Meet Sandra Kourah | Fine Art Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sandra Kourah and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sandra, can you tell us about a book that has had a meaningful impact on you?
I am a visual storyteller and chaser of light …. always the light. My fine art landscape photography has an ethereal and contemplative visual storytelling style, evoking a sense of light and honoring the stories of nature. I am enamored by the way light changes and paints the beauty of this world. I am enamored with the power of light and the power of transformation it holds. Light to me is hope, faith, and a promise of what is yet to come. Light, as it dances and twirls creating different emotions within our souls. The light that beckons us to follow our wanderlust, be the light, be fearless, fall, get back up, and let the light in. I believe your soul is the endless source of Light. Your soul is home. This is what I share with the world through my photography. To share some light that might shine in someone’s life that needs it. Making a small difference if I can by letting someone know… there is always light, no matter the darkness…

Books have this same impact on me. Many books line my walls, I am an avid reader. I am grateful for the souls that had the courage to dare and put pen to paper and give us courage or transport us to different dimensions. One book, in particular, was a launch point for me at a very scary crossroads… Daring Greatly by Brene Brown. I was at a crossroads in many aspects of my life about 7 years ago and that book gave me the extra push I needed… to well… Dare Greatly

Please tell us more about your art. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
My art is an extension of who I am and what I have held onto no matter where I found myself in life… believing in the light and love in this world. A diamond in the rough is how I see the world. I look through my lens and words come to mind, from each wave that washes ashore to embrace the grains of sand that provides me my sanctuary, to a blazing sunset, to majestic mountain terrain, or to a new days promising sunrise. Any road that is traveled following your heart is never easy… but it does make you stronger even when you think you have all but failed. But you have not failed. You have gained valuable lessons and experience. For me, I have always had a camera in hand, always see the world as well through my mind’s eye, a camera of sort in my brain that recorded the beauty everywhere around me, in a stranger’s kind smile, in the sound of rain, in dawns early light. I started my career as a practicing dentist but then decided to follow a different path that was calling me. This path would prove to me how one must stay true to their dreams but remain flexible and resilient. My life took two parallel roads which I am forever grateful for that I stayed true to my instinct and heart. One where I am now working for a Dental Software company designing websites and helping many dentists with my background knowledge, and one where I am able to grab my cameras, throw them in my car and go capture the beauty of this world and it’s light to share with the world. In a way, they converge in the fact I help bring a smile to someone’s day in any way I can  What I have learned (and I still learn every day from the enigmatic world around me) is to be present, to be open even when you want to run and hide because you stumbled and fell. Stay open, open heart, open mind, open soul. Be the light, be the love the world needs. The universe always has your back. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story? I would like the world to know and believe in the light and love in this world. I know the darkness comes but light is never far behind… dawn always comes 

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The beach!!!  I am an ocean girl so I would take them to all the beaches along the San Diego Coast and stop to sample fish tacos along the way. A few of my favorite places are The Taco Stand in Encinitas, maybe pick up tri-tip from Cardiff Market for a BBQ, Cucina Urbana Bankers Hill, a few of my favorite breweries are a must, Thorn, Stone, Belching Beaver, and cannot forget the coffee.. James Coffee and Bird Rock among my favorite! Sunset Cliffs is a favorite and Liberty Station Arts district with all the Art Galleries and the Food Court goodies. There is so much it is hard to write it all! I love San Diego 

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many souls who have impacted my journey directly or indirectly. Each one has left some light for me to hold on to in my own tumultuous times. And hence my want to always try and pay it forward through my photography. I am thankful to those who have supported me when I doubted myself and supported me in my successes. I would have to give a shout out to My Dad who had a love of photography himself and always had a camera around and naturally I followed in his steps. The strength he taught me and instilled in me that I never knew I had until in hindsight I realized it. My friends who are my family that have been there every step of the way.

Website: www.thewanderlustcreative.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.wanderlust.creative/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewanderlustcreativesk/

Image Credits
©Sandra Kourah