Meet Brandon Iwamoto | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brandon Iwamoto and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brandon, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
When I left my career as a newspaper photojournalist, I went through several years of trying to understand not only what it was that I loved about photography but also why I cared so much about continuing pursuing it as a vocation. I came to realize that it wasn’t necessarily the photography that I loved but rather the ability to tell a story through pictures that I loved. From there, it was a process of figuring out how I can continue telling stories through pictures, even without a medium like a newspaper, and who would care about having their story told. It took me a while to arrive at the process and learn the business basics, but at the end of the day everybody has a story to tell and I am here to tell it through the lens of my camera.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The path to where I am as a photographer was one of the most emotionally taxing things I have ever done in my life. From the feeling of failure, having left my newspaper job believing that it was not possible to make a living in journalism, to the process of relearning what it was that I enjoyed about photography and how to take that and turn it into something people wanted to buy. I’ve learned to harness my ability to tell a story through pictures into creating branding images for companies and professionals, into telling the story of a couple’s special day, or into photo documentaries that allow a person to tell their own story and their own words. What sets me apart is the ability to reveal something about my subjects, in an intimate and beautiful way unique to each subject.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m a big fan of motorsport, so I’d likely recommend one of the great go-karting places around, like Action Karting or Unser Racing. A show at Mission Ballroom or Red Rocks is a must. A pleasant mountain drive to Salto Coffee in Nederland. If hookah is your thing, Elevate in Westminster is my go-to.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to nominate the Rocky Mountain Way of Tea for recognition in the Shoutout series. They are a collective of practitioners of Japanese tea “ceremony” who have learned various different schools of tea ceremony but have come together to educate and promote the art locally here in Colorado. Many of them have had experience learning in Japan and from local Japanese teachers.

Website: www.brandoniwamoto.com

Instagram: @iwamotophotography