We couldn’t talk to landscape photographer Todd Frame without asking about his last name – a perfect one for his chosen profession. “It also comes back to bite me a little bit because at least once a week I have someone come into the gallery thinking framing,” he says. The gallery he’s referring to is his own, the eponymous Todd Frame Gallery that opened in Uptown back in November. Although the gallery doesn’t offer framing, inside you’ll find about 30 different photos – primarily of Sedona, with a few other places sprinkled in too – of his work. The smallest works are postcards measuring five by seven inches. The largest is an acrylic that’s six by nine feet. The gallery is an open floor plan designed to give customers a chance to admire the work from afar.
Todd wanted to open a gallery for years but, in his words, he wasn’t great at business. He went out to dinner with friends this past summer when he told them about his dream. His friends said they could help and within two days, he and his friends were searching for retail space. “It’s nice to be able to share your work the way you want to share it, instead of having constraints,” he says. “It’s nice to be able to work for yourself and put that out to people and see if they respond.” He started in photography about 25 years ago. He was working as a scuba instructor in the Cayman Islands while he dabbled in the medium capturing underwater images. About 12 years ago, he became a full-time photographer in his home state of Pennsylvania. He moved to Sedona four years ago and decided to exclusively shoot landscapes.
His two favorite places to photograph in Sedona are Cathedral Rock and the incredible views from the Hangover Trail. He’s usually in the gallery starting around 2 p.m. He does sometimes take off to shoot a sunset, and says he feels thankful he’s able to make a living doing work he loves. “I was fortunate to follow something I was passionate about,” says Todd. “God’s creation is absolutely stunning. For me, Sedona is the perfect place to try and capture that and hope that I do it justice.” − Teresa K. Traverse
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