Life through Multiple Lenses

Pei Ketron looking off to the left wearing grey jacket outdoors

mother kissing baby with plant in foreground — **Pei Ketron with her son Cooper**

moody indoor setting with many lanterns and man walking — **Hong Kong by Pei Ketron**

singapore skyline against body of water with woman swimming — **Singapore by Pei Ketron**

alaskan snow-capped mountains during daytime blue sky — **Alaska by Pei Ketron**

Summary:

Pei Ketron speaks with Jenn Wu about her prominent roles as a travel photographer and educator, choosing motherhood, and childhood memories in Taiwan.
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Interviewed: 06/17/2022

Narrator: Pei Ketron

Interviewer: Jenn Wu

Interview length: 1h 22m

Interview Log

0:55 Pei Ketron (PK) introduces herself as a long-time photographer now working in a marketing role that combines her experience in photography and education.

1:30 PK shares how we first met and what brought her to that work opportunity in the first place.

4:38 PK explains why she pivoted from majoring in Biology to Psychology at college.

5:17 PK reflects on how she found her first job after college as a special education teacher while also completing her master’s degree.

7:18 PK shares when she first began studying photography and how it became her artistic medium.

10:42 PK shares when she pivoted to freelance photography alongside the rise of social media. PK talks about how Instagram and her love for traveling helped launch her career as a photography influencer.

13:10 PK explains why she later transitioned from being a successful photography influencer to finding her next role at Adobe.

15:40 PK shares what Instagram was like early on, and how being found by an agent helped the business side of her career.

18:00 PK realizes her advantage of being a female photographer of color and the importance of diversity.

19:40 PK talks about how her education in photography evolved from film to mostly digital and more recently medium format.

24:57 PK explains her current priorities working in product marketing alongside being a mom. PK talks about how these days she wants to capture her kids through slower moments with film photography.

29:28 PK talks about her love of seeing this documentation along her photo walls. PK talks about how she feels grateful to have the skills and equipment to document her life in this way.

33:14 PK recognizes motherhood as a milestone. PK shares what raising her newborn son was like during the Covid pandemic.

38:31 PK shares her gratitude for having a mom who was able to help watch her son once he was six months old.

40:52 PK recounts a video of her holding a shotgun while pregnant with her daughter, essentially saying “watch out world, we have a little daughter to protect!”

44:36 PK explains why the name for her daughter (second child) is being kept secret for now.

45:50 PK shares a highlight and challenge she’s experienced as a new mom.

50:14 PK explains why Mother’s Day holds more significance for her than her birthday, and what would be an ideal way to celebrate.

53:12 PK remembers the challenges of becoming pregnant and the sacrifices made when choosing to become a mom.

57:05 PK recognizes her relationships changed once becoming a mom and that a whole new world opened up to her.

1:01 PK elaborates on how the physical transformation of pregnancy has been its own unique experience.

1:01:58 PK shares how she and other couples have found opportunities to create autonomy even in a shared household.

1:05:08 PK talks about her husband Mike’s love for Dungeons and Dragons.

1:06:39 PK pinpoints when her love of travel and travel photography began.

1:12:09 PK recalls the last time she and Jenn Wu (JW) saw each other in person at Adobe Max 2019.

1:14:46 PK fondly shares her love of food in Taiwan while visiting there each summer and the ease of commuting when her grandparents lived in Taipei.

1:21:55 PK shares how you can follow her online via Instagram @pketron.