In 2005, Josh Behrend’s grandmother bought him a digital camera to take on a trip to Europe.
“It wasn’t anything fancy,” Behrend said. “But it was a nice camera; a nice point and shoot.”
He was in high school at the time, and he played around with the camera while he and his classmates toured Europe. It’s something he’s been doing on the side ever since — both as a creative outlet and to make a little extra money.
Behrend, a social media strategist at Sosh in Milwaukee, likes to flex his creativity with his camera on nights and weekends. He has photographed weddings and volunteers as a photographer and media director for Wisconsin Destination Imagination, a visual arts nonprofit in Germantown.
“It’s a fun outlet for me to express myself creatively,” Behrend said. “I do a lot of writing at work, but that’s my form of art that I can provide to the world, because I’m a crap painter and drawer.”
Behrend is also on the Milwaukee Art Museum’s MAM After Dark advisory board and helps brainstorm ideas to get people interested in its events.
“It’s been fun,” Behrend said. “I’ve met some great people and made some great connections.”