Renowned photographer Robin Layton finds beauty in life’s ordinary moments
BY California Stories – Giselle Fernandez
PUBLISHED 5:00 AM PT Sep. 14, 2026
Robin Layton sees what the rest of us often walk right past. Named by Life magazine as one of America’s eight most talented photographers at just 24, the world-renowned photographer, filmmaker and artist went on to create some of the most memorable images of her generation — from a soldier’s emotional goodbye with his young daughter to her Pulitzer-nominated portrait of runaway teens and the legendary photograph of Ken Griffey Jr. smiling from beneath a jubilant pile of teammates during the 1995 playoffs.
In a new episode of “California Stories,” Layton revisits with host Giselle Fernández the moments behind these images and explores the instinct that has guided a career devoted to finding beauty, humanity and truth in places others might overlook.
As Layton tells Fernández, “I try to look at everything in life as beauty and the little things that matter.”
Layton also opens up about the deeply personal experiences that shaped the artist behind the lens. She says that growing up amid domestic violence gave her a profound appreciation for life. Her mother nurtured her artistic curiosity and helped set her on her path when a teenage Layton announced she dreamed of taking photographs like those she saw in National Geographic.
Years later, while her mom was dying of cancer, Layton made a promise to find and express the art within herself, a turning point that ultimately expanded her work beyond photojournalism into fine art, books and filmmaking. Her images have attracted subjects ranging from Jennifer Aniston and Sarah Jessica Parker to Sidney Poitier and Tony Bennett, while her relationship with Oprah Winfrey led to nine films and a new way of combining her love of nature, spirituality and visual storytelling.
“I’m not leaving this earth without finding the art inside of me,” Layton said.
From photographing basketball hoops across 35 states and celebrating the bond between people and their animals, to spending mornings and evenings immersed in the changing beauty of Lake Washington, Layton’s work is united by curiosity, gratitude and an ability to see wonder in the ordinary.
She shares with Fernández how her connection to nature continues to inspire her, while her newest project “Bare” takes her in an unexpected direction with an artistic celebration of the male body, confidence, and vulnerability.
Still overflowing with ideas for what comes next, Layton closes the conversation with a message for anyone carrying a dream they may be afraid to pursue: an invitation to trust the instinct that has guided her own remarkable life and career.
“If you know it in your soul, follow that inner voice,” she said.