Born in Stayton, raised in Pendleton, matured in Portland, I’ve had a camera in-hand since I was five. It was a plastic toy with a spinning flashcube. It may not have been real, but I loved it just the same.

Now in my 25th year as a professional photographer, I still call my gear “the toys” when I pack for off-site gigs.

High school would have been a scarring nightmare, were it not for my Canon A1 on Christmas of 1980. I saved $150 and my parents pitched in a few bucks for the balance. (ahem - the other $500 - THANK YOU MOM & DAD!)

Working 32 hours a week through much of high school, I never missed a chance for reclusive escapes to the darkroom. By age 16 I knew I was hooked on this craft. When I ran out of photo classes, I signed up for journalism and yearbook. I even TA’d one year, just to be in that photography classroom with its indescribable aroma – a fusion of DEKTOL, D-76, Stop-bath and Fixer. A smell that permeated my clothes and most of my fond memories in those three teen years.

Barely over 5’ tall, I was in that short-fat-skinny-tall INSIGHTFUL group of teens, always an observer in quiet reflection mode. Photography and writing became my sanity, levity and eventually my career, one that I intentionally avoided until I was 31.

Sure, there were a few side-hustles here and there, but I hadn’t seen it as a fulltime vocation. The reason is that I got some bad advice from a friend. With great conviction, he cautioned me to “Never turn your hobby into a career, because then you’ll have to do it and hate it!”

It would take me a couple of decades working in retail to understand that my friend’s advice was not right for me. I was a teen, he was 40-something and clearly too afraid to take the risk for himself.

Just the same I thank him for what was probably the best fuel for a right-brained-lefty, who was challenged to find something that could equal my interest of photography. I had been working grocery retail since I was 16, just to pay for my expensive “hobby”.

From “box-boy” to manager, I spent 16+ years looking for the fastest way to do a great job. I figured if I did a great job, I’d get promoted into a position that would allow me my weekends off for photography.  

Working for a “One-stop shopping center” called Fred Meyer, I applied this motive to every department that I managed - Food, Nutrition Center, Health & Beauty Aids and Home Electronics. Even though my motivation was to escape, becoming a methodical systems junkie had its rewards for more than my store’s bottom line. I was learning to run a business.

Little did I know then, that while I was converting my frustrations into profitable efficiencies, I was forming some great business habits that would help me to navigate some pretty extreme ebbs and flows in future, historical economies.

In 1991, while managing a downtown Fred Meyer at Sixth & Alder, I pulled out my 1989 version of the book “What Color is Your Parachute.” The first few chapters of this career-seekers guide is what caused me to move back to Portland, scrapping my plans to accept my mentor’s offer of a free portrait studio in Eastern Oregon.

Fred Meyer had just built a satellite apparel-only store on Pendleton’s Main Street, just a few blocks from my photo-mentor’s studio. This allowed me to work six hours in the morning at the studio, before my late shift at Freds.

The arrangement was for my then-70-something, portrait-guru-mentor to slowly hand over control of the studio to me. Each year he would fade into the background as I became the front-man. By year three, he would literally gift me the studio for the cost of my signature and one HUGE condition. I would have to keep the studio in Pendleton.

I could not, in good conscience, accept his offer. The first part of the career book was about choosing your location before vocation. After filling out a few priority grids, I declined his incredible offer and moved back to Portland.

That chapter behind me, I was standing in a career class before my career-seeking peers, marker in hand, to write whatever they said that they saw me as.  “Writer, Photographer, Teacher and Architect.” I didn’t quite get that last one, but after whittling it down, I decided I was a teaching photographer who loved to write. Suddenly, everything made sense.

I opened Prints Charming Photography & Framing in 1996, and after a few branding iterations evolved into Studio B Photography. A collection of my photography specialties under a single name that has renewed my enthusiasm, and better-defines my life-long journey.

If it looks like I’m having too much fun at work, you are right. I now get to play with my favorite toys every day, and absolutely love what I do for a living.

Need headshots for your new craft? A product or service that you’d like to be photographed in a way that will appeal to your consumers? Then you’re in the right place. I’m here, ready to help you create the content that will get you to your next chapter in life.

See you in the Studio! 

Brian