Robin Layton has traveled the world as a photojournalist, capturing enduring images and accolades that have earned her a place as one of the world’s top photographers. After 16 years of working for newspapers, Layton turned her focus to fine art, producing images and mixed-media pieces that have been exhibited from New York to Los Angeles and beyond. All the while, she has called Seattle home. Now, Layton celebrates the release of her latest book, rain, which explores the quintessential Northwest weather in all its forms.
What inspired you to make a book about rain? Last winter, it poured for three months straight. It was more rain than I’d ever seen since living in Seattle, and it hit me: rain! Seattleites have a unique relationship with rain—we learn to make peace with it. Seattle equals rain. And without rain, there is no life.
Tell us about the photographs in the book. The images are all related to rain in some way: the lack of rain, what comes from the rain, how rain distorts reality, what happens during and after it rains. To me, seen together, the images are mesmerizing and inspiring.
You work in many forms: photojournalism, film, fine art, books. What are the common threads? The common theme is that I try to capture the energy of things, whether it’s the perfect moment, striking light or an interesting composition. I love to spotlight what others don’t notice; seeing something beautiful when others see the mundane. And I see beauty all around me.
