A Career in Disguise

120 • 5/04/2026

A Career in Disguise

In 1972, I lived on San Juan Island, off the northern coast of Washington state. It was there that I began a career in disguise. I was working for a small independent telephone company, which involved climbing poles, working in trenches and a myriad of other physical work.

Earlier that year I bought a Bell & Howell (made by Canon), 35mm SLR that I would take to work on occasion. Some of the work I took part in was hanging telephone cable in heavily-wooded areas which would involve installing poles and laying wire in ditches. On more than one occasion I would make photographs of the rest of the crew working.

One day the owner of the company asked if I wanted to be the “official” company photographer. He said that he would pay for all raw film, developing and printing. It didn’t take me long to agree with his proposal. That was my very first attempt being a “professional photographer.”

The image above was made on a ferry ride from San Juan Island to Anacortes, Washington. While I was on the ferry, I was walking around the cabin and noticed a young woman enjoying the view of the many islands visible during the ride. After passing her several times I asked if she would mind if I made her portrait.

It is still one of my favorite portraits, even after more than 50 years of photographing a very wide array of subject matter.

Little did I know that that image would lead to an actual career. For many years following that one encounter, the portraits have piled up as well as assignments to photograph and write articles on horses preparing for the racetrack, in Yakima (WA) to legacy architecture in Seattle, as well as many celebrities. Then there are landscapes, figurative work and a bit more.

It wasn’t until I moved to New Mexico that my disguise began to unravel, however.

Shortly after arrival, I picked up a local weekly newspaper and noticed an ad for someone with computer layout and image manipulation experience for a well-established photography magazine. It only took one interview and I was in as an editor/layout person.

That is what began my career in photography in a much more defined manner. Up until that time much of my work had been freelance in nature.

It didn’t take long to go from where I started to be promoted to managing editor. I was interviewing noted image makers and writing articles. I was looking forward to a long stint in that role.

My muse and the spirits had other ideas in mind for me. In less than two years I began work as the owner/publisher of that same magazine.

Over the years the magazines have changed but the process hasn’t. My magazines have been bi-monthly, which means they are released every-other-month. In light of that, I began to develop other projects, most of which are photography based and have that same bi-monthly publication schedule.

At the present time, now that the disguise is removed and I am no longer “under the radar,” I appreciate all those who have supported me on my wayward path to a career no longer in disguise.

For many of us, we are challenged by duty, happenstance, easy roads, and much more that lead us to where we either should or need to be. Sometimes, if the road is too easy, we may not learn what we need to learn.

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“Most importantly, if you can at all avoid it, don’t be normal. Strive, burn and do everything you can to avoid being the industry standard. Even the highest industry standard. Be greater than anything anyone else has ever dreamed of you. Don’t settle for pats on the back, salary increases, a nod and a smile. Instead, rage against against the tepidness of the mundane with every fiber of whatever makes you, you. Change this place. Please, do that for me.” ©Iain S. Thomas, I wrote this for You, and only You

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Rick Rubin | There’s Nothing Left To Do But Let Go: There's nothing left to do but let go" is a core concept from Rick Rubin, often highlighted in his work on creativity (e.g., The Creative Act), which advises artists to detach from the outcome of their work and trust the creative process. Rubin suggests that the strongest creative work comes from what you cannot forget, rather than what you planned to create. (ed. Ditto!)

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James Clear | The Myth of Creative Inspiration: “Stop waiting for motivation or creative inspiration to strike you and set a schedule for your habits. This is the difference between professionals and amateurs. Professionals set a schedule and stick to it. Amateurs wait until they feel inspired or motivated.” ©James Clear

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Josephine Sacabo | Now or Never: “Sacabo’s many portfolios are visual manifestations of the written word, and she lists poets as her most important influences, including Rilke, Baudelaire, Pedro Salinas, Vicente Huidobro, Juan Rulfo, Mallarmé, and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Her images transfer the viewer into a world of constructed beauty.” ©image: Woman in Pieces (note: all artists featured in this section have been previously (or will be) published in Shadow & Light Magazine)

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Poetics | Jane Hirshfield: An ode to the growing season by one of my Top 10 contemporary poets.

Green-Striped Melons

They lie
under stars in a field.
They lie under rain in a field.
Under sun.

Some people
are like this as well—
like a painting
hidden beneath another painting.

An unexpected weight
the sign of their ripeness.

©Jane Hirshfield

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