Reinvention
Last month I photographed a project for San Francisco Magazine on “Reinvention.” The article was about eighteen people who have recently reinvented themselves, most of them going from a more traditional career to something they are far more passionate about. It was a great project to work on and I met a lot of interesting people over the four days of shooting.
I thought it was appropriate when I got called to shoot this project; I did my own reinvention not long ago. Before I was a photographer I was a network engineer in the Silicon Valley for six years after studying Computer Science in college. In a long and not terribly interesting story I won’t bore you with here, I left my job and randomly ended up studying photography in Victoria British Columbia. In 2005 I moved back to the Bay Area and was foolish enough to think I could be a professional photographer.
It’s hard to believe, but I’ve been a photographer as long I was an engineer. Still to this day I tend to consider myself a tech geek more than a creative type. It took a long time before I could actually call myself a photographer; If someone asked what I did for a living I would say something like “Well, I used to be an engineer… but now I’m giving photography try.” As if the technical background would somehow justify it if they really hated my work. Now, if anyone asks, I say I’m a photographer… but there’s always a little thought in my head about my tech background making me wonder what the hell I’m doing posing as a photographer.
Check out the article in the June issue of San Francisco Magazine. The article isn’t on their website yet, but here is a PDF copy:
Reinvention
Who else out there has reinvented themselves? Leave a comment if you’ve got a story.
-------------------------Visit my portfolio website here, buy custom prints here, and follow even more of my blathering on Twitter here.
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8 Responses to “Reinvention”
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Gigi Ouf and Jeff Singer, Jeff Singer. Jeff Singer said: New Blog Post:: Reinvention http://bit.ly/aQGm2D [...]
“Well, I used to be an engineer… but now I’m giving photography try.”
OMG- I still say this. Or I’ll say I’m a “recovering engineer.” Then I give a non-commital description: “Now I do a little photography, a little music, a little web-design” I wonder when I’ll stop doing that?
- j
I’d be interested to hear any re-inventing => photographer story.
I’m still a Developer/IT Manager for a small image library/library software company even though I live + breathe photography. Doing the jump seems such a big leap. Friends usually introduce me as a Photographer but I then go into a speach that it’s actually a hobby that pays for itself (which it hasn’t so far this year).
Daf´s last blog ..Levamped links section
Awesome. One of these days, I’m going to stop saying one of these days . . . .
Your stuff of SF is pretty awesome, too.
Nice story,
It would be my bio.
I’ve worked 15 years as a model maker (EDM specialist) for the semiconductor industry. And now I’m trying to live from photography (stupid guy, its hard..)
I love the technical stuff in photography, and over the years, I know creatifiteit is a difficult thing.
You may like to see this semicon. images? I made it for a company Boschman Technologies BV in the Netherlands)
http://joostdewolf.blogspot.com/2010/04/semi-conductors.html
Keep on going.
Kind regards,
Joost de Wolf
[...] is a photo I shot for the article in San Francisco Magazine I wrote about the other day. It was shot on location at the very cool restaurant Serpentine, which happens to be in the same [...]
I think I’ve heard or seen bits of the story of your transformation awhile back.
I gotta say, it was at least a little responsible for me quitting my job as a college teacher this year and going back to school to study advertising.
It seems I have never not known a time of reinvention in my career. I’ve worked in sales and pr; worked as a custom artist and been a pantry chef and a grill cook. I have my interior design certification and some of my words have been published. Now I call myself a photographer… but I think I’ve been avoiding that title my whole life.
It’s amazing what you can achieve while running away from what you are most passionate about. I love this project and I agree that it’s perfect for you.