Abrahm's interest in outdoor pursuits led him to his current job of chronicling them. He was the climbing, cycling, and mountaineering course instructor for Cornell University Department of Outdoor Education, and once held staff position at a climbing shop. This helped land him an internship at Climbing magazine, which led to a promotion to Special Projects Editor. He functioned as Managing Editor of Asimba.com, an online sports resource for athletes.

Abrahm was awarded the Colorado Press Association and Associated Press awards for news and sports photography in 1997-98 and is a Member National Press Photographers Association. He has published photos or articles in Outside, Climbing, Rock and Ice, Men's Journal, Newsweek, American Airlines, Quokka Sports, and GORP.com.

In His Own Words

The Job
"I am self-employed, so my responsibilities include not only the fulfillment of individual contracts—photographing on assignment, writing articles, reporting and researching and interviewing for those articles, and delivering the finished product—but also all of the other tasks involved with running a business. I do all of my own marketing, financial planning, and budgeting, which, unfortunately, includes taxes too."

How He Got There
"I became self-employed because I could not find a permanent employment position that allowed me to travel and work on my personal projects with the flexibility that I needed. My background in photography and journalism goes way back. I began with several internships in high school and college, including major magazines like Newsweek. Then I worked at a daily newspaper for several years where I learned the ropes of reporting, deadlines, and daily publication. Several more years of editorial positions at websites and magazines helped prepare me to eventually run my own business.

"Being published is certainly the greatest milestone that leads to more work; it is critical to the amount of jobs I get. The first time I was published was a big deal, and every single published article or photo helps, even now. In terms of running my own business, gaining experience in management and marketing, as well as acquiring a solid business foundation—through previous staff positions and my work as the managing editor of a large content company—was an important and necessary milestone. The time I spent alone, traveling around the world and pursuing my dreams on a more personal level, led me to be self sufficient, aggressive, and responsible."

How to Get His Job
"The single best thing you can do is get published. Internships are a great way to start, and media internships are available to people of all ages. Apprenticeships with photographers are also key. Once you get going, I recommend gaining experience as a newspaper reporter to almost anyone, whether he or she want to pursue journalism or not. It's one of those formative and educational experiences that you can't get through other jobs, and it lends a lot of life lessons in a short, intense period of time—even at a small newspaper. Lastly, don't underestimate the importance of connections: meet people, network, never burn bridges. It's a small world."

Pros
"The freedom to manage my own time, to pursue projects based on their creative value rather than always being limited by practicalities, and to learn about subjects through reporting projects that I may not otherwise explore."

Cons
"Working at home can sometimes feel a little isolated, as sometimes I'll realize at the end of a long week that I barely talked to another person. Also, while I'm usually good about motivating, it can sometimes be difficult to remain productive when you are your own boss. Oh yeah, there's very little money in freelance journalism—do it out of passion."

Salary Range
"It's not much. Staff positions can range from $19,000$50,000, except for the top positions. And as a freelancer I expect to be smack in the middle of that range. Big names can make more, but it's a competitive field and it takes many years to get there."

His Dream Job
"I'm doing it."

Do you think there's any danger in your passion becoming your career?
"Certainly. When I first started working as a newspaper photographer I lost my creative drive to photograph my personal projects. It became a 9-5 job for me, without inspiration, and the fact that I was using the tools I love most became secondary. It took a long time to establish a balance between work and art, and to eventually combine them."

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