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Age catches up to everyone, even professional athletes. In the world of pro sports, those who go on to retire usually become coaches, analysts or agents in the time they played at the highest level. Sometimes, they go on to simply live off of their investments or even try something completely different. But few, if any, have pulled off a more impressive career change than Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson.
Johnson fell in love with photography, and became so good at it that he established his own company: Randy Johnson Photography. And the logo is magical: it's a dead bird with feathers coming off of it, in reference to the famous incident where his fast ball pitch obliterated a pigeon during a game. The former Mariners and Diamondbacks pitcher had pitches that clocked up to 102 mph, so it was no surprise.
Randy Johnson's portfolio is impressive, and while he was recently seen doing sports photography at an NFL game, his specialties are actually travel, wildlife and concert photography. Metallica, KISS, Elton John, Anthrax, Billy Joel, Black Sabbath, ZZ Top and Guns N' Roses are just some of the concerts he has taken pro photos of.
Why did Randy Johnson become a professional photographer?
It wasn't out of financial necessity, but rather a ion move. "My career as a Major League Baseball pitcher has been well documented, but what is not as well known is my ion for photography, which began when I studied photojournalism at the University of Southern California from 1983-85," he once wrote.
The Big Unit, as he was known due to his large 6'10 frame, explained that the sport he excelled at was simply in the way of his main ion: "Baseball became my occupation for two decades but my love of photography never left. Following my 2010 retirement, I was able to focus my attention back to this ion."