The Photographer

It seems like nearly everyday (ok, really once a week lately) I come home and find a package in the mail from Japan or Singapore or Korea or China. You can tell this from the bizarre and exciting customs labels. What are we buying from China or Korea or Singapore? Banned anime? Computerized hamsters?  Bizarre furry tofu delicacies? Nope, cheap, high quality camera supplies: filters, lens caps, tripod ball heads. And why? Because my husband has become a professional photographer.

Joe keeps denying his professional status, but by stringent Olympic standards he has been paid for his photo work so he qualifies as a pro now.  I think he's been interested in photography nearly as long as I've known him. And honestly, hobbies that require expensive and complex equipment really get him excited. I think he likes researching and determining which equipment he needs and then how to expertly use that equipment nearly as much as actually taking photos or building the furniture.  Plus Joe "has the heart of a teacher" as he jokes, but it's true. He loves to help people learn how to use their cameras and he's patient and methodical when he does it. And I can't leave out his tendency to take lots of pictures anytime there is a baby around. This isn't creepy, I actually think it's really sweet, but I digress.  After one of my nonprofit clients asked him to take photos for one of their concerts, he was hooked and not surprisingly so were they. So now multiple concerts, bat mitzvahs, and engagement photo sessions later, Joe is a professional photographer.

I wanted to write this post about his photography because I want to encourage him to pursue it professionally and I want to let him know, publicly, how gifted I think he is.  I'm certain that I'm a little biased since I love him madly, he's my favorite person on the planet and I'm married to the guy, but I think he is going to be incredibly successful if he pursues this new business.  Seeing the growth and improvement in his work over the last year has been impressive.  He tries to give the credit to better lenses, cameras etc, but that's crap. He's just gotten really really good.  So if you see him, have his email, catch him taking adorable pictures of your baby, or what have you, please tell him to "go for it"! Tell him how good he is, tell him that he's talented and smart and makes people feel comfortable and that he should do this thing. Take the risk, we all think you should do it. And if you need a photographer, give him a call, he's very reasonable, and he has his eye on a new lens, so any photo jobs could help make that happen. Because really it's all about the equipment.