Chamber Business Connection Vol. 1, Issue 11 | Page 19

The Photography Show
From Hobbyist to Professional
Neal Lauron is a professional photojournalist with over 30 years of
experience. He’s also active in the Grove City and Central Ohio commu-
nities – among other things, currently volunteering his time to run the
photography show at Arts in the Alley
“I like Grove City a lot,” he says, “from the time I saw the name of the
city on a map when we were going to move here for my wife to go to
vet school. I like being part of the city in whatever way I can – it just
worked out that well someone was needed to run the show and it’s
what I do professionally.”
“I try to meet everybody in Grove City. I run into all the
folks when I’m out there. I just love the city. It’s one
way to stay part of it and hopefully, I can help folks out
with their photography along the way.”
He explained that the photography show isn’t really
about the competition, but rather learning and grow-
ing as a photographer. He hopes his own wealth of
experience could help a new set of artists become
better photographers.
“I like to share what I do with other folks. A lot of peo-
ple like to take pictures. Most of them are hobbyists
and they’re very passionate about it. I just like being
able to help them, spare them some of the troubles
I went through and things like that,” he says with a
laugh.
“The cool thing is, it’s not so much trying to win. A lot
of folks think that they’ve got to be this great photog-
rapher before they enter a contest or something, but
really, it’s really just about meeting up with people
who are like-minded and share the same hobby and
enjoy doing that stuff. Then from there, maybe
success happens. I’ve been a pro for a long time and
I’ve won a lot of contests but I’ve also lost more con-
tests than I’ve won!”
CHAMBER BUSINESS CONNECTION
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