Success times two in the photography business
By Betty Fleming

Carolyn Watson is an exceptional photographer who prides herself on “creatively capturing life’s moments”. She has the rare ability to capture subjects in an artistic, simplistic, and distinctive way.

Put two women achievers together, challenge them with new careers together and apart and stand back and watch what happens in just two years’ time.

That’s the story of “Carolyn Watson Photography” of Rehoboth Beach.

There are actually two people behind Carolyn Watson Photography: Carolyn Watson and Ginny Stominski. They started out in life from very different perspectives. Carolyn grew up in southern Maryland in a farm family with generations of farmers and watermen behind her. Ginny grew up in Baltimore’s inner city.

Carolyn got a B.S. degree in marine biology at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington, N.C. She has 24 years in the marine science field, topping it off as assistant secretary in the Maryland Department of Natural Resources for four to five years with 500 employees under her care. Photography was a lifelong hobby, getting more and more advanced as the years went by.

Ginny, Carolyn’s life partner for 14 years, had a few years of college and went into the information technology industry, working for several smaller companies that were then acquired by Hewlett Packard. She was there for 21 years and topped off her career as program manager of their largest contract, the U.S. Postal Service office. She was well rewarded for her work and won a number of awards. She, too, had a photography sideline.

In 2002, on a trip to the beach home they had built for retirement, Carolyn spotted a copy of the brand new magazine Delaware Beach Life while visiting Browseabout Books. “It stopped me in my tracks,” she said. “I loved Kevin Fleming’s photography and I knew then that I wanted to do more in photography. I had to meet Kevin.”

In 2003, the two women took a break and went to Alaska on vacation. They began thinking seriously of making changes in their chosen careers.

“We wanted to re-wire ourselves, not retire,” Stominski said. “Money was not the big thing for us at that point. We wanted to feel joy and passion in what we do.”

After the Alaska vacation, Carolyn took a one-year assignment with the Maryland National Capitol Parks and Planning Commission. Ginny returned to her work.

“On New Years’ Eve in 2003, we talked to each other about our goals,” Watson said. “I knew I wanted to meet Kevin.”

In the summer of 2004, the two women left the beach on a weekend visit because it was raining. They wound up going to a show at the Rehoboth Art League. Kevin Fleming (no relation) happened to be there signing his latest photography book with a long line waiting to get copies. “We waited and finally there was an opportunity to talk to him,” Watson said.

“I summoned up my nerve, much to the amazement of Ginny, and asked Kevin if I could go on a photo shoot with him,” she said. “I’d told him a little about my photography experience.”

Fleming said Watson could join him if she showed up at his house at 4:30 a.m. for his next environmental shoot.

“He was surprised when I showed up,” Watson said. They talked while Kevin was working. Watson told him that she wanted to become a professional.

To sum it up, Fleming, photo editor for Delaware Beach Life, took Watson under his wing. He looked at her photo portfolio, told her what kind of tripod to buy, and gave her other advice.

In October 2004, Fleming asked Watson to cover a tennis match at Sea Colony in Bethany Beach for a book he was doing. He even loaned her some equipment. “He thought maybe I’d get one or two good images,” Watson said, proudly. “Instead, I had 15-20. He was amazed.”

“Kevin asked Ginny and myself if we’d like to share a studio with him,” Watson said. “He doesn’t do weddings, baby or pet photos, or beach portraits. He does commercial things, books and fine art and he encouraged us to come to the beach full-time.”

In February 2005 Watson and Stominski, after much deliberation, made their move to come to the beach full-time and begin new careers in photography. “Our business has taken off since we landed here, in early summer of 2005,” Stominski said. “Now, we both have photos in Delaware Beach Life. We are business partners.”

“Carolyn and Ginny bring a creative, positive energy to every project they tackle, whether it’s photographing a wedding or illustrating a story for Delaware Beach Life,” editor and publisher Terry Plowman said. “Coastal Delaware has certainly benefited from their ‘Thelma and Louise’ moment when they decided to make the big leap to living at the beach.”

“Our goal is to creatively capture life’s moments,” Stominski said. “We want people to feel emotion when they see our work.” They are focusing mainly on weddings, children’s work, Delaware Beach Life, and portraits.

Stominski’s management and technical skills serve both women well. “We are actually turning away some business now,” she said. “And we are taking jobs going into 2008.”

The women do framed portrait groupings of baby photos for “Watch Me Grow," the baby’s first year. They also do a book of baby’s first year and one of the life of a high school senior. They offer holiday cards graced with portraits. And they offer 500 different framing options for the portraits they do.

“We try to be visible through community chamber of commerce events and some charity work, “Watson, now 44, said. “We have a Web site (carolynwatson.com). And links to Rehoboth.com and Beachnet.com and other Web sites. And we have ties to Camp Rehoboth. After all that, it’s word of mouth.”

“We complement each other,” said Stominski, 52. “We want to pursue what we love doing as we look for beauty.”

All their new endeavors, their new careers, have happened within the last two years. But, it took two people, two lifetimes, to “click” and make their photography business an “instant success.” For more information call 302-448-0485.