We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shannon Spilker. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shannon below.
Shannon , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Taking a leap of faith can sometimes be the scariest crossroads we will ever face. If you would have told me 5 years ago that I was going to leave the Accounting industry to become and teacher and a photographer I would have laughed. It took a leap of faith to change that fantasy to a reality.
Growing up, I always had a love for photography, and I was gifted my first real camera (besides a cheap little digital camera) when I was in the 7th grade. Throughout high school and college, I was taking photos whenever I could, but after graduation I just stopped. I had gone to school to be an accountant, and for the first four and a half years of my professional career, all I cared about was work. I had a reliable job, and good pay, but I wasn’t happy. During the COVID pandemic, I worked primarily from home, and all I would do is stare at a computer all day long with barely any social interactions from my coworkers. One night, talking with my parents and sister, I realized I couldn’t do this the rest of my life. After talking, I realized what I really wanted to do was be a teacher, so later that week I enrolled in an online program and began taking my steps to become a teacher.
Not long after starting my online program, I finally picked up my camera again, and the passionate feeling I had when I was younger came back. I was excited to go out and explore and capture the world, and the small details that captivated me and I wanted to share it with others. I decided to start my own business, build a social media page and website for my photography services, and take those small steps to growing my own business.
To say I was nervous was a huge understatement. I spent many sleepless nights tossing and turning wondering if I was making the right choice. I knew that I would be taking a huge pay cut, and starting my own photography business would take a lot of time and personal expenses to build it up to where it was bringing in a steady income. It’s something I still worry about to this day, and I’m still trying to grow it to a point where it is sustainable, but I finally feel like I am doing something I enjoy. I get to spend my days teaching, and my afternoons, and weekends taking photos and working with clients. Taking that risk, to me, was worth it. Do I still worry? Yes, always. However, I finally feel like I am on the path I was meant to be on.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Shannon Spilker, and I have lived in the Pacific Northwest my entire life. Ever since I was a kid, I have loved spending time outdoors. Regardless of the season, I was always outside with my family, whether we were exploring the woods, being on the water, snowmobiling, or ice skating on the ponds my dad and uncle would build for my sisters, cousins, and I. Growing up, I always had a camera on me. Back then, it was always fun to make a movie, music video, or just document our adventures. As I got older though, I began to take photography more seriously, and began to notice more of the fine details in nature.
I have always thought, there’s an art to noticing. We notice what’s right in front of us everyday, but sometimes we miss to notice those small special moments that create a memory for a lifetime. How often do we notice how a sunbeam breaks through a cloud at dusk, or the way dew gathers on a blossom after a storm, or the way our eyes crinkle with a genuine laugh rather than in a poised moment?
I wanted to start capturing these moments, to freeze them in time for others to see. I started small, by joining my High School’s Yearbook Staff, then in college I took pictures for my Resident Hall. After college though, I just stopped. For a few years, all I was focused on was work, but I decided to switch my career focus. I went from Accounting to Teaching, and in that time I returned to photography. I started taking time each day to go take photos, practice my editing skills, and then I took it to a more professional level. Slowly, but steadily, I’ve been growing my photography business, and I’ve never felt happier. I get to spend my days now, teaching 3rd grade, and my free time capturing special memories for others, and those special moments in time in the world around us.
I feel very lucky that I get to live in such a beautiful place. With that, a lot of my work is landscape photography, that has more of a country/Americana look to them. The pictures I capture and share with others is home. It’s the country-side in the town I was raised. It’s the mountains and lakes I continue to explore in the winter with my family. They are the places that made me who I am today. While I know that type of landscape photography is not everyone’s cup of tea, I know my work has made some people smile, and has made them feel happy. As long as I can help bring a smile to some people’s day, I will keep sharing the special moments I notice around me.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
While, not necessarily a lesson, I had to relook at a mindset. The mindset of never giving up, and that the biggest critic we face is ourselves. I can be very critical of my own work, and while I try to be an optimistic person in most aspects of life, I can be very pessimistic of my work. I tend to focus on what I did wrong, or why something won’t work, and I can end up digging myself a hole of self-doubt. I often tell my class, to “Never Give Up!” or “It’s okay to fail,” but I have a hard time taking my own advice on those statements. When I get in that self-doubt hole, I just need to remind myself that no one said this would be easy. I will also think of that phrase that goes it takes 100 no’s to get a yes. With each no, whether it be from a client, customer, or gallery curator, it’s just another step closer to that yes. However, telling myself that doesn’t always work. When I am really getting down on myself though, I turn to my family and loved ones for help. They will always listen to me vent, and provide the advice and support I need. They are the ones who encourage me to never give up. They reenergize me to go grab my camera when I am ready to put it away, so I’ll grab my headphones, turn on The Climb by Miley Cyrus (because, yes, I grew up in the Hannah Montana era and am still a proud Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus fan), and will go back out and take pictures and do what I love to do.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect for me, is knowing some of my work is making other people happy. It really didn’t hit me until about a year into running the social media page for my photography. I felt like I was falling into a bit of a rut, and I wasn’t really making any traction with gaining clients, or growing my following. I was starting to feel like I was wasting my time, but then, one of my sister’s coworkers started following my page. Ever since then, when I share a new post, she typically leaves a comment saying how she loves the picture or video I shared. One comment that has always stuck with me that she has left is, “This makes my heart smile.” Seeing those words, and knowing that some one enjoys my work that much is what is most rewarding for me.
With that as well, one moment that will always stick with me was when I did my first vendor stand at a local farmer’s market. I wanted to see if anyone would be interested in buying my canvas prints. It ended up being a bit of a bust. The farmer’s market had more of an urban clientele, so I was a bit out of place there with my country-landscape photos and cowboy hat. Pretty early on, I knew I wasn’t going to be making many sales. My family came to support me though, and that meant the world to me. Then, throughout the night other people I knew started showing up. My cousins who I hadn’t seen in a while, and my aunt and her mother-in-law, who is like a grandmother to me showed up just to support me. They saw I was going to be at the farmer’s market, and they all took time out of their day to stop by and to see my work. Also, two of my third grade students and their parents came out to the market, so they could go see their teacher’s photography. On a school night of all nights! All joking aside, that memory of seeing them walk up to my booth will always bring a smile to my face. Seeing all those people show up, support me, and compliment my work means the world to me. The fact that they all took time out of their day, and seeing the looks on their faces looking at my photography was such a moving moment that I will never forget, and will always be thankful for.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shannon-spilker-photography.jimdosite.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shannyspilks.photography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562268673992
Image Credits
Shannon Spilker (myself)