I first stumbled upon ‘Elizabeth Taylor’s’ Flickr page when I was looking for images of Austin, Texas. She had a beautiful image of a huge cupcake (on top of an airstream trailer turned restaurant) against a beautiful clouded sky. The image was simple, but really caught my attention. After browsing a few pages of her other work and finding her blog I was hooked.

Elizabeth Taylor, also known as Stephanie Cornell, has a rare talent for capturing moving images of ordinary things. Coupled with her funny and insightful ponderings on every subject from international relations to shoe purchases, her work gives you a peek into the life of a traveler soaking up all she can. I think this testimonial on her profile page says it best.

“Steph’s a poet. What, she didn‘t tell you? Well, that‘s because she‘s under the mistaken impression that she‘s a designer. Or a musician. Or a filmmaker. Or all of the above. But really she‘s a poet, in the sense that she distills her life into fragments of concentrated impression and emotion, and when you look at the words and images she shares you are reminded of your own experiences in ways that startle and amaze. Steph can‘t help it; it‘s just the way she works.”

Check out Stephanie's Flickr page and her newly revamped and relaunched blog.

Apartment, Seoul

TravelMuse: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.

Stephanie Cornell: I grew up on the coast, north of Boston. It’s a bit of a ridiculously idyllic New England town. The kind you think is so painfully, excruciatingly boring as kid and later can’t believe you were so lucky to grow up in. It’s also an artist’s community, so I was surrounded by painters, writers, musicians. My mom was a schoolteacher and my dad builds pipe organs, which just made it worse. I really had no chance at a normal, non-creative life. I studied filmmaking at Emerson College in Boston, and then worked in that industry for about 10 years before coming to my senses. Now I am a full-time writer in Seoul, South Korea.

TM: What got you interested in photography, and why do you continue to enjoy it?

SC: My dad was an amateur photographer when I was young, so I spent a lot of time in front of his camera, messing with cameras and hanging out with him in the darkroom on weekends. So I’ve always been shooting, but it never really grabbed much of my attention until I joined Flickr and started having a reason to shoot.

Golden Raspberries, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, BC

TM: How long have you been sharing your photos online, and what do you like/dislike about it?

SC: I joined Flickr at the end of 2004 at the request of my friend Marshall. I prefer to call it harassment. At first, it was just a way that I could stay in touch with my friends, because we were spread all over the globe. Photos were a much easier way to stay in touch and much more immediate, too. When I moved to Korea, that all changed. I found a voice, I found a community and I found a direction.

Haebangchon, Seoul

TM: How does photography tie into and influence other parts of your life (for example, your writing on your blog)?

SC: Photography helps tell the story. I studied filmmaking, so telling stories has always been about a combination of words and image for me. The two are so entwined, I would have a hard time doing one without the other. Some people—and some photos—are so good at telling the whole story with the image alone. I am not that kind of photographer, I am not that kind of writer, and I don‘t think I‘m that kind of audience either.

Hey Cupcake! South Congress Avenus, Austin, Texas

TM: How does being a photographer change how you see the world? Do you look at things differently when you have your camera with you?

SC: I look at things differently when I don‘t have my camera with me. I think being a photographer makes me a very annoying dinner guest, a slow travel companion and a distracted conversationalist. It makes me miss my bus stop because I am too involved with how the light is glittering on the buildings. It makes me late a lot. It gets me in trouble sometimes and yelled at other times. But it also can start a conversation or open a door.

TM: What advice do you have for aspiring photographers?

SC: I‘m extremely lazy when it comes to all things technical. Everything is on a need-to-know basis. Don’t be lazy like me. Learn your gear and learn it well. Then just shoot.

Vancouver-Nanaimo Ferry, British Columbia