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

Brandon, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I started my journey as a photographer halfway through my sophomore year in college. Seeing more creatives on social media during this time trend towards leaving their 9-5 jobs to pursue their dreams always intrigued me to ask: “what would life look like if I chose to leave everything behind in pursuit of a free-spirited lifestyle traveling the world?” Although I entertained the idea as a student while exploring photography between breaks and holidays, I ultimately chose to continue my education for another 5 years instead of taking time to set out into the world and venture into the unknown. Do I wish that I had taken a gap year after or during school to see more of the world? Perhaps. Do I regret having finished my education? Not quite. Today, I am fortunate enough to be able to continue exploring myself as a creative while having the freedom to travel anywhere for my 9-5 job. The grass could be greener on the other side, but it could also be sparse and desolate. There is and always will be a level of uncertainty in the choices we make, but in the end life does not have to be black and white. Rather than choosing one life or another like everyone else, we can take elements of each and make it into our own path that is uniquely our own.

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.

I began my journey into photography as a college kid studying abroad in Copenhagen. The day before leaving for the airport, I dusted off my dad’s old Nikon D80 from the attic; ever since then, my camera has been with me wherever I go. The ability to capture an instantaneous moment in time continues to amaze me to this day, and photography has taught me to seek out and appreciate these moments before they disappear in the blink of an eye.

Although I am a part-time freelance travel photographer based in New York, one of the perks of my job is its nomadic nature and the freedom to travel and settle in various locations throughout the US. Currently, I am living in the Pacific Northwest with the opportunity to be able to capture its stunning and unique landscapes and wildlife. My focus is on landscapes and portraits in natural settings, and my shooting style usually involves emphasizing and playing with shadows and depth in order to evoke certain emotions from an instant in time. Having a human subject in the frame contributes to the grandness of a landmark to scale – a reminder of how small we are in the grand scheme of this world.

At the moment, I do not have any physical prints readily available due to the nomadic nature of my job. However, if you are interested in any products or services in particular, I will be more than happy to discuss them with you via email or Instagram.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

One of the most rewarding and satisfying aspects of being a creative in this technological age is having the ability to appreciate my own personal growth through my past works as an amateur photographer. Each photo I look back at helps me pinpoint and remember what stage of life I was in throughout my journey, even as far back as my very first post on Instagram. Although I can’t say that I am proud every photo I used to take – nor can I say that I will ever be 100% satisfied with my photography in the future – I appreciate the fact that I now have the means to not only see the evolution of my artistic maturity, but to also take a step back to remind myself how far I have come – not only as a photographer, but also as a person finding his own place in the world.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My goal is simple – to encourage you to be brave and see the world while you still can regardless of what others think, because you never know what could happen tomorrow. Although various circumstances appeared in my life that gave me excuses , I knew in my heart that I wanted to travel the world for my profession. It wasn’t until the story of Gabby Petito that pushed me to take the leap of faith, because it opened my eyes to reality: that life, young or old, is precious and time is limited. Take that trip you’ve always wanted to go – whether it’s down the shore with your high school friends you’ve lost touched with, or to see the Northern Lights in the most remote part of Antartica. Take every opportunity you can to see new places and form new relationships, and experience life to the fullest.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: brandonlei
• Other: Email: [email protected]