Following Your Passion: Blog Interview with Professional Photographer Wendy Ploger

If you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.
-- Author Unknown

Are you currently working in a job or on a project that you are passionate about? If not, what is preventing you from pursuing it? These are just a few of the questions we will be delving into during my series of Blog Interviews about people following their passions in life. Finding and pursuing work that is engaging and meaningful is a basic psychological need however, this need is only met if we consciously make the decision to pursue something we are passionate about. Yet, we all know it is easier said than done, so sometimes an unexpected event pushes us forward in a direction we have been contemplating.

My first Blog Interview is with Wendy Ploger, a professional photographer in New York City who's story will touch and inspire you. I have been in love with her pictures since the moment I first saw them, especially ones of the famous one-eyed Ernie (how can you not love that face!). So sit back and enjoy the interview.

Discovering Your Passion
When I asked Wendy what is it about photography that excites her she said, "When I take a photo, it is about remembering--capturing a moment that brings you back to that memory of the past. It is also an important way to express myself. In photos, you can sometimes say so much more than words. Visually it is a way I can tell a story."

When Wendy was in college, she was a communication major but decided to change to graphic design as she began exploring her creative side. She took a number of photo classes in college that helped her get a sense of her artistic abilities and also had a great professor who began showing her the subtleties of her work. However, at the end of college she decided to go the path of a graphic designer, "Photography simply didn't seem practical to make a living at."

Wendy points out an important fact of reality that we may have to come to terms with during our early years after college--sometimes our passions are something that, at the time, we simply can't make a living at or we just don't have the experience on how to make money doing it, so we decide to pursue other opportunities that are a better fit for us at the time. The key is to still pursue something we enjoy while on our journey of finding things we are passionate about.

Following Your Passion
Wendy had been doing graphic design in Washington, DC for a number of years but began getting restless in her job. She felt stagnant in what she was doing and was tired of working for people telling her what to do. She wanted to make a change so she started looking into photo schools and trying to find a way to make the leap to follow her passion. During this time, the unimaginable happened.

On September 11, 2001, Wendy's dad and step-mother were on American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon. After this tragic event, Wendy said that her perspective on life changed. In an interview for the Washington Post, she explained, "I don't know if it was because of 9/11, but I just started to realize that life was too short, and I needed to be following my passion, no matter what the cost," she said. "He would be proud of the direction I've taken." She mentioned to me that after this, "I became less fearful and more willing to take chances," which led her to take more photography classes and eventually move to New York City to pursue photography on a more full-time basis.

(photo of the Pentagon Memorial by Wendy)

Wendy's change in the way she viewed life after 9/11 points to an important psychological phenomenon that happens after such events or even, as I have personally experienced, when we get older--developing a greater sense of our mortality. When we are young we think that we have all the time in the world and often go through our youth not really worrying about time. In some ways it is a great feeling, but the down side is we lack of a sense of urgency to do things that are important to us. This is why our growing sense of mortality can be so valuable to us--it makes us realize that time is our most valuable resource and we have to spend it as wisely. This means following your passion and spending time on activities that make you happy and give you a sense of meaning and purpose. In order for our sense of mortality to be beneficial to us (as opposed to it causing us anxiety), it must drive us to take action.

Advice to People Wanting to Follow Their Passion
So when you discover what your passion is, should you follow it as soon as you possibly can? Some people will tell you yes, but that could be ill-advised. We all have to take a look at the reality of your situation and see if we are ready personally, professionally, and financially to make that journey.

Sometimes you need to gain important experience before you take that major step. As Wendy told me, "There is a part of me that looks back and wished I had taken the leap sooner, but I also learned a lot from my formal job as a graphic designer. I really learned how to establish myself in a business environment and learned a lot of good things that are important for what I am doing now.

I asked Wendy what tips she would provide to others wanting to follow their passion she quickly said, "The desire has to be there. You can't go into half-hearted because it is going to be a difficult journey. You are going to get rejected at some point.  Everyone goes through it--it is part of the process--and you have to be prepared for it. You also have to always give it your best and put your best product out there. You never know when a valuable opportunity is going to knock at the door."

Thanks to Wendy for her time and story. View Wendy's PhotoBlog, Gallery, Bio, or Ernie!

Questions to Comment On -

• What is your passion (list more than one if you want) and tell us how close you are to following it.
• What do you need to do to start going?

Happiness Homework - Send me an email (marcos@marcossalazar.com) about someone you know and admire that is following their passion and I will profile them in a Blog Interview (this is especially good for someone starting a business and in need of exposure).

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Comments

[Laura Culverwell]

Wendy clearly made the right choice. I love her black and white work. Nice blog Marcos!

[Gabriel Barbaro]

Hey Marcos, this is a great resource you've got going here. I can't wait to read this interview!
Cheers!

[Marcos]

Yeah, her photos are amazing, especially her B & W. I just love the pictures of Ernie!

[Gabriel Barbaro]

Hey Marcos, great interview with Wendy! I really like her photography! Thanks for doing this and good luck to Wendy too!

[Adriane]

Great Interview! I too am a communications major and I have this driving desire to go into interior design.. but I just don't know how to make the leap. I've already racked up student loan debt from my bachelors and have a low paying entry level job in advertising that I totally dislike right now. Any tips or suggestions??

[Marcos]

@ Adriane

Even though you dislike your current job, is there something about it that will help you in making the leap? Are there aspects of it that you can learn from that will help you with interior design. As Wendy pointed out, she learned a lot professionally in her previous job before she made the leap.

I would suggest to keep exploring options and see if you can get experience in interior design while still keeping your job, especially in such a bad economy. One way to do this is to start networking and emailing people in the field and see if there are any opportunities available part time. Then after doing this for a while you may be able to make connections that lead to something bigger and possibly full time.

The other thing is to be patient. I too have a heck of a lot of debt from undergrad and grad school and at times feel trapped. But there is nothing you can do but accept the reality of your situation, try not to stress out about it, and create your own opportunities. It may not come as quickly as you would like, but if you keep at it something will come from all your hard work.

Hope that helps!

- Marcos

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