Sumner's Perihelion: "Pink Jail"

via @sumnerhowells

The first time I came across Sumner Howell's Instagram felt like I'd been led by fairies through a garden, fell in love, attended a rave party, and opened my childhood toy box all in the span of twenty minutes. Despite the wide range of emotions her art delivers, it's not hard to tell when you're looking at one of Howell's images before even a glance at her handle. Maintaining a trademark of this caliber in every setting is something that any photographer wishes to achieve at the mastery level of their career, so when it's done by the age of 24 with the melancholy of Ohio woodlands as your playground, it's hard to not want a front row seat to the rest of the movie that is Howell's work. Ready to take her cameras to the West Coast later this Summer, Sumner knows just as well as the rest of the world that her power is needed elsewhere, yet she still remains curious and playful towards the joys of everyday life during our talk below:

S: What is your name?

SH: My name is Sumner Howells.

S: How old are you?

SH: 24.

via @sumnerhowells

S: Where are you from?

SH: I’m from Columbus.

S: How did growing up in Columbus shape who you are as a photographer?

SH: Since I grew up in a suburb of Columbus, my lifestyle was definitely outside of the norm for what I do. When we got to the age of thinking about carers, I was one of the first people in my high school to say “Well I’m going to go to art school and be a photographer” rather than a corporate job. Even though my parents were always really supportive of me, other people’s parents where I grew up would give me strange looks when I talked about my plans after school. Being from Big Walnut—and really just Ohio in general—and wanting something that’s considered “unsafe” for a career comes with a lot of people doubting you so that always pushed me a lot harder towards what I want. The fact that the things that made perfect sense to me sounded so unhinged to other people just made me want to go for it even more.

S: When did you get your first camera?

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SH: I always had cameras growing up; little point and shoots of my dad’s were always around. I’m sure the first time I picked up a camera I was about seven. I didn’t do anything really serious with a camera until my freshman year of high school when I got my first SLR camera—it wasn’t very nice or anything, but I’d take my friends out in fields and dress them in clothes from Goodwill and just play around a lot with shooting.

S: Do you remember what your first shoot was like?

SH: Majority of my first paid shoots were people’s senior pictures which were super bland. We’d often end up in some basic fields around Sunbury *laughs* that damn town is a haunting place! Early on, I just wanted to fit in with the basic rules of photography: shooting people exactly how they are, how they want...nothing like the creative work I do now. It was usually pretty awkward and nerve racking for me at the time—but still really fun.

product shoot for @phlorea_

S: What is the creative process for a shoot? As far as location, muse, lighting?

SH: I feel like it always starts with me seeing a location I really like or a clothing item. From there I just decide who I think would work best to fill the space or the outfit and then everything else just falls into place after a bit of work. *laughs* it’s a whole thing! It takes a lot of time!

S: If you had the opportunity to reshoot a movie or show that you’ve seen in the past, which would you choose?

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SH: I honestly wouldn’t want to reshoot Euphoria, but if I had the chance to be apart of any of the process of that show, I’d be right there.

S: Some people say photographers are born and not made because they all have a certain eye. Do you believe this? And if so are there any photographers’ “eyes” that have inspired your own?

SH: I definitely agree with that statement. I’d be out with my mom growing up taking pictures of really random stuff that I felt drawn to and she’d be like “Why did you do that?” *laughs* But as far as others who inspire me the list is long: Ethan Benavidez, Hana Mendel, Annie Noelker, Kate Sweeney, Zamar Velez, and so many more. I love being a witness to a lot of their stories and the progress of all of them. I get very inspired by locals especially.

S: What was your most challenging shoot?

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SH: It wasn’t necessarily one shoot--my senior thesis for CCAD was a lot for me back in 2021. Growing up I experienced a lot of trauma that really made most of my childhood a blur that I couldn’t remember a lot about but my dad would take pictures of everything when we were kids. A few months before I started working on the thesis, I came across all these photos of me and my brother thinking “this is just not the childhood I remember at all” and I spent the next few months just relearning and remembering who exactly I was and making sense of all I had experienced. That’s already a lot at any time, but since it was COVID, I was spending 95% of the time in my room in a place that I truly didn’t care for. I got a lot out of it in the end. but it was just brutal work at the time.

