Local photographer makes his mark

Times Reporter

 

Many people have jobs they like but just aren’t doing what they would love to do. Most people would likely stay at their current job anyway instead of taking a risk and a leap into something they love. Jeremy Goertz is one of the rare few who, once realizing he wasn’t in love with his work, decided to take the risk and it paid off. 

“A lot of it had to do with, I turned 30 this year and I mean I had a really great job with really great people but I didn’t love what I did and so I thought, you know what life is short, if there’s something you want to try, you may as well go for it,” said Goertz. 

Goertz was recently picked as one of the top 37 photographers picked out of 1,500 entries to be in Photolife magazine as the top new emerging photographers.  

The contest wasn’t about judging an individual photo; it was to showcase the vision and style of the photographer. After images had been submitted and reviewed, each photographer’s other work was reviewed.  

“These up-and-coming Canadian photographers expose the simple wonders of daily life, capture images found in their imaginations, mix ordinary objects with the extraordinary and pique our interest with intriguing subjects, compositions and colours. Demonstrating a fearless and no-taboo approach to photography, the 2010 emerging photographers remind us of the importance of a true, uncompromised photographic vision,” said Photolife magazine on August 3.   

Goertz’s wife had studied photography at SAIT, and when she stopped for a while he picked it up and taught himself. 

“Online is a huge resource and you can learn anything you want know 

I probably shoot 500 to 1,000 pictures a week, all of them trying different stuff. Setting up studio lights etcetera,” said Goertz. 

“I’ve read my camera manual probably 20 times cover to cover and it sounds stupid but if I am having any issues it’s nice to know exactly what to do.” 

He had submitted three images to the magazine in April. One day, about two months before the magazine was printed, he received an email saying he was in the final and they needed the full size file. 

“I thought it was spam at first. I called saying I think I have a prank email and they said no (it’s not a prank),” said Goertz. His favourite photo subjects are people and he prefers doing creative portraitures, kind of like fashion with a theme. 

“My idea is I’ll go out and shoot for like three hours and if I can get one good picture out of 1,000 I’m happy.”   

Goertz shoots with a Canon EOS 5DMK2 and is always checking lighting. He found the best way to learn is just to shoot, shoot and shoot some more. 

 “I guess my ultimate goal is to earn a living and support my family while doing something I love. That’s the whole goal. I’m not looking to get rich and famous. If I can pay the bills and live a happy life and absolutely love what I’m doing, I don’t think you could paint a better picture than that,” said Goertz. He now has a job he loves to do everyday, and being picked as one of the top photographers for Photolife magazine is already helping him continue to work his dream. It’s led to a shoot with Mode International, PocketWizard is looking to possibly sponsor him now, and The Camera Store in Calgary may have him teaching some light seminars.