Gene Sellers:
Through the Lens of an Unfinished Story
by Viviana Puello.
There are photographers who capture the visible world, and then there are those who reveal its pulse. Gene Sellers belongs to the latter—a visual poet whose images are not composed merely of light and shadow, but of memory, silence, and the invisible architecture of story. In Gene’s hands, the camera becomes a vessel of consciousness, translating emotion into atmosphere and stillness into meaning. His work dwells in the space between perception and feeling, where mystery is not something to solve, but something to honor.
“The Veil” by Gene Sellers – Top Featured Star.
Gene’s relationship with photography began early and has deepened over a lifetime. When his wife gifted him a Minolta SRT-100 fifty years ago, it marked the beginning of a creative practice that would evolve into a language of its own. His artistic path was never linear—he stepped away from the medium for many years to practice law—but the pull of imagery never left him. When digital technology emerged, offering complete control from capture to post-production, Gene returned to photography with a renewed sense of purpose and freedom.
Today, working with a Phase One medium-format technical camera, Gene approaches every composition as a meditation in motion. His work reflects not only technical precision but a deep respect for mystery—the kind that lingers in the edges of light or hides in the stillness of a shadow. He does not aim to document; he seeks to reveal. “Photography,” Gene suggests, “is less about taking a picture than about listening long enough for the image to speak.”
Gene Sellers – Top Featured Star.
The art of storytelling runs through his lineage. Gene’s father was a gifted narrator who once introduced him to Frank Stockton’s classic tale The Lady or the Tiger?—a story that ends without resolution. Though frustrated by the unfinished ending at twelve, Gene would later recognize its brilliance. “The beauty of that story,” he reflects, “is that it never ends. It lives on in the reader’s imagination.” That insight became the foundation of his philosophy: every image must invite participation. It must compel the viewer to step inside and complete what the artist began.
This sensibility defines his visual language. Whether it’s the ethereal tension of The Veil, the monumental stillness of Rock of Ages, or the sculptural movement of Against the Grain, Gene’s works exist between knowing and unknowing. They recall the solitude of Edward Hopper, the psychological tension of Gregory Crewdson, and the painterly precision of Peter Eastway, yet remain distinctly his own—cinematic, contemplative, and unmistakably soulful.
Music, too, shapes Gene’s creative world. He moves through his days with an inner soundtrack that never ceases—from opera to folk, from rock to tango. “It’s a blessing and a curse,” he says with a smile. “There’s always a song playing in my head.” This rhythm finds expression in his imagery: each photograph feels orchestrated, composed with a tempo that draws the viewer inward. He finds inspiration in musicians like Hank Williams, Neil Young, Paul Simon, and the Counting Crows—artists who, like Gene, weave truth into unfinished stories.
“Against The Grain” by Gene Sellers – Top Featured Star.
“I’m a mediocre guitarist,” he admits humbly, “but through my art, I try to tell the songs I can’t play.”
His artistry has earned worldwide recognition. Gene was ranked #9 in One Eyeland’s 100 Top Photographers in the World (2022) and #12 in the Best of the Best Photographers (2023). In May 2025, he was honored as one of the Top 60 Masters of Contemporary Art at the Ridotto Teatro Comunale di Ferrara in Italy—an event often called “The Oscars of the Visual Arts.” Yet even amid these accolades, Gene remains grounded in authenticity. His art does not seek applause—it seeks resonance.
“Rock Of Ages” by Gene Sellers – Top Featured Star.
At home in the wild beauty of Central Texas, Gene and his wife of fifty years live surrounded by the vastness that often appears in his imagery—an environment of raw light, open skies, and contemplative silence. Their two beloved Labradors, affectionately called “the unruly beasts,” were constant companions through the years, and their spirit lingers in the gentle empathy that runs through his work.
To experience Gene’s photography is to step into the luminous threshold between observation and wonder. His art does not dictate what to see—it invites you to feel what cannot be seen.
Congratulations, Gene, our Top Featured Star of the Week—a visionary whose images remind us that the truest stories are the ones still unfolding, quietly, within the light.
Viviana Puello
Editor-in-Chief
