About Brandon Ballweg
A Little About Yours Truly
I just wanna take photos, man.
Hello. Welcome to my website. Make yourself at home.
As you may have surmised, my name is Brandon Ballweg and I like photography. Photography is pretty cool, right? WRONG. It’s really cool.
Anyway, I grew up on the outskirts of Kansas City in a suburb called Stilwell. It’s pretty nice! I still got family there. Nice people. Lots of open space. Distinct four seasons.
These days, I’m living in Philadelphia. I moved here for work. I’ve been doing street photography for about ten years now, which goes by really fast, and makes me feel OLD.
The photographers who really caught my eye and made me want to do street photography were Alex Webb and David Alan Harvey.
My first exposure to photography (haha, GET IT?!) was having a disposable Ninja Turtle film camera that I used to take photos of my dogs (RIP Jake, you were a good boy), and other such things that captured my attention at the time. My interest in photography came and went when I was a kid, and I took a photography class in high school, which I enjoyed.
It wasn’t until my college years though that I took it up seriously and learned it properly.
When I caught the photography bug in college, I became obsessed. I read every book and watched every video I could find on techniques and gear. At that time, I thought I would go into providing photography as a service and do portraits, weddings, etc.
Fast forward to after college and I moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I had met several of my best friends in college who were Brazilian students studying abroad. That sparked my interest in Brazil and learning Portuguese.
In an act of young recklessness, I moved to Brazil with some cameras and a dream. I taught English and networked my way to getting a sporadic job as a second shooter for some wedding photographers.
Photographing weddings really helped me develop my eye. It was intense practice in composition, color, and light.
Ultimately, I came away from the experience having learned a lot but knowing that I wanted photography to be a creative and artistic outlet for me rather than a service I offer.
Street photography is that creative outlet for me. The beautiful thing about street photography is that it makes you appreciate the world around you more. Not to mention it forces you to get you out of the house and be active.
What I’m Up to These Days
I recently moved to Philadelphia for a job. I work at a digital marketing agency as an SEO specialist by day.
It’s hard being away from family and friends, but Philadelphia is a cool city with a lot to offer. So far, I’ve mostly just explored what the cultural side of Philly has to offer, checking out the historic landmarks and food.
In other words, I haven’t photographed much here. But that is about to change, as I’ll be doing a street photography project here. Not to mention, the street photography mecca, New York City, is just a stones throw away, along with several other interesting east coast cities.
So watch this freakin’ space!