As far as backup plans go, you can do worse than finding a career that has you shooting the panoramic landscapes of Patagonia.

Brendin Kelly spent three seasons playing in the Pacific Junior Hockey League. Sport was his sole focus. But a series of injuries forced him to hang up his skates and consider a future beyond the game earlier than expected.

Until then, his only exposure to the creative arts was the film courses he took in high school. After enrolling in a general studies program at Douglas College in New Westminster, B.C, he chose a film class as one of his electives. He discovered an untapped passion.

“I realized after taking a bunch of courses that I loved film the most of anything and I wanted to pursue something in film,” he says. “But I put it on the back burner and worked some odd jobs here and there that got me through.”

He met his girlfriend, Meghan O’Rourke, and they began hiking together. His love of the outdoors grew. He started taking photos on his phone. Eventually he bought an entry-level DSLR. Kelly even landed a contract position at a photography studio. When the four months there were up, he and O’Rourke took a long-planned trip to Australia, New Zealand and Asia.

On the trip, it became clear that film wouldn’t be the creative pursuit he followed after all. “That’s where my love of photography grew,” he says. “I met some people who were doing photography full time and that pushed me to make the jump.”

His time at the photography studio made him confident he could make a career of it; his trip opened up a whole new workplace. “The studio offered me a job when I got home, but I knew once I travelled that I wanted to be a travel/outdoor photographer, not in a studio setting up lights,” he says. “It was fun but it just wasn’t my true passion.”

Kelly and O’Rourke returned home and started their own company. MOBL Media – an acronym of their initials – is a content creation service for brands. Kelly is the photographer and editor; O’Rourke handles the business side.

He said goodbye to his days of moving furniture, delivering coffee and accepting other odd jobs. “I didn’t really have any post-secondary skills so I was stuck not knowing what to do,” he says. “Luckily enough, now I’m doing something I love and something that I can see myself doing.”

Kelly is completely self-taught. He relied heavily on YouTube tutorials in the beginning and played around with his camera every chance he could. “I think practice makes perfect,” he says. “I knew that about hockey, so I knew I wasn’t going to just pick up a camera and shoot amazing photos. You try to improve every day. I love where my images are at, but I still want to improve as much as I can.”

Along the way, he developed his own style, combining his love of the outdoors with the endless possibilities of portraits. “I felt it was more creative, and you can do more with a subject than you can with a landscape that just stands still. I created my own style by being inspired