I’m Phil Mosby. Almost 2 years ago I quit my comfy web dev job so I could live out of my van and shoot astro-landscape photos full time. This last July, thanks in large part to Reddit, I was able to hang one of my pieces at the James Webb Space Telescope Mission Ops Center. AMA!

Hi Reddit,​In January of 2017 I took the plunge and quit my comfy, corporate front-end web-dev job to attempt to live out my dream of shooting landscape / astro-landscape photos and making & selling prints full time. I had saved up enough money to get me through the first few months, and I already had the large format printer and a (very small and slowly growing) “following” for my photography, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to survive long with the rent I was paying, so I decided I would live out of my van as long as necessary in order to make the dream (and the finances) work.​Proof: https://i.imgur.com/PCpusQ9.jpg​I share a shop space (glorified garage) with two other artists, without which this would not have been feasible. It has not been easy, but after almost two years I am still going strong, my business is growing, and I’ve had some amazing successes such as hanging one of my hexagon shaped pieces in the entry way to the James Webb Space Telescope Mission Operations Center in Baltimore, Maryland. It still amazes me every single day that I get to do this for a living, and although I have a long way to go to be as financially secure as I was with the corporate job, I have never once, not even on the hardest of days, regretted the decision to pursue this path.​In addition to the normal photography and print making, you might also recognize my name from my “Glowing Night” collection of prints which are pretty popular on Reddit. These are astro-landscape photos printed on canvas and then meticulously “glow painted” to create pieces of art that are beautiful even after dark.​As an ex web-developer / designer, I also coded every bit of my website from scratch, including special features like my Auction page which took me several weeks worth of programming, but which has turned into a large part of my income and has allowed me to grow my following and ship my art all around the world!​Using all of my skills to build a business based on something I love to do is incredibly satisfying. Knowing that people from around the world are using software I wrote to purchase art that I made by hand … it’s a special feeling and an incredible honor to be able to share my art with others and make a living doing so.​Ask me anything about astro-landscape photography, the trip to NASA, quitting the day job, plans for the future, chasing dreams, living in a van, printing & selling art, or whatever’s on your mind. I’ll be here until about Noon Pacific time. Thanks Reddit, I wouldn’t be here without you!​EDIT: Hey guys and gals, this has been a boat load of fun but I’ve got to get back to work for a bit. Please feel free to keep firing the questions and I’ll answer as many as I can later this evening. Thanks again Reddit, I love you.​PS: No, not related to Bill Cosby. No, you can’t run in my lobby. And yes, this is classic Schmosby right here. via /r/IAmA https://ift.tt/2Q8nrGP