S: What is the shot you are most proud of?

SH: Probably a self portrait from a few years ago because of how vulnerable it was. My ex and I spent seven years together from the time that I was 14 until I was 21. We made a bunch of promises that seem careless when I look back.*laughs* But it ended with him cheating on me--the pain I felt led to me doing cocaine after a Ski Mask the Slump God concert--really just because I told my ex I never would. It was all just a “fuck you” moment that I needed to process. I left all that behind since then but in the midst of doing the self portrait, I came to a realization that nothing is really good or bad—it’s just an experience—and if we feel something from it, we probably really needed it. I don’t usually shed layers like that in front of a platform so it’s a level of vulnerability that feels really nice to look back on.

S: What has been your favorite work experience thus far?

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SH: It’s not even photo related because I haven’t gotten to work with this person…yet! *laughs* Last summer I saw my Ski Mask the Slump God in Chicago and I built up the courage to ask his permission to take pictures while I was there and he ended up following me! We’ve been in touch a few times since then; even though its a small thing it’s just the fact that I would never DM people I admire just as myself asking to hang out *laughs* but since I know how to do cool shit with cameras it just gives me a different level of confidence to know I can be in touch with artists I love for the right reasons.

S: What’s next for you photography wise?

SH: Moving! I just want to take it elsewhere and see where that leads me. It’s really hard being involved with really cool projects and being the only one that has to travel all the time—so many people tell me the distance is the only thing that stands in between us working together. It would be so much more convenient to be in a place where there’s lots happening all the time. It’ll definitely be a big change but who cares? We all have the same end goal in this life so I feel the least you can do is at least try to make your wildest dreams come true.

via @sumnerhowells

S: What is your zodiac sign?

SH: I’m a Cancer.

S: What traits do you feel you display most from that sign, if any?

SH: I’m a big empath—too empathetic perhaps. Over the years I’ve learned to be a more boundary holding Cancer, but that took time. I can be a bit chaotic with my emotions because of how deeply I feel them, too. And I love water—pretty sure I’m a mermaid—it’s one of my favorite parts about relocating to LA this year.

via @sumnerhowells

S: Outside of photography, are there any other avenues you’d like to explore in the creative realm?

SH: I would love to make music at some point, I love singing. I’d love to get into drawing and perhaps put a book together of all the things I’ve done artistically that can be translated on paper. Fashion is a big thing for me, too, but I dialed it back for years after I came to school with purple lipstick once and everyone had heart attacks. *laughs* I’ll try anything once so this list could go on for 24 hours.

S: What does a week in your life look like?

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SH: It just depends on how business is going. I freelance full time so I may start the week with no jobs and then end up with six! Or I could have no jobs for a few weeks and get to focus on myself; which usually consists of getting massages, bothering my friends, and going to therapy. My schedule could be everything or nothing at times.

S: Who or what keeps you motivated?

SH: Me…yeah, just me. More specifically, the 14 year old version of me who was so trapped in a space in which she didn’t think it was possible to even consider moving to a place like LA at some point, despite having a Tumblr account full of LA and fun photography. It seemed possible for everyone but me so I just keep going to show her that it really is possible and she really will see it and live it. The more I do the more I feel like I’m making her happy.

via @sumnerhowells

S: What three words would you use to describe your art style?

SH: Whimsical, eccentric, and….peculiar.

S: Photography is one of the more technical arts that is harder to find your footing in as there is so much to it that people would never expect. What is one piece of advice you’d give to someone just starting out in photography?

SH: Definitely start with automatic because there’s nothing wrong with that and there’s a lot to be learned there. Once you’re comfortable with automatic, start paying attention to what changes your camera is making for you in automatic and see what it’s like to do that yourself. But honestly—if you just want to learn for fun and not a full blown career—no one should be letting lack of high end gear get in the way of being creative. The shittiest camera and a couple flashlights can make an amazing shoot.

via @sumnerhowells

S: If the world was yours for a month, what would it look like?

SH: It would be pink—the grass, the sky, everything. People would be comfortable with themselves and comfortable with each other. If I’m in control, it would be a little chaotic at first but eventually everyone would come together and be like “Oh this is what we’ve always wanted!” Everyone would be safe, besides the bad people. Bad people would go to the pink jail.