This economy is brutal for the photography business. No arguments there. The New York Times recently told the story of a Massachusetts man who left engineering to pursue professional photography, and was forced to return to science when his studio was hit by the recession.

Mark Spencer is 53 years old and going back to school. He started his career with a PhD in Chemistry, and working at NASA researching atmospheric chemistry and climate modeling. In 1995, he decided he had had enough of the science world, and moved to New England to turn his amateur photography professional.

His business, Carriage House Portraits, is located in Andover and has received a number of accolades, including the Halmark Award for best color portrait, The Craftsman Degree, and the Masters of Photography award. Specializing in portraits, Spencer's photos look as if they belong right next to all the classic paintings in the MFA.

When economy crashed, Spencer lost 40% of his business and decided it was times to reinvent his career... for a second time. He went back to school at MIT and was soon hired by a technology and research firm.

So I guess the moral to this story is to always have a back up plan. Now if all of us could go back and have a doctorate in Chemistry... Curses to my expensive, but enlightening, Liberal Arts education! 

(photo by Mark Spencer)