We recently connected with Jay Grammond and have shared our conversation below.

Jay, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I worked a full-time career in the lifelong learning field for nearly twenty years. During that time and even before that, I did photography on the side for extra income. In 2015, the photography side of things were really picking up and I had decided to really think hard about making the leap of faith by becoming a full time photographer. I read books about people that had done it; I interviewed people that had made mid-career pivots, and people that were full time photographers. After four years of research, I decided to get off the sidelines and into the game!

I was 50+; had a successful award-winning career that I really enjoyed – and was good at – and so, I put in my notice in December one year, and my last day at the office was January 3, 2020. I had this well thought out plan, had talked to my wife about it, to first get her approval; I even ran it past my parents. The plan was pretty solid, and then everything changed on March 13th that year. I had made the Leap-of-Faith right into the path of the worldwide pandemic!

I had to completely pivot to a new plan. I love to read, and so I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands; I ordered a book about Fading Ads, or “Ghost Signs” of Detroit, or some location (there is a series of them from various large metro areas), read it and really enjoyed it. My mind went to wondering if there was a book representing Minneapolis/St.Paul. I didn’t see one in their line up and I got the idea that I should inquire about it and offer to create that book if they were interested. It turns out that they had been looking for someone to do this project, but didn’t know who should do it! So in June of 2020, when nothing seemed to make a lot of sense; I signed a book deal for “Fading Ads Of The Twin Cities” and now had a project to work on!

Aside from that, I quickly realized that the industry, that I used to work in and that I had a pretty great network in, was going to need on-line classes since they wouldn’t be able to offer in-person classes for the foreseeable future and developed a handful of programs that I could deliver on-line. I set up a network of a bunch of programs across the state and ended up presenting on-line classes for two years! My new path was developing. None of these things would have happened if I had stayed at my desk job.

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.

Hello, my name is Jay Grammond. I am a Husband | Father | Photographer | Creative | First-time Author. I worked in a small town grocery store on weekends and Summers during high school and saved up my money to buy a Canon AE-1 along with 50mm, and 70-210mm lenses; and a flash. I am self taught. I started out reading how-to books; and studying coffee table books by photographers whos work I liked. Since it was film in those days, I would keep a note pad with me and record the details about each frame I shot so that when the roll was developed and I had the prints in hand, I could try to figure out what I could improve on next time. I started out mostly with sports photography. and some landscape photography.

During college and especially after college, I started to really get into landscape photography, focusing on rural scenes in Minnesota and North Dakota. Skill levels progressed, and I eventually moved to a digital system, once my AE-1 had just finally wore out and they weren’t making replacement parts for that gear anymore. I then went right into digital photography and by then my skills had been increasing and went to a new level during the digital era.

One of the services I provide is to provide artwork for facilities such has hospitals, clinics, senior living, nursing homes, businesses, etc. In the healthcare setting, I consider my artwork: Healing Art. It helps patients/residents with lowering stress levels; lifting spirits to aid in quicker recovery time; provides way finding in hallways and lobbies, which also helps families. My artwork is also a benefit for the people that work in the building, giving them a morale boost and also helping in reducing stress. Businesses benefit from all of the above, plus have the prestige of having great artwork on their walls throughout the building including exam rooms, offices, and meeting rooms.

Another service I provide is public speaking. I have developed close to twenty presentations that incorporate my photography along with education and storytelling. I present both in-person and on-line. My goal with these is to educate and inspire.

The third leg of services that I provide is Photography Workshops. I organize and implement a big event in the Black Hills of South Dakota each Fall called the Black Hills Photo Shootout – that features Western Lifestyle; Landscapes; Wildlife, and more, and brings people together from around the country. The other events that I put on are what I call “Adventures”. These Adventures are small group outings to great locations with awesome experiences built in while leaving room for serendipity! I hold these in Minnesota | South Dakota | Wyoming. Other states may be added as I move forward.

The thing that I feel really sets me apart from others that might do these kind of things is that I am easy to work with, enthusiastic, creative, I have a desire to help others, and have Kindness as my Superpower!

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

The first book that comes to mind is by Stephen Covey, “The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People.” Even though it has been in print for over 30 years, the information contained within is timeless. I’ve read it many times over the years and it really guides how I live life!

Minnesota Author, Harvey Mackey’s “Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive” and some of his other books are books that I learned a lot from.

Wayne Dyer, and some of his books, such as: “The Power of Intention.” and “Real Magic” had a big impact on me.

As far as videos go, I learn a tremendous amount from KelbyOne: Scott Kelby, Erik Kuna, Tim Wallace, Rick Sammon, Dave Black, and Joe McNally are people that I learn a lot from in how they operate in their entrepreneurial thinking. Other Photographers that I have learned a lot from business-wise from their videos, social media, and other mediums, are: Dewitt Jones; Art Wolfe; Glyn Dewis, and Joel Grimes. There are others (I may be forgetting someone, and I’m sorry if I did!)

Over the past several years, I have come to enjoy and learn a lot from Gary Vaynerchuk. he has a lot of great business content out there and recently has talked a lot about Kindness, which really resonates with me.

I would encourage readers to check these artists out and see if they resonate you. If you can gain just one nugget from some of them, you will make big steps towards. your goals.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I feel that society can best support artists and creatives by remembering them when it is time to purchase gifts for others; items for personal use; and even items to turn around and donate to things like Silent Auctions. We often get asked to donate items from organizations and businesses; and we do – but how great would it be if that organization, or private individuals would purchase from the artist/creative and then donate it to the event! (just putting that out there.)

Another way to support is to engage on social media. It doesn’t cost anything to Like|Subscribe|Share|Comment etc. Writing a thoughtful and supportive comment; and even a testimonial really goes a long way.

One last idea that I will share, is to encourage people to attend events that the artist/creative appears at like: Art Fairs; Book Signings; Public Speaking events, etc. I can tell you first hand that it means a lot to us when people we know show up to hear us speak, get a book signed; visit our booth, etc. Showing up matters!

I guess there is one more item: funding through Grants and other means is so important. If you are in a position to make that happen, or even if you are able to create opportunities for artists and creatives….that is a Win-Win for society.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jgrammondphotography.org
• Instagram: jgrammondphotography
• Facebook: J Grammond Photography
• Linkedin: Jay Grammond
• Twitter: @JGrammondPhoto
• Youtube: J Grammond Photography
• Other: TikTok: @j.grammond.photog
  Threads: @jgrammondphotography

Image Credits

Jay Grammond