{"id":19484,"date":"2025-06-27T16:20:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T16:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/19484\/"},"modified":"2025-06-27T16:20:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T16:20:14","slug":"photographer-captures-people-around-the-world-just-doing-their-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/19484\/","title":{"rendered":"Photographer Captures People Around the World ‘Just Doing Their Jobs’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/a>Ballet dancer in Havana, Cuba. <\/p>\n

After Brian Doben hit an impasse in his professional photography career, he spoke to his wife about quitting. But she encouraged him to go back to basics. <\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like I was just going through the motions. There was no connection, no spark. I felt like an imposter. I called my wife, Nancy, after a shoot and told her, \u2018I\u2019m not having fun anymore. I think I\u2019m done\u2019,\u201d Doben tells PetaPixel.<\/p>\n

But Nancy saw through it and told her husband to go and do what he used to do: photograph people, make portraits, and talk to them. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo I extended my stay in Nashville and decided to visit small businesses and photograph the people running them \u2014 no agenda, just conversation. It was exhilarating. Getting to know their energy and passion started to fill my heart again. The photograph became secondary; the dialogue became everything. That meaningful exchange was what I\u2019d been missing for so long.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Chicken farmer in Sterling, Massachusetts. \"A<\/a>Sign maintenance in Las Vegas.
\n \"A<\/a>Jewelry designer in Missoula, Montana. \"A<\/a>Horseback tour guide in Iceland. <\/p>\n

Doben\u2019s initial photos turned into a full-blown project that saw him traverse the world photographing people working, which is now a book aptly titled At Work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no grand plan, no long-term vision. I didn\u2019t set out to build a body of work. I just needed to reconnect\u2014with people, with purpose, and with photography,\u201d Doben explains. \u201cSince 2012, I\u2019ve photographed over 500 people across the globe. Different cultures, different trades \u2014 but the same thread running through them: purpose. The more stories I witnessed, the more my own love for photography returned. My heart started to fill again.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Costumier in London, England. \"A<\/a>Wind testing technology center in Boston, Massachusetts. \"A<\/a>Mermaid in Las Vegas, Nevada.
\n \"A<\/a>Boxer in Havana, Cuba. <\/p>\n

Doben says At Work has helped not only his photo career but his personal life, too. \u201cFor the first time in my career, I feel like I have a voice in the work. There\u2019s a confidence now that what I create is honest and true, and that I\u2019m showing up with integrity,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\u201cMore than anything, I\u2019ve become comfortable in my own skin. And that shift goes a long way. Pretending is exhausting. But showing up as your true self? That\u2019s freeing \u2014 and magnetic. People feel that. When I bring that openness and ease into a shoot, it creates space for something real to happen in front of the lens.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Juggler in Las Vegas, Nevada. \"A<\/a>Ice sculptor in Fairbanks, Alaska. \"A<\/a>Chef in Boston, Massachusetts. \"A<\/a>Photographer Brian Doben.<\/p>\n

Doben says that he tries to have fun at work and photography is something he loves to do. But he acknowledges that while there are plenty of people who love their work, for others it is more of a necessity. <\/p>\n

\u201cLife is expensive. Survival often takes precedence over passion. For some, the risk of chasing a dream is simply too great\u2014and I respect that completely,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\u201cStill, I believe that no matter what you do \u2014 whether it\u2019s your dream job or not \u2014 there\u2019s value in finding the beauty, finding the joy. Attitude matters.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>A taxidermist working at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles graces the front cover of At Work by Brian Doben. <\/p>\n

Doben recalls meeting a coal miner in West Virginia who casually told him that he has been \u201cburied alive seven times.\u201d However, the coal miner told Doben that he \u201cloves what he does\u201d and sees putting food on the table for his family as his duty. <\/p>\n

\u201cDoing what you love doesn\u2019t make the work easier. But it gives you something worth fighting for,\u201d adds Doben. \u201cLove the fight, honor the work, and show up with your whole heart.\u201d <\/p>\n

At Work is published by Trope Publishing.<\/a> More of Doben\u2019s work can be found on his website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Image credits:<\/strong> Photographs by Brian Doben. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ballet dancer in Havana, Cuba. After Brian Doben hit an impasse in his professional photography career, he spoke…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":19485,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[648,1032,18303,1033,171,18304,18305,18306,67,132,68,8066],"class_list":{"0":"post-19484","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-briandoben","11":"tag-design","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-impasse","14":"tag-photoproject","15":"tag-professionalphotographer","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-work"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114756244240531905","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}