We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Travis Crumley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Travis, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

For almost 10 years prior to pursuing photography I worked in corporate America as a Recruiter. I was following the traditional American way of going to school, getting a corporate job and working to build a career. As the years progressed I began to realize that I wanted more than to sit in front of a screen and feel like I was always have to work harder to just keep my job. I would find myself at work listening to YouTube videos on photography and was watching all of these other people out there traveling, exploring and following a passion that made them truly happy. After years of sitting on the fence I was with a corporation who was downsizing and saw this as my opportunity to transition and follow my passion. At the end of the day the lesson I had learned is that life is short and if I did not pursue what makes me happy I would wake up every day questioning myself.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Travis and I am a Photographer based in Washington State. If I had a choice I would spend all day outside exploring and finding new things to photograph. Photography is a passion and a way for me to pursue what I truly enjoy. My photography is based around the beauty in the world that surrounds us. I traditionally focus on landscape and wildlife but also enjoy shooting architecture, portraits and city life. You can find my work online and if you are in Washington State or Northern Oregon I am available for portrait work as well.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For myself the most rewarding aspect of working as a creative is being able to bring a vision to life. We are surrounded daily by so many beautiful and amazing aspects of the world around us yet we tend to be so busy with out daily lives so these things are either overlooked or unappreciated. To be able to go out and capture an image and highlight the subject in a way that showcases it and allows it to be seen and appreciated is a special thing. If I can make the ordinary into extraordinary than I have succeeded.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One thing I have always strived for is perfection and that when doing work it needs to be perfect. I, like so many others were raised to feel the need to always have the correct answer and I had carried this idea into photography. For so long, and even now I can feel like I am an imposter and I do not deserve to be in the creative space. However, over time I have come to realize that so many artists or creatives struggle with imposter syndrome and the feeling that their work is inadequate. In reality, nothing is perfect and all work is up for interpretation. What one may consider a masterpiece may be considered trash to another so it is not about putting out a perfect piece of work every time, instead it is about expressing yourself through that work and if you are able to express yourself then you will naturally find your audience.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @traviscrumleyphotography
• Other: Flickr- Travis Crumley

Image Credits

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