“I started doing photography when I was single and then got busy with life and didn’t do it for, like, 40 years. I kind of got started because of just taking pictures while I was on the road, but I got into doing pictures of Goshen because Goshen is so rich and varied in terms of subject matter. There are not many towns the size of Goshen that have a gravel pit pond with a mile-and-a-half walking track and a dam and a raceway and the river that runs through it, and all the architecture we have from a century and a half ago. There’s just an awful lot of stuff here. And we have beautiful sunrises and sunsets. I like to do late-night photography. I like the lights. The Goshen Theater really lights up the downtown when the marquee is on. It makes a nice subject. Plus the courthouse, of course, is probably one of the prettiest courthouses in the state.
The thing that I like about my photography is that sometimes I go out to take a picture of a certain thing, and I end up not getting what I really went to get, but I end up with something else. And I end up with something that sometimes is way better than what I would have done if I had planned it. Sometimes God just hands me one like that and says, ‘Here, you’re going to like this one.’
I read an article that said, ‘If you want to make money with photography, take pictures of your local area.’ People are proud of where they live, they’re proud of their town and the landmarks they have in town. People will pay for pictures of their hometown. People will buy pictures of what they really love. So I started doing that and it just really went well for me.
I’m at the Goshen Farmers Market, and for about six or seven weeks they said, ‘Well, food vendors are essential, so they can come, but we don’t want artisans here.’ I wasn’t selling much photography during that time because I wasn’t down at the market. The other thing I’m doing right now is putting together my calendar for 2021. I’m really excited about that because the pictures I have in that calendar, I think, are more of a showcase of my art than just, ‘I’m taking a picture of this business.’ I have businesses that advertise. Some of them want a picture of their business in the calendar. I thought I was going to have a really hard time selling my calendar, but I really haven’t had any problems.”
