We caught up with the brilliant and insightful John OConnell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
John, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?
This is a real catch-22. On the one hand, I wish that I had remained serious about photography after learning it in middle school instead of only dabbling casually with basic gear and effort until 2018. In the time that elapsed, I traveled to many incredible places and saw many beautiful sights. I always had a point-and-shoot camera with me and I did take some nice photos, but I wish that I could have captured then what I am capable of capturing now. On the other hand, those trips would have been very different trips if I was taking photography more seriously. I would have likely seen fewer sights and done fewer fun activities if photography was my primary focus. So, it’s just another one of those things that is what it is. I can’t go back in time, so I’ll cherish the memories and photos that I got and move forward into the future with my creative pursuits.
John, 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?
I was fortunate to have a family who enrolled me in a photography program in middle school and encouraged me to enjoy the great outdoors even though I grew up in the metropolis of Miami. Since then, I have enjoyed both pursuits, but I only started getting serious about digital photography in 2018 when my wife and I purchased our first digital camera with manual settings and interchangeable lenses. A few folks started asking for prints of my photos and I was so flattered that I did the first several for no profit. As demand grew, I realized that I needed to justify the time I spent on orders and launched my business. All the while, I’ve been working on my Ph.D. in ecology, so this has been a bit of a side business. Even without dedicating my full attention to the business, it has grown every year and I look forward to seeing where it goes from here.
I primarily concentrate on outdoor nature photography. I love the outdoors and am lucky to live in Southern Illinois where public forests, waterfalls, lakes, and other great places abound. I like to share those places with others. I am most proud of the responses that I get from people who follow my work; they often tell me that my images inspire, uplift, or otherwise help them. Some of those people are unable to get into the outdoors any longer, so my photos and stories help them travel vicariously through me. I love being able to bring some beauty into their world, especially when social media can be such a troublesome place.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
One thing that I don’t think many people realize is how much effort can go into a single image. I do sometimes get lucky and capture a “snap” that is just right, and I love it when that happens, but many of my landscape astrophotographs and even many of my landscapes require a great deal of planning, timing, shooting, and processing. It’s not unreasonable for one of my complex images to take 10+ hours to create. Further, most of my photos never sell a copy. So, when I’m offering a print for sale, it might seem like a lot of money for a piece of paper, but there was a lot of time spent creating that piece of paper. I am constantly trying to ensure that my work is not only available to the affluent whether that be through social media or print media.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I would consider my following on Facebook to be modest, yet flattering at over 7k. I really am floored that so many people want to see my images when we are constantly inundated with visual media nowadays. I have no training in social media marketing and I frankly try to avoid “marketing” my social media page heavily. When I do promotions on my page, they don’t require folks to share my profile or anything. I don’t want people to follow my page for a contest; I want them to follow my page for my content. The growth is usually slow and steady until I get a “hit” photo and then it will jump in leaps. At one point, I considered only posting my finest images to maintain the illusion that I only make portfolio-grade works. I realized that even my “misses” are enjoyed by someone on the page, so I post many photos that aren’t top-shelf, but still have their own beauty or offer some insight into my creative journey. Similarly, I tend to share the story behind the photo so that people can come along for the ride. So, I don’t have a secret cheat code for growing a social media audience. I just keep it real and hope that people enjoy my work.
Contact Info:
- Website: johnoconnellphotography.com
- Instagram: @johnoconnellphotography
- Facebook: @johnoconnellphotography
Image Credits
All images (c) John O’Connell Photography with the exception of the personal photo which is (c) Micah Miller