Sarah taking a photo
Meet Sarah
Sarah’s photography focuses on finding soulful, authentic, and compassionate perspectives through which to view people, places, and things in a peaceful light. Her subjects include whatever Key West has to offer, but especially nature scenes from Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. Her deep understanding of light combines with the wonderful atmosphere of Key West to produce images that create a sense of tranquility. She finds meaning in nudging the world ever so gently in the direction of the good, the true, and the beautiful. She practices yoga regularly and has participated in the Key West Yoga and Wellness Festival as a volunteer and sponsor.
Her Time in the Corporate World of Lighting, Healthcare, and Lean Six Sigma
After attending Middlebury College, Sarah worked for five years as an engineer at Sylvania Lighting, then for 20 years as a lamp development engineer at Philips Lighting. During that time she published multiple papers through the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), including one that was recognized as one of the 100 most important papers in the IESNA’s 100-year history. She chaired the IESNA Papers Committee and the IESNA Light Source Committee. The first IESNA Technical Memorandum on LED Lighting was published under her chairmanship. She obtained eight patents in the field of lighting. She then worked for 10 years at Philips Healthcare as the global Lean Six Sigma (LSS) training manager.
Sarah is a Certified LSS Master Black Belt and the principal of Sarah A Carleton Consulting, providing LSS training and mentoring. She has 35 years of experience as an engineer, manager, and trainer in the lighting and healthcare industries. She has trained over 1000 practitioners, Green Belts, Black Belts, and Master Black Belts in classroom settings and has reached thousands more through e-learning. Her training approach involves taking multiple perspectives and is reflected in her Integral LSS training. An accredited International Association for Six Sigma Certification (IASSC) trainer, Sarah is the author of several LSS books, including The Green Belt Memory Jogger (GOAL/QPC, 2016), The Black Belt Memory Jogger, 2nd edition (GOAL/QPC, 2016), and The Lean Six Sigma Tools Memory Jogger (GOAL/QPC, 2016).
Sarah’s Approach to Photography
Sarah has always loved photography and light. She bought her first “real” camera, a Minolta XGM 35 mm film camera, with her first “real” paycheck from Sylvania Lighting in 1979. She learned photography by poring over each monthly installment of the Time-Life Series on Photography and practicing as much as possible. After retiring from the corporate world, Sarah decided to focus on engaging her more artistic side through her long-time love of photography. She purchased an Olympus OM-D EM-1 ii mirrorless camera and pro-level lenses and then practiced and practiced as she developed a substantial body of work in Key West.
On her approach to photography, Sarah says “Photography enables you to frame something—you get this little part of the world that you can control because you can frame it and look at it from a certain viewpoint. With every scene, I can isolate a little part that I really like. Then I feel like my vision has created that personal imprint on whatever it is that I’m photographing.”
Sarah’s photograph "Stepping out into sea spray (Ballerina)" has been awarded Honorable Mention from International Photography Awards 2020 competition. There were 13,000 entries from 120 countries in this competition. This photo was also chosen to be showcased in Culture Magazine 2021, published by the Florida Keys Council of the Arts.
Sarah’s Photographs
She has chosen to have her large-format photos printed on recycled aluminum because of the immense depth and clarity of this format. She utilizes two environmentally conscious art printing firms to produce the images using a process known as dye sublimation. In this process, a photo is printed on paper and then the print is placed on a sheet of recycled aluminum with a thin polymer coating. The print and aluminum sheet are pressed together and heated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature the dyes from the print sublimate and drive through the polymer coating to the aluminum base. The back side of the aluminum sheet is then bonded to an aluminum frame that allows the print to hover about 3/4” away from the wall. (Here is a video of the dye sublimation process). Besides being beautiful, the resulting prints have other important benefits. Due to the integral frame, they do not require an external frame, thus saving you hundreds of dollars and creating a modern look. The print dimensions can range from less than 10 inches on the longest edge to over 60 inches on the longest edge. The prints are relatively lightweight and can be hung easily on almost any wall. The prints will not fade appreciably for over 65 years, about 2-3 times longer than other prints—see Chromaluxe report here. They can also be coated to withstand outdoor conditions.
The gallery below has many photos of birds taken in Key West. If you would like a print of any of these photos, just contact us for details.
