American former Major League Baseball professional pitcher, Randall David Johnson, has been living the best of both worlds in a newly revealed double career as a wildlife, travel, and concert photographer – with his own studio!
The news broke out of his other career as an image of Johnson had gone viral on Twitter last week, which showed the pitcher taking photos from the sidelines of an NFL game, using what appears to be a Canon EOS-1D and a telephoto Canon lens.
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Despite the seemingly unexpected revelation that has shocked a few online, Johnson has in fact never kept his love of photography a secret, having studied photojournalism at the University of Southern California (USC) from 1983 - 1985.
Johnson retired from the MLB in 2010 following the end of the season, and then returned to his love of photography. Nicknamed "The Big Unit", Johnson realized that baseball could provide him with greater opportunities and financial advantage in his career, to put him in a unique position and get where other photographers may not.
A bio on his official photography website states 'Thanks to the people I got to meet during my baseball career, I’ve been fortunate to have unique opportunities in photography. I’ve gotten to talk to and learn from some of the best photographers in different fields.'
And continues, 'My world travels have allowed me to capture various rarities from the beauty of many African safaris, to motorsports, to multiple major music artists. Along the way, my work has been featured in publications such as Rolling Stone, Spin, and Metal Hammer. My concert photography has even found its way into tour programs, posters, books, and websites.'
Not only a legendary former baseball MLB player but also a pretty fantastic photographer too, how talented can one person be?
Check out Johnson's official photography website to see his remarkable images of wildlife, landscapes, events, concerts, and even African Safaris.
You may also be interested in our guides to the best telephoto lenses, as well as the best Canon cameras, and best budget telephoto lenses, and not forgetting the best Canon RF lenses and the best cameras for wildlife photography.
