Hello and welcome! We are Janice and James, a photography duo and your guides to the amazing worlds of street and sports photography and photojournalism. It is our honor and pleasure to share with you our first-hand experience and extensive knowledge in these areas. Make yourself comfortable and meet the J & J photography duet.
Janice: The Photojournalism and Sports Photography Enthusiast
I’m Janice, and I’m the one who’s keen on photojournalism and sports photography. I was born in rural Arizona, where I spent my entire life until adulthood. When I turned 18, I decided I wanted to do something fun and creative that would allow me to explore the world.
That is how I ended up studying photojournalism in Rome. Oh, those were the days! Strolling around this multi-faced, multi-cultural ancient city, eating gelato in the sun, and photographing the cats of Rome – just like in every young girl’s dream!
Now, as you can imagine, among other things, Rome is also a place of endless romance. That is where I met Luigi, my Italian boyfriend. Sadly, our affair was short-lived, but after it ended, I was left with a lifelong passion – the love for European football, or – as we Americans call it – soccer.
I must admit, I was not much into soccer back home. Though it’s primarily a female-oriented game in the States, I had always been keener on arts than sports, so I never got caught up in this game. Now, Italian football was an entirely different story. Not only do you have some of the most handsome men out there kicking the ball, but the action is pretty thrilling, too.
I found myself wanting to stay closer to the field, so I did the most natural thing. Being a photojournalism major, I found myself a job as a sports photographer at a local media group. After spending a few years traveling all over Italy and throughout Europe, my job took me to London, UK. There, I met James.
James: Street Photography as Art and Passion
My name is James, and I am a street photographer. I was born in Bristol, UK but moved to London in my teenage years. I studied at an art school and wanted to become a painter. I followed this passion for many years, and it led me to street photography. This is how it happened:
As an art student, I had always been interested in depicting real-life images. I used to go out all the time and draw images of life on the streets. However, once I got my first cell phone with a decent camera, I started experimenting with taking photos instead of drawing.
I got so absorbed in what appeared to be just a hobby at the time, that I bought myself an actual camera and started following the Internet for advice on photography. The more I took street photos, the more absorbed I got.
Once I completed my art studies, I found a job at a London-based website about art, culture, and lifestyle. Since then, I have spent most of my days out on the streets of London and many other cities in the UK and abroad.
Finally, I met Janice, and we moved to the US, which is her home country. We now live in LA, CA. Here, I shoot street photography across the City of Angels and the entire Bay Area, whereas Janice works as a sports journalist at a local TV station and sports photographer in her free time.
We decided to start this blog to help anyone out there who is into photojournalism and street and sports photography. We know how important it is for every enthusiast to find the support and insight they need, and that is why we do what we do.