'Baseball was my livelihood, photography is a passion,' Randy Johnson says

Randy Johnson is best known as a Hall of Fame pitcher, five-time Cy Young Award winner and World Champion with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

But in his post-baseball career, he’s traded his mitt for a lens. He’s had exhibits of his photography and now has a book out documenting his travels in Africa, called "Experiencing Africa."

He’ll be at Changing Hands Bookstore on Tuesday night to talk about it.

Johnson studied photojournalism while he was in college at USC. He told The Show what led him back to photography in his post-baseball life.

Full conversation

RANDY JOHNSON: Well, because I started traveling then, I wasn't traveling to ballparks and playing baseball anymore, and I was traveling and enjoying what people do when, you know, they're retired with my family.

And I was just seeing things that I thought were amazing, and for the first time, and I thought it was great to take pictures of them. And then I started peeling the layers away on various trips and started going to different locations and different trips.

And then inevitably, you know, discovered Africa. And that was one reason why I've traveled there so many times, because there's so many different places to go in Africa.

MARK BRODIE: Yeah, what appeals to you so much about that continent? … What appeals to you about that place? 

JOHNSON: I think the animals, the people, there was so much that Africa offered and it wasn't just animals, you know. I went trekking up into the Rwandan mountains to see silverback gorillas.

I went to Ethiopia two times, so not only was it a great photography experience, hence the photography exhibits I was able to have because of it, but also the coffee table book, but also the cultural experience that I got from it and learning more about Africa and the people there in Ethiopia and the culture and the lifestyle and their daily routine.

So it just appealed to me, not to say that I don't like traveling to other places, it's just a destination that you know, very comfortable with. And I feel like I'm just flexing the surface there.

BRODIE: Do you find that when you are shooting photos that you are leaning on the skills you learned in college? I mean, have you taken classes or done anything besides that? 

JOHNSON: Well, that was back in the ‘80s. I mean, I barely even use a film camera. I do have one and I do use it. But I mean, that was back in 1983 through ‘85. So we're talking, that was a long time ago, and I've learned a lot more since then. Everything's digital, and, you know, I'm on YouTube learning how to, you know, do things and edit and things like that.

So, I mean, just like baseball, I've come, you know, I came a long ways in baseball by going out there and doing it and correcting my mistakes. It's the same thing, same process you would do with anything, hence my photography.

BRODIE: Yeah. Do you see similarities between photography, the kind you're doing now, and being a pitcher? 

JOHNSON: Taking pictures and actually throwing pitches and stuff, the only thing, you know, not really. I mean, I guess there's some focus that has to go into both of them, but, you know, baseball was my livelihood, my, you know, photography is a passion. It keeps my mind right and keeps me busy and occupied.

BRODIE: I've read where you've said that you prefer shooting landscape scenes, shooting nature as opposed to, for example, sporting events. I'm curious why that is. 

JOHNSON: Well, because I, I've been playing sports my whole life since I was 7 years old, and I retired when I was 46. So a good chunk of my life was playing sports.

And so why wouldn't I want to see other parts of the world and other things that the world has to offer and capture those through photography and be able to share those experiences.

BRODIE: Are you somebody who, if you are traveling somewhere, always has a camera with you, even if it's not specifically a photo shoot? 

JOHNSON: Yeah, not always. No. You know, sometimes the best cameras, the one you have in your back pocket.

BRODIE: Do you take a lot of iPhone or cellphone photography if need be? 

JOHNSON: Yeah, sure.

BRODIE: Is there somewhere that you would like to go or someplace, something that you would like to photograph that you haven't yet had a chance to? Like what's on the list next? 

JOHNSON: I'm getting ready to go to Africa again in November. And, you know, my bucket list is really deep. So right now I just kind of, you know, go where I'm planning, which is, which is Africa for about a week.

And beyond that, you know, I, you know, talk to other photographers and see what other people are taking photos of. And I just kind of get ideas through that. And then if I do stumble upon the location, well, then I'd start doing more research, Googling it, seeing the pictures that are coming out of that area. And, you know, if it's something that I want to take on.

BRODIE: Is there a photographer or some photographers that you look to for inspiration? 

JOHNSON: Not really. You know, I think there's so many photographers out there now. You know, if you were talking 30, 40 years ago, then there would have only been, you know, probably a third of what, what there is now.

BRODIE: Yeah.

JOHNSON: Everybody's a photographer because everybody's got an iPhone, everybody's got a camera and everybody, you know, takes pictures. And there wasn’t, there wasn't social media 30, 40 years ago. So you really had to be a photographer and to show people your work. You had to have exhibits and things of that nature.

You still do, but it's a lot easier. Everybody can be a photographer and post things on social media, and now you're exposing your work to the world through social media, where really great photographers that did it for a living didn't have that outlet back then.