Rising Stars: Meet Doug Tayek of Shaker Heights

Today we’d like to introduce you to Doug Tayek

Doug, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I have always had a creative streak but have not always had the right outlet to express it. As a kid I was constantly drawing I constantly found myself wanting to capture the ideas in my head or reproduce what I saw in the world around me. If any of my school assignments had some form of an art component to it, those were the projects into which I would pour my energy.
I had three great art teachers in high school, one photography, and two visual arts, who really helped me understand composition and design, and were influential in my choice to pursue a career in graphic design, which is why I initially chose Kent State University for my undergraduate education.

This was short lived however, as in my sophomore year, I realized that art was much more of a stress reliever and hobby and that I was considerably more interested in politics and government, and working in a capacity to improve the world around me. I changed my major to history, got involved with campaigns and student government and have not looked back. I continue to work professionally in a community engagement and advocacy capacity for AARP. While I work for an incredibly dynamic and influential organization and my job requires a lot of my energy, creativity and capacity, it is still vital for me to have an artistic and creative outlet, and that has become photography, truly embracing the medium in the spring of 2021.
January 21, 2019 was the worst day of my life. My wife and I were expecting our first child, a little boy, and on that day we had what was supposed to be a routine check-up at 37 weeks. Approximately 5 minutes into the appointment we first heard the statement “we only have the mother’s heartbeat. . .”
What we did not know was that the placenta, meant to keep our son healthy and protected as he grew in-utero had failed, and on that day, January 21, 2019, my son Dominic James was stillborn, a perfect little baby with no heartbeat; our lives were shattered
The following two plus years were dark, as my wife and I struggled to deal with the grief and depression following the death of our child, along with all of the isolation and tumult of the Covid-19 pandemic, a second unsuccessful attempt at pregnancy, and a misguided attempt by me to go to law school, while still working full time and carrying the weight of all of this trauma and grief.
In the spring of 2021, I decided that I had spent too much time in this darkness, and needed a way to see light and find hope in the world around me, and on a whim, bought a camera, a simple Canon 4000D and kit lens.
Behind my camera I began to see the world around me, and meet others who would and continue to inspire and teach me; friends who have shared their genius, and their own stories of healing through artistic expression.
I started out wanting to shoot landscapes, sunrises in fact, and those are probably still my favorite images to capture. With each sunrise, I like to think my son is present, especially in those Blue-Hour moments, before the sun pierces the horizon, and the sky takes on a Baby-Blue tone. Dominic is also why I will never pass up a chance to photograph a Cardinal, I love the concept that some have shared that cardinals are messengers from heaven, and as a parent who will never see my child grow up, that brings me comfort, and that I pray it is true.
That’s what photography has done for me, and why it has developed into such a deep passion. I have since updated my camera gear from that 4000D, and have begun photographing much more than just sunrises, venturing into events, sports, portraits, cityscape and street, air shows, and landscape and bird photography.
I am fortunate to have a very forgiving and loving wife (Andrea) who understands that I may just leave the house at random times when I know the lighting will be great for a specific subject or if a friend is willing to sit for a portrait, I am also grateful that we are blessed with the financial means that allow me to invest in my photography without having to try and seriously monetize my passion.
Since 2021, I have been fortunate to win a few awards, having images selected as winners in Ohio Lake Erie Commission’s 2022 and 2023 Life on Lake Erie photo contest. An image selected for a GuruShots virtual show, images published in “Shaker Life” magazine and “University Heights Mosaic,” and a Cleveland Photographic Society show in University Circle.
My photography has truly provided an amazing sense of healing for me, and I hope that joy and love is expressed through my work.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Nothing worth doing is ever easy, and for me, my photography journey is no exception.
In the previous question I talked some about my son’s stillbirth, an event that caused a massive shift in my understanding of the world, a true change in perspective.
The challenges in my photography are less severe, and truly opportunities more than obstacles, as to overcome them I am forced to grow in my creative pursuits.
The most significant and constant obstacle I must contend with is that photography is not my profession, it is my passion, and I constantly have to manage that balance so that my professional work is not impacted by my zeal to spend time on my photography.
There are shots that I know I have missed because I was not able to get away from a work commitment to catch high winds and large waves on Lake Erie, or had to travel for work and as such could not be at Edgewater Park for a sunrise on the 21st of the month.
On the other side of that challenge, I am fortunate to have a boss that encourages me to incorporate my photography into my work, so I’ve been able to shoot some videos for our team, and also make time on trips to wander with my camera around places like New York City and Washington D.C.
Starting my photography journey at the end of my 30’s there is naturally some second-guessing around what my career and indeed my life would have looked like if I had found photography earlier, and perhaps pursued it professionally. It can be a challenge to dismiss those “what ifs” and just focus on what is in front of me or what is to come.
Finally, and I believe this is a common hurdle for most photographers, is the challenge of maintaining originality and establishing my style. In an era when just about everyone has a camera in their pocket, and AI is making it increasingly difficult to determine what is a real image and what has been fabricated, having the ability to stand out in the crowd, to capture unique images, is a true challenge, and one that I take on daily. The effort to be original and find different perspectives on subjects, even ones that are commonplace, is part of what I love so much about the medium. There is an extra sense of accomplishment when I capture an image I truly know is mine, that no one else saw in that particular moment in that particular way.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
What I have truly come to embrace in photography is the idea that the camera is pointed out towards the world and is meant to tell the subject’s story and not necessarily the photographers, or as Ansel Adams put it: “A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed. . .”
What sets me apart from others (I hope) is my full embrace of that concept, one that permeates both my photography and the work I do in my professional life. I want the images I capture to tell the story of the place, and elevate the subject.
I have this same approach to my professional life, where my efforts have been focused on harnessing the resources of significant organizations to make the lives of others better, through statewide food drives, and local school supply and winter clothing drives for kids in Cleveland schools, to hosting community shredding events and statewide teletown halls meant to help older Ohioans stay safe from fraud and con-artists, to spending 6 to 7 days a week coaching high school hockey players, helping them reach their full potential on the ice and hopefully helping them become well-adjusted young men off the ice, I have always wanted the work I do and the art I create to elevate others or tell a unique story.
A former acquaintance of mine told me last week that he couldn’t believe I would waste so much time taking photos in and around Cleveland because to him, it’s a “shit-hole,” this person who also moved away from Cleveland some 10 years ago, in the same breath said that he loved my photos and thought that they made this place look much better than it really is – he did not want to hear it when I explained that I was simply capturing the reality of Northeast Ohio.
Putting the gifts I have been given to use to elevate others, that’s what I’ve always wanted to do, and I am incredibly proud of the work I’ve done and the stories I’ve been able to tell, hopefully making a small impact and expressing how I feel about the subject.

What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is that I spend my efforts in a worthy cause. That I am a good husband, son, and loss-dad. That the work I do both behind the camera, at my desk, and on the ice has a positive impact on others, and that when it’s my time, I can look back and know that I lived a life reflective of the sentiment in Theodore Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech, that I either know great achievement or if I failed, failed while daring greatly, and that where I live and the people around me are better off because I was here.

Pricing:

• All of my pricing for photo prints is included on my website,

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dougtayekphotos.mypixieset.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doug_out_of_focus/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dougtayekphoto/