Have you ever heard of someone who spent eighteen years in public service as an EMT and firefighter moving into a creative field? Certainly, this is a rare feat, and Thomas Slatin has done this admirably. At the same time she began work as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) in Stamford, New York, Thomas also began her website: TomSlatin.Com. Over twenty years later, it’s alive and well featuring Thomas’s writing and photography exploits.
In addition to her tireless work as a public servant for multiple fire departments in New York State, Thomas has worked freelance as a writer, photographer, and website designer since 1998. Starting a dot-com in those days was a trendy thing to do, certainly. But, Thomas Slatin knew that individuals building up their own website platforms would become an invaluable tool in the future. Thomas mastered the idea of online user experience, today widely known as UX, before the term was even used.
Thomas Slatin, Photography and Writing Savant
Thomas began showcasing her photography work on her first website made back in high school. Back then, there weren’t widely available eCommerce solutions yet to sell photography. Of course, this market gap would certainly close over time. So, Thomas used this early entry into the website development world to take advantage of the growing online photography market.
Professional photography isn’t the only thing that drives TomSlatin.com. Her personal writings are also a key part of the website. Personally mentored as a youth by the legendary Allen Ginsberg and Charles Kuralt, Thomas learned how to hang emotion and meaning on every carefully selected word. She learned how to paint word pictures that are vital, powerful, and unique to her work.
As of 2023, Thomas posts daily, alternating between sharing photography and personal writings. Her writings often let readers into the more intimate parts of her mind, ranging from subjects relating to nature to society to her career and upbringing. Thomas painstakingly crafts introductions that hook readers in immediately.
In 2016, Thomas won DreamHost’s “Dreamist Blog of the Year” award. Her site has been linked to by many major publications over the years, bringing tens of thousands of hits a day with the mass media exposure. Thomas was able to even score an WIOX interview in October 2018, which was a dream come true, giving her work national attention to website readers and radio listeners alike.
The Present and Future of TomSlatin.Com
Today, Thomas’s website TomSlatin.com has become a platform that serves as a timeline and portfolio of her writing and photography. Thomas continues to stay on top of web design and online user experience trends, upgrading her website in 2022 to meet today’s content-hungry audience demands.
Meanwhile, Thomas’s photography reveals a unique talent for storytelling through a single frame. Her eye for the perfect shot lets viewers explore the nuanced emotions and stories each photo has to tell. The old saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words” is an understatement when it comes to not only Thomas’s breathtaking nature and landscape photos, but especially with her photographs detailing urban decay and abandoned properties.
Presently, Thomas is expanding beyond her New York horizons into other parts of New England, specifically Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont, plus other places all across the United States. Along the way, through her writing, Thomas will also share her thoughts and hopes with his ever-growing audience about both her craft and dreams for the future of our uncertain world.
~ Amelia “Phoenix” Desertsong
P.S. Thomas also has a book of her photography available through Barnes and Noble.
Related: Stunning Photography Changes Lives | The Magical Wordplay of Thomas Slatin | What Makes a Master Photographer?
