We are Scott and Marilyn Korsten, collectively known as The Korsten’s or Team Korsten, a husband-and-wife team who blend our skills in digital photography and postproduction to tell meaningful stories through visual art.
Born and raised on opposite sides of Southern Minnesota, we each moved as young adults to Sioux Falls, SD with a common goal—to experience and take advantage of the many personal growth opportunities available in this beautiful state and thriving community. Opportunities that included education, career, entertainment, service to the community, and artistic growth.
Our teamwork approach to photography developed over a long period of time. We were both avid documentary photographers before we met, and each carried a camera regularly. This shared interest was part of what brought us together and it continued after we married. Over the years, Scott’s interest in developing the technical side of camera work grew stronger, especially with the advent of digital and mirrorless cameras.
In Marilyn’s formative years, she enjoyed sketching and painting, developing a talent for seeing and interpreting color, light, shadows and contrasts that continues today. With digital photography, we realized her artistic skills were uniquely suited to bringing images to life in the digital darkroom of Lightroom and Photoshop. We began to explore the idea of working together, believing that a team approach would be a genuine strength. In the process we learned of Bernd and Hilla Becher, a German husband-and-wife team known for creating noteworthy photographs beginning in the late 1950’s. Their successful example of working together, one on the camera and the other in post processing, gives us confidence as a photographic team.
Another notable strength of our photographic work together comes from recognizing that we see subjects and scenes through a prism of understanding that is different from each other. We’ve learned that by allowing ourselves to talk though what each other notices—and acting on each other’s suggestions—the body of images created is more compelling.
Ultimately, we hope our photography will inspire others to appreciate the beauty and wonder of our natural world, while also inspiring them to protect and preserve it for future generations.
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When not indulging their passion for making photographs, Scott and Marilyn spend their days at SamCreative, LLC a boutique marketing firm they established to focus on servicing small businesses.
They also regularly volunteer their photographic talents to local non-profit organizations such as Children's Home Society of South Dakota and South Dakota Salutes.