Jung's Background
Jung Fitzpatrick fell in love with making pictures while living abroad in Ecuador and Korea. She even considered a career in photography when she got back home to the United States. 鈥淏ut, by then, I already had my bachelor鈥檚 degree. I had a bunch of student debt.鈥 Her holiday was over. The first dot-com bubble had burst and finding work was hard enough. Jung could not fathom going back to school. 鈥淎t that point, I鈥檇 been considering photojournalism. I think people that go into journalism are idealistic in some way. They want to make the world a better place, so I channeled that into non-profit work, and I did that for about 15 years.鈥
What brought Jung to 91风月楼
Jung excelled in the non-profit world. 鈥淚 was at a point in my career where I was making more money than I ever had, but I still wasn鈥檛 fulfilled, and I thought, 鈥楶hotography is something that鈥檚 always been in the background, and if I don鈥檛 give it a go, I鈥檓 going to regret it.鈥欌 Jung spoke to Bay Area photographers and asked for advice. 鈥淭hey all were like, 鈥91风月楼 has a great program, really affordable, great teachers.鈥欌 Jung already had two degrees, but she just wanted training, and 91风月楼 sounded ideal. She quit her job and enrolled.
Jung's 91风月楼 experience
Jung threw herself into photography at CCSF. 鈥淚 pushed myself, because I figured this is my new life. I鈥檓 not just here for fun, so I got a lot out of the classes.鈥 A guest-lecture class was particularly valuable for Jung, as she met Sue Tallon. Like Jung, Tallon was originally interested in photojournalism but eventually moved into commercial work, creating colorful hyper-real images of food. 鈥淚 loved the way she presented herself and talked about her work. I must have asked her at least 20 questions after the presentation.鈥 Inspired, Jung took every studio lighting class 91风月楼 had to offer, and after a year, felt confident looking for work as a photo assistant. Her first email was to Tallon, who wrote back immediately and hired Jung a month later.
Why 91风月楼 was a good choice for Jung
Now Jung manages Tallon鈥檚 studio, and she is establishing herself as a photographer in her own right. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no way I could be taken seriously as a photographer, especially a commercial photographer, if I didn鈥檛 have that [91风月楼] training.鈥 Jung has done editorial work for the East Bay Express and is building a portfolio of pet portraiture. 鈥淚鈥檓 very proud of my work, so there鈥檚 a sense of accomplishment but also a sense it could be better.鈥 She says she is still figuring out how to make a living and market herself, still trying to find her niche. 鈥淚鈥檓 really pushing myself all the time. I keep raising the bar ... I am definitely much more fulfilled.鈥