and wide have appeared in numerous gallery showings, finally from his hometown he is telling his story in this curated book on the Napa Valley —

His images are raw. The unpredictability of the film to do what it wants requires an almost Zen-like acceptance on the part of the photographer using this medium.  His images, both intimate and voyeuristic in style and tone, evocatively tell a new story of a place many feel they may already know most intimately.

Sam Aslanian is a longtime California resident and life-long student of photography. Holding a degree from the University of California at Los Angeles’ prestigious film school, and driven by a passion for film arts, Sam worked his way through Hollywood as both an executive producer for commercial and music video productions, and as an accomplished photographer. With his keen eye to both substance and style, Sam found success for more than 20 years in the often fickle and unforgiving industry known as Hollywood.

Today, with countless productions featuring such luminaries as U2, Janet Jackson, and Madonna in his portfolio, Sam has intentionally charted his career in a new direction. Mindful of his greatest passion, fine art photography, he has settled in the familiar landscape of California’s Napa Valley where his family has long had roots. He, along with his wife and daughter, found a quiet place to call home that provides sublime visual inspiration every day.