There are few athletes who have lived a better life in their retirement than Randy Johnson. The Hall of Fame pitcher, the Mariners and Diamondbacks legend, walked away from the game in 2010 and discovered a love of photography. He’s never looked back.
Randy Johnson is now a sideline photographer with an incredible dead bird logo
People are rediscovering that Randy Johnson is an amazing photographer, and it’s delightful.
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Now, people who didn’t know about Johnson’s career change are learning about if for the first time — and discovering how amazing he is, all over again.
In truth, photograph was Johnson’s first love — he just happened to be really, really, really good at baseball. He studied photojournalism at USC from 1983-85, and the “about” section of his photography website notes that baseball was his occupation, but photography was his passion.
Don’t get it twisted, Johnson obviously loved the game of baseball too, but he acknowledges that the fame of being a pro athlete (and the money, naturally) has afforded him opportunities to get where other photographers might not, and travel to places beyond the means of many.
Also, we can’t discuss this any longer without mentioning that Johnson has, without question, the funniest logo he could ever have for his photography business.
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When you explode a bird with a pitch, make it the logo for your business.
Truth be told, anyone would be envious of the post-baseball life Johnson has led being a photographer. He’s a staple at NFL games where he adds to his sports portfolio, he travels around the world shooting photos of wildlife in Africa, Asia and beyond — always hungry to visit a new place he hasn’t seen yet. Hell, in 2015 he was even the official tour photographer for Rush ... RUSH!
It also helps that Randy Johnson is really, really good at this. Take a look at his portfolio and you’ll see that Johnson has a natural talent for capturing the emotion of a moment when it comes to his sports and music photography, and a simply brilliant eye when it comes to telling a story when it shoots wildlife.
In the end, it’s just really nice to appreciate a great story about an athlete successfully moving away from sports. It’s so difficult for a lot of players to handle life out of the spotlight, or removed from the routine the game provides them — but Randy Johnson is truly living an incredible, fulfilled life with a new passion that lets him express himself artistically.
Randy Johnson rules.
