Kay Shumway, Landscape Photographer

by Easton Bowring
Kay Shumway in the owner of Bears Ears Photography, where his focus is on capturing the beauty of the San Juan County Landscape. 
Shumway always loved photography as a kid, but fully dug in about 20 years ago, soon after his retirement.
As a kid, Shumway’s parents bought him a photography set which included a camera, film and a projector. He instantly fell in love with the process of capturing a subject, then developing the film through a special process of submerging it into different liquids.  
 “Taking that paper after it had been exposed and putting it in the first bath, and watching that picture develop is just magic to me”, Shumway said. “I get the same thrill now when I take a memory card from my camera or drone and put it in the computer and up comes those pictures. It›s just magic all over again”.
Shumway loves taking photos because it captures history and places it into something you can visually see. 
Starting with flowers, Shumway wanted to capture the beauty of nature that surrounded him. Before he knew it, he started noticing other beautiful things and transitioned into taking pictures of the landscape and the night sky. 
Shumway was born in Salt Lake City, UT and raised in Blanding, where he spent every moment he could exploring the canyons next to his house. 
After graduating high school and attending college, Shumway met educated people who he said had unbelievable knowledge and inspiration, which started his burning desire to learn. 
After attending different colleges and universities, Shumway earned a PhD and jumped at the opportunity to move his wife and seven children back to Blanding after receiving a job offered to help get the college in Blanding started. 
Upon retiring, Shumway began working with a group of artists in Blanding and had a co-op where they sold their artwork. Unfortunately, business was slow, and the group was forced to close their doors. 
After a recent house flood, Shumway decided to turn his basement into a photo gallery where he can continue to showcase and sell his work. 
“I love going out and taking pictures, looking at them on the computer, or printing them myself or having them printed, then having them on display for people to look at” 
Shumway has a wide variety of artwork on display, and is available for viewing by appointment only. To contact Shumway and to see more of his work, visit www.kayshumway.com, email kshumway@frontiernet.net, or call 435-485-0874.