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

Alright, Beth thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share a story about the kindest thing someone has done for you and why it mattered so much or was so meaningful to you?

I have been a full-time practicing architect designing commercial and healthcare projects for about 26 years. About 10 years ago, I was involved in the design of a hospital chapel for one of my healthcare clients, a place of quiet respite for patients and their families during a stressful time. The chapel project required the procurement of a custom stained glass window. My client had hired a local art consulting firm to vet some potential stained glass artists, guide in the artwork selection process and install the final product. As the architect on the project, I was involved in all of the art selection meetings. It was my first time working with an art consultant, and I found the process fascinating. When the project was complete, I asked the art consultant whether she worked with any photographers, as my passion for photography was really gaining momentum and found myself wanting to do something meaningful with the body of work I was developing. She responded with an enthusiastic “yes”, and went on to represent me even though I still had a long way to go to learn and improve. To have someone take that first chance on you and open a door of opportunity was just incredible, and for me, led to a journey of developing as an artist and photographer very passionate about placing calming, healing images in healthcare facilities for the benefit of patients, their families and caregivers in what can be highly stressful environments.

Beth, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

From a young age, I’ve always been drawn to artistic endeavors: drawing, painting, animation, and story telling, and that creativity eventually led to my profession of architecture as an adult, but it’s through photography that is my “real” creative outlet where I get to have fun, play and experiment. During an incredible opportunity to study abroad in France in college, I signed up for a film photography class, practicing architectural and street photography in Paris which was an absolute blast! Ever since then, I’ve always had a camera in my hand, and over the years, developed a passion for nature and landscape photography. I owe a lot of my development as a photographer to my aunt was like a mother to me. Before she passed away, she was mobility impaired and largely housebound, but always retained her incredible reverence and love for nature. As a result, I was always sharing my photography with her and came to realize what a powerful effect nature images can have on those with physical and mental health issues, and those in very stressful situations. My passion for photography became focused on creating nature photography for healthcare environments to alleviate the stress of patients, their families and caregivers, and provide a positive distraction in clinical settings. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 and underwent treatments over a year, it reinforced the importance of healing imagery in clinical environments and my conviction to produce images for the benefit of others. Now, my photography work is featured in hospitals, clinics, cancer centers, psychiatric facilities and elder care communities throughout California and beyond. Additionally, I commit a percentage of my sale profits to breast cancer causes that make a direct impact on patients. If I could sum up my photography in one word, it might be “therapeutic”- not just for the viewer of my work but for myself as well; in many ways, I feel that photography has had such a profound, positive impact on my life, and I relish the opportunity to give back, even in a small way. I continue to focus on the healthcare art market and stay abreast of trends and themes in the healing arts.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Both in my full-time job as an architect, and in my side hustle as a nature photographer, I embody a consistent, client service mindset. By that, I mean, bringing a high level of professionalism in all dealings with clients, whether it’s responsiveness in returning emails or phone calls in a timely manner, invoicing and record keeping with attention to detail, and setting consistent pricing in a way that is equitable to my clients. As a creative, the importance of the business side of things cannot be overemphasized. You can be the most talented artist, but if you aren’t professional or respectful in your business dealings, the talent or creativity on it’s own is substantially diminished.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I would say my “why” as a nature photographer is my motivation by the impact nature images have on those that are constrained from experiencing nature firsthand in that moment, particularly in hospital environments. I experienced firsthand through a health scare of my own how impactful artwork is in clinical environments and the positive effects art can have on patients. My own cancer journey reinforced the importance of healing imagery in clinical and healthcare environments and reinforced my conviction to produce images for the benefit of others. Several weeks into my own diagnosis, I walked into one of my appointments and saw what I thought was one of my images hanging on the wall of the waiting room. It took a minute to really sink in that it was in fact, my photography in that unexpected place. I took it as a sign that I was on the right path both as a photographer and as a patient, building my resilience through nature and art, and helping others build resilience, too.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/optimal_focus/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/optimalfocusphotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-young-aa614811/

Image Credits

All images by me :)