![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e31111d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/774x741+0+0/resize/880x842!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fwuwm%2Ffiles%2F201405%2Fvallen.jpg)
Credit Vallen Gillett
Milwaukee is home to many good photographers, ranging from the strictly amateur to the internationally renowned. While he hasn’t quite gotten to the second category, Vallen Gillett is well on his way.
His commercial work has been used by a number of businesses in town, and his fine art photography has gotten a great deal of attention as well. Not too bad for a guy barely into his 20s and self taught to boot.
Gillett finds his greatest inspiration in his home town. "I guess you could say that I want people to look at my photos and feel like this is a city I want to live in. This is Milwaukee," he says.
Here are a few of Gillett's photos:
![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/168a1b9/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1024x665+0+0/resize/880x571!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fwuwm%2Ffiles%2F201405%2F8263600500_419f9b69c9_b.jpg)
Credit Vallen Gillett
![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0b5d494/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1024x680+0+0/resize/880x584!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fwuwm%2Ffiles%2F201405%2F9270342992_0b5f598682_b.jpg)
Credit Vallen Gillett
![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/bf88d13/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1024x682+0+0/resize/880x586!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fwuwm%2Ffiles%2F201405%2F13891388562_24eeb11ee1_b.jpg)
Credit Vallen Gillett