About Scott P Yates Photography

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Scott is a Southern boy who came of age in Yankee territory. His roots are planted in these two cultures. He was born and raised in Southwestern Virginia, then moved away to New Hampshire for college. Upon graduating, Scott landed a photojournalism job at a local newspaper company. Despite the bitter cold of New England winters, he stayed up North for the next three years where he gathered local and regional recognition for his work. Scott found inspiring friends and world-class colleagues during this time. He earned more money and collected more health benefits than he knew what to do with. His life was extremely stable, like in the movie “Office Space” –plenty of creature comforts but the “joie de vivre” was missing.

In 2010, after a conversation with a close friend, Scott was inspired to quit his job and to embark on a three-month cross-country trip from the northeast westward. Scott said his only goal was “to dip my toes in the Pacific Ocean.” But along the way he found more adventures than he bargained for: volunteering at an organic farm during the harvest in Vermont, stalking Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, line dancing in Appalachia, thumbing through the Magnum photo agency’s archives in Austin, Texas, camping inside the Grand Canyon with high schoolers from the Navajo Nation, finding a hidden vineyard above the clouds in Napa Valley, California, couch surfing with hippies in San Francisco, and following the campaign trail of the 2012 presidential election back in New Hampshire.

Though Scott returned to Virginia in early 2012, his explorations did not stop. Scott was hired by one of his favorite bands, The David Wax Museum, to come into the recording studio and document the making of their sophomore album. Then, they hired Scott to travel across the mid-west with them as the band’s tour manager/photographer upon the album’s release.

From the early 2000s, Scott’s photojournalism creates artful, entertaining and informative photography and multimedia. His photojournalistic style uncovers the quirky humor and inherent beauty in everyday life. Although he shoots a little of everything, he gets his kicks out of creating iconic images for artists of all genres - either inside a photo studio, a music club, or on the road. If you hadn’t guessed it, Scott is able to travel far and wide for assignments and private commissions. Scott contributes photos to ZUMA Press for worldwide distribution.

Over two years later, Scott’s close friend who encouraged him to hit the open road still does not know just how inspiring her words became.