Today we’d like to introduce you to Chad Johnston.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Being born and raised in sunny San Diego, I spent more time outside growing up than I did inside. I loved anything outdoors and did anything I could to be outside all day. It wasn’t until after high school when most of my friends were going to college but I was unsure of what I wanted to do, and I started surfing as much as I possibly could. It was then that I started to look at things differently. I started looking at things I had seen a million times in a much more simple way, and I started seeing the beauty in situations I once looked past. Spending so much time at the beach, I really started to notice how beautiful the light could be throughout different times of the day. Whether it was the soft morning light that would first hit the palm trees or it was the backlit waves later in the afternoon. I started really getting into looking at surf magazines and how the photos were shot and how the photographer would compose a photo and use the light to make a photo that much better and more interesting. It wasn’t until five years after high school that I got my first camera. Just like most people I took photos of everything. I would cruise the trails right behind my house, and instead of surfing when the waves were good, I would take photos of instead of surfing. I would spend hours messing with different light and different settings on my camera until I started figuring out the whole exposure thing. Three years into shooting I started to get a lot more confident with my photos and what I imagined in my head was starting to look like the images I was capturing but at that point, it was still more of a hobby that I never could’ve dreamed would become my job every day. I had been asked to do some shoots for some friends and close family members but was more interested in shooting natural, unposed situations – beauty in the everyday things around you.
Three years ago my wife and I found out we were having a baby and the very next day my wife had a grand mal seizure and was diagnosed with epilepsy, and they also found a blood clot on her brain. I had gotten the best news of my life and also some of the most horrible news all within 24 hours. All the people I had once turned down for photo shoots I was now reaching back out to them. Anything financially that I could do to help bring in extra money I did. At that point my whole life had done a complete 180 – there wasn’t really time for hobbies anymore. It was time to turn my passion into a career. Instead of having this all completely eat me alive I used it as motivation. The harder I worked in my eyes the more things would be ok. I would financially be able to take care of my wife and my growing family, and it also kept my focus away from the what if’s that came with my wife’s diagnosis and high-risk nature of her pregnancy. The next nine months we were constantly on our toes going to multiple doctors appointments weekly and doing all sorts of tests, but then my beautiful daughter was born, and she was as healthy as ever. I feel like I wouldn’t have gotten the motivation to actually pursue photography with this passion and drive I have for it now if all the previous things had not had happened. Nowadays not only is my daughter healthy and happier than ever but my wife is too. In January of 2019, I officially quit my salary job of 7 years to pursue photography full time, and I still have that same fire and motivation if not even more now than ever.
Please tell us about your art.
I am a lifestyle and action sports photographer focusing on capturing real and raw moments. I am working with a few different local brands on capturing their product with their models in the most natural and rawest way. I also shoot a lot of surfing and dirt bike stuff as well. Something about having only a split second to lock focus and freeze a frame above 1/1000th of a second is super special to me. I always really enjoy capturing portraits as well, unposed of course. One of my favorite things about capturing these raw and unposed photos is you get to see people being %100 real.
As an artist, how do you define success and what quality or characteristic do you feel is essential to success as an artist?
Being successful to me is being able to wake up every day and make a living and being able to provide for my wife and daughter doing something I would do for free. Every day I wake up more thankful than the day before, for getting to live out my dreams. I want my daughter to grow up seeing that dreams can come true and yeah, they can be difficult to achieve but with a positive attitude and a good work ethic anything is possible and if she can see that I will consider myself fully successful. Money is great and all, but at the end of the day, money doesn’t define success to me. Having my good friends and family healthy around me and me getting to wake up every day and do what I love makes me feel “successful.”
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
I post photos pretty frequently on social media and most of the prints I post on there are for sale as well. I also have prints available in rad hair salon Rock A Betties in El Cajon as well as Thrill Seekers in El Cajon. All of my business has grown through my social media or word of mouth, and I couldn’t be more thankful for all the support I have received as I continue on through this journey. You can also reach out for any photo needs through my Instagram, Facebook or by email.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 619-916-9286
- Email: chadjohnston.photo@yahoo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chadjohnstonphoto/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011306206179
Image Credit:
Austin Prida, Jake Haygood
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