Meet Brendan Byrne | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brendan Byrne and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brendan, how do you think about risk?
Risk is an interesting word. To me it can describe behavior that is incredibly stupid, cleverly calculated, or somewhere in between. Personally I have always found the best things in life are hard to come by without some level of risk. The skill is understanding what the potential consequences are of failing or succeeding in any particular endeavor. I am a creative individual, and I have long known that creativity would have to factor in heavily with whatever career and life path I chose. This is quite a risky way to live. Monetizing creativity is a very hard thing to do. However, I have tried to reduce risks where possible by being heavily prepared, industrious, and being honest with myself when assessing my own skills in a particular area. With that said, sometimes risks can’t be minimized all that much, and when those situations occur I always tend to lean towards taking the risk than not, especially if I feel I have reduced other risks in areas where I have more control. If you are prepared, it’s quite possible to undertake risky behavior reasonably. Behavior which without proper preparation would simply be stupid. If risk is paired with preparation the results can be spectacular and the definition of a life worth lived.
 
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a freelance photographer so without ever really planning it I have essentially become my own business. I love to photograph many subjects; people, places and animals predominantly, however I learn’t quickly that in this business you need to specialize, at least at first, to give yourself the best shot at finding a foothold in the industry.

This unhappy fact goes against my temperament, because I get bored of shooting the same thing and like to photograph a variety of subjects in different places around the world. It’s been a challenge to narrow my focus but I believe I’ve slowly started to find my passion within the huge selection of photographic subjects out there.

I now concentrate of Western culture within the United States, including rodeos and the cowboys and cowgirls that participate in them. In my own time I love travel and wildlife photography, with a particular fascination with the Arctic and sub Arctic regions. To this day my favorite photographic trip was photographing polar bears in their natural habitat in Svalbard. I have not yet figured out a way to tie these two worlds (the Arctic and surrounding climates and the Western US rodeo culture) together but I am working on it. I strive to shoot and edit all my work ‘cinematically’. Ideally, I would like my images to feel as if they are a still capture from a good film. That’s what I’m striving for.
 
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Over the years I have received an incredible amount of inspiration from countless podcasts, books, films and public thinkers. However it pales in comparison to the support and encouragement I get from my parents. I am well aware that not everyone can say this, and I am truly grateful every day that I have the parents I do. I often feel I won a lottery I didn’t know I was playing. My parents have always maintained a simple but extremely empowering rule; you can choose to do whatever you want, however you must try your absolute best at it. Do whatever it is with integrity, work really hard and apply yourself. Learn what you need to and seek to understand what you don’t yet know. This has been one of the greatest gifts of my life, to have parents that empower their son this way. It’s something I absolutely intend to instill in my own children one day. It gives you the confidence and drive to tackle any challenge, no matter how complicated or daunting. Thanks for everything Mum & Dad. I love you.

Website: https://www.brendanbyrnephoto.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brendanbyr/

Image Credits
‘Brendan Byrne Photography’. Thanks very much. 🙂