The Road Less Traveled…

Now Where Am I...

“I Took The Road Less Traveled, Now Where Am I?”

As I was driving around the other day I spotted a bumper sticker with the question posed above—of course, as bumper stickers go this one used some stronger language which I toned down for this audience   –I laughed out loud and right there decided the question was appropriate for my first blog post.

In fact, there are days that I wonder-where am I heading now?  A few years ago, and after nearly 30 years on Wall Street, I decided, “it was time”.

I initially left Wall Street for a long dreamed of “sabbatical”—to explore; take stock.  I wanted to find a “second act” that enriched the spirit and not just the wallet and that connected with people.  Not surprisingly, photography emerged as the right way to go.

For over thirty-five years photography had been part of my life. Initially my passion for photography centered on capturing compelling landscape images.  I loved photographing beautiful places and sharing images with others to inspire them to get outdoors!  A while ago, it evolved into photographing those special times in peoples’ lives as well as those special people!

So, hobby to passion to “second act”.  Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore!  Stephen Milano Photography is finally launched.  The journey the last few years have taken me a long way from the urban canyons of New York and continues to wind down a road that isn’t always clear to me-but “it’s about the journey” as the wise men say!

I tell folks that Stephen Milano Photography is my “second act” in the “people business”.  I spent nearly thirty years on Wall Street in institutional sales and sales management.  Now, I can say I’m still in the people business-I’ve had the privilege of having shot executives as well as models; children and families; the young and the young at heart.  The click-by-click of the camera shutter is a refreshing change from the tick-by-tick experience on Wall Street.

I’ve spent countless hours, energy, and monies to travel, read books, study with the best teachers I could find and talked to dozens of photographers as part of my photographic journey.

This blog is about that journey—about the experiences; the travels and the celebrations; but especially about the photographs of those “unique moments that define lives, stories, and legacies”.  The image in this post is actually from one of the stops on the journey—Zion National Park.  More on all this soon!