Today we’d like to introduce you to Sandy Huffaker.
Hi Sandy, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I attended Pratt Institute in New York, where I received a BFA in Photography in 1991. Upon graduating, I bought a van and headed for Seattle to join some friends who had moved out there a few years earlier. I drove the southern route, stopping along the way in New Orleans, San Antonio, Santa Fe, and then stopped for the night in San Diego before heading North up the coast. Well, that was a day that would change my life. I fell in love with the people, culture, weather, border, and just about everything our great city had to offer. After more than 30 years, to this day, I still haven’t been to Seattle. I went through several post-college jobs, including working at Seaworld as one of those keychain photographers, a lab tech at a one-hour photo lab, and a few other forgettable jobs until I got off my rear end and submitted a portfolio to the Reader. I was firmly rejected the first time, but Six Month’s later, I heard there was a new editor, so I re-submitted and was accepted. For the next Eight years, I was the lead features photographer and covered all kinds of interesting features. One day, as I was sitting in my home in University City, I heard a helicopter and sirens buzzing a short distance away; I grabbed my camera and followed the sounds down to the train tracks in Rose Canyon, where there was a rail accident. I shot it and contacted the SD Union-Tribune, and they took it and ran it on the cover. After that, I became a regular stringer for the paper. I then picked up assignments from the Associated Press, Getty Images, Reuters, The New York Times, LA Times, San Franciso Chronicle, and many others as the years went on. I covered numerous events from the border, military, wildfires, plane crashes, Padres, Chargers, concerts, celebrities, Comic-con, and numerous other things in town. I also built up a nice stable of corporate clientele, such as the Legoland, SD Sheriffs, SDSU, Vistage, and LJ Country Day School, and shot conventions around the country.
Today, I have continued building corporate clients and shooting news and PR events from clients around the globe.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s been a challenging ride emotionally and sometimes financially. When you make your living off creative talent, it’s hard to separate yourself from your job. When the phone is ringing, and work is coming in, you feel confident and on top of the world. That can all stop on a dime when the phone stops ringing, sometimes for weeks. My mind starts beating me down. I’ll start thinking my work is not up to par; maybe it’s my personality, work ethic, and a whole host of things that enter my mind. Then, right as I’m about to pack it up and start looking for another career, the phone starts to ring and ring, and things got back to normal. This is something that has never changed; it is just the reality of being a freelance photographer. I’ve learned to be a bit more disciplined and go heavy on the marketing and personal projects during my slow periods, and my wife to brings me back to reality on many occasions.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I regularly freelance for various wire services (Getty Images, AFP, The Ap, Reuters), newspapers, and magazines. I also photograph for many corporations in town, such as Legoland, San Diego State, Intuit, Vistage, La Jolla Country Day, SD Sheriff’s, San Diego Convention Center, Illumina, Biolegend, San Diego Symphony, and many more. I shoot corporate work in a photojournalist style that has a more real, not staged look and help companies create a more honest, energetic look and feel for their publicity and promotional materials.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc.?
I’m kind of a political news junkie so I read mostly The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Union-Tribune every morning, along with listening to a few political PodCasts. Right now, I am enjoying Michael Cohen’s Mea Culpa Podcast.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sandyhuffakerjr.com
- Instagram: Sandy_Huffaker
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sandy.huffaker
- Twitter: @sandyHuffaker1
- Other: www.TheSanDiegoObserver.com
Image Credits
Sandy Huffaker
