16 : Tony Stromberg – Spirit Horses & 800,000 and growing Facebook Likes – PODCAST
Where did Tony Stromberg come from to get to where he is now? This is from the About Tony on his website and I would encourage you to go over and read more as this is only the first couple of paragraphs describing his journey. After successfully spending over 20 years as a high-end advertising photographer in San Francisco, I found myself disenchanted, burned out, and ultimately receiving no nourishment from the work I was doing. On the outside, I had everything anyone would want, but my inner landscape was barren and I began “searching” for my lost spirit. When horses came into my life in the mid-1990’s, I realized that I had found my teachers, and the connection that I have developed with horses has helped steer my life in a completely different direction. Horses have taught me so much in the time that I have spent with them. They have taught me about the power of authenticity, honestly, and integrity, and they have taught me the true meaning of leadership and relationship. They have also taught me about living in collaboration and community, rather than the model that our society embodies, which is about competition and “getting ahead of the rest”. In my interview with Tony we go from where he was to where he is now. Horses continue to take him to better places where he has rediscovered things that he had lost in the competitive rush of being everything to everybody as a commercial photographer. Finding horses probably saved him. I hope you will come and enjoy my interview with one of the top 10 equine photographers in the world. SHOW NOTES His website: http://tonystromberg.com His Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TonyStrombergPhotography When I talked with Tony he had 799,900 Likes on Facebook. In the last two weeks it is now well over 808,000 likes. By the time you hear this it may reach 1 million for all I know. People are captivated by his powerful images and want to see more. Listen to hear how this came to be along with the frustrations and benefits of social media. 60 degrees in February in New Mexico (We started with just a little small talk) Tony started in photography as a commercial advertising photographer in California For 20+ years Tony had a very successful advertising photography career starting in his 20s. He describes the variety of work he did so successfully during that period. But, it took him down a path where he was losing himself and dealing with depression and despair. He could just about do any photography project for anyone, but there was something missing for him. At that point he didn’t know the difference between a horse and cow, he said. He was invited by a friend to visit some horses and he started shooting horses as a hobby. He would go and shoot and find a little piece of himself every time. How did he start into equine photography as a business? In commercial photography he was spending 20 percent of his time taking pictures and 80 percent was marketing, showing his portfolio and beating the pavement to get in front of important clients. In equine photography it was the other way around. 20 percent of the time is marketing and 80 percent is shooting. He decided to completely close up shop for his California commercial & advertising photography business and started up anew in New Mexico where he had lived for a time in the past. For a while he did some architectural photography for builders in the area, but soon focused only on horses. He describes how his first horse book came about. Someone was intrigued with his work and introduced him to her publisher. It was amazing that he walked in with his portfolio and walked out with a book deal.