This coming April will mark 27 years at my job and I’m hoping to retire once I hit 30 years. A long time ago I went to school for Advertising Art & Design and received a 2 year certificate. I was all convinced this was the career path I wanted. I worked in small ad agencies long before computers did the work and I began attending a SUNY college here in New York taking business classes.
Things changed rather abruptly when suddenly I had the opportunity to hire on the railroad. I dropped the arts like a hot potato. My passion for art in its many forms lay dormant like a bear in winter hibernation waiting for the right time to leave its slumber.
Back in the mid 2000’s I was laying i my hotel room watching TV when I saw an interview with a woman named Diana Walker. She had just written a book called “Public & Private” 20 years of photographing the Presidency. When I got back home I went to my local bookstore and purchased her book and immediately I was hooked. Then I got this crazy notion I wanted to be a photojournalist, and in 2007 that dream became a reality when I was hired by our local newspaper (A Gannett Rag) as a part time staff photographer working four days a week. To be honest I couldn’t believe they hired me. I spent about a year there when I saw the writing on the wall with layoffs. I despise being fired for something I did not do, so I resigned. Almost immediately I was handed a freelance contract and now I was working for the paper on my own terms.
I would spend the next few years shooting for the paper and small assignments for the Associated Press. On a whim I threw out an email to the PBA (Professional Bowlers Assoction) and sure enough they began having me shoot several events in the northeast for a few years. One of my favorites was an outdoor match at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ. I also landed a few years of work with NYSUT (New York State United Teachers) union. I was having fun! All while working my job on the railroad.
I haven’t been doing much freelance work these days. Over the past three years I have been shooting running race photos here in New York and Vermont. I like it and it fits well into my schedule.
Recently a friend of mine purchased a multi vendor store and talked me into leasing wall space to sell some of my work. I also just opened and Etsy shop as well. I hope to slowly build both into a small business to keep me occupied after I retire.
With that said I encourage you to visit my Etsy shop, like and share it with friends and family. It is definitely a work in progress as I try to navigate the ins and outs.
Cheers,
Joe
