About · Kevin
from Hobbyist with a 9-5 to full-time.
I'm Kevin — a landscape photographer in Portland, Jamaica, building toward full-time photography one Tuesday letter at a time. This is the long version.
Last updated · July 2026
18 months ago, I licensed my first travel photograph; my commission for the license was a mere $ 3.20 USD, about $512 JMD. Though the amount was small, I was ignited; someone, somewhere in the world saw value in what I had created for fun. What if I could make a full-time income from Landscape Photography in Jamaica?
Over the past year, I have spent hours upon hours learning, researching, figuring out, and improving my craft. The first time I tried to learn landscape photography properly, I went looking for a guide to shooting in Jamaica. There wasn't one. Not the way I needed it — not the timing, not the light, not the access, not the rainy-season truth of it. YouTube was full of photographers teaching the Lake District, the Dolomites, and the American Southwest. Beautiful work. None of it helped me on a Saturday morning in the Blue Mountains.
So I started writing the letter I wished I'd had.
First Photon is what came out of that. A weekly newsletter on landscape photography — technique, location, editing — written from Jamaica, for anyone trying to make better photographs anywhere. And underneath it, a second project I didn't expect: documenting what it actually takes to build a creator career from this island, with real numbers, real failures, and no flexing.
I'm not on the other side of this yet. I'm in the middle of it. That's the point.
THE PATH SO FAR
From hobbyist to full-time photographer
A short timeline. I'll keep updating this page as the story moves.
2018 — 2024
The hobby years.
First camera. Inconsistent Instagram posting. A few commissions and print sales a year. Photography as a side curiosity, not a craft.
SUMMER 2025
The decision.
Decided to take landscape photography seriously. Started shooting Jamaica with intent — the Blue Mountains before dawn, Boston Beach at first light, Reach Falls in the green season rain.
LATE 2025
First teaching attempts.
Started experimenting with sharing what I was learning. The posts got better. The audience didn't. Realised craft and audience are different problems.
JUNE 14, 2026
First Photon, issue one.
Pilot Issue Launches. Four sections, every Tuesday: technique, location, editing, the journey—the letter I wished I'd had.
2026-2027
Building toward full-time.
Still working the 9-5. Publishing every week. 12-month runway, a clear target income and strategy, and a public commitment to share every step.
THE NUMBERS
Where things actually stand.
Published openly so anyone watching can see what this transition really looks like. I update these every month inside The Journey.
MONTHLY INCOME
7,500 JMD
Target: 250,000
FOUNDING SUBSCRIBERS
4
Before issue #1
1:1 SESSIONS BOOKED
2
Since July 2026
PUBLISHED ISSUES
1
Issue #2 ships July 21
WHAT I’M HERE TO DO
Make landscape photography practical for the shooter, plannable for the traveller, and possible for the creator who's still figuring it out — field-to-edit, written from Jamaica, for anywhere you're trying to make better photographs.
WHERE TO START
Three good places to start.
Depending on what brought you here, one of these will be the right next step.
If you're learning
Read First Light.
One field technique, every Tuesday. Light, weather, gear, and the small calls that make the frame. Issue two ships July 21.
If you're visiting Jamaica
Open Island Frame.
Location-by-location field notes — timing, light, access, and the frames are worth the early start. First guide drops with issue one.
If you're building too
Follow The Journey.
Real numbers, real failures, monthly updates. The unvarnished build of a creator career — starting at Day Zero, June 2.
Get the next letter on Tuesday.
First Light, Island Vision, In The Edit, and The Journey. One letter. Four threads. Five minutes per week, free forever.
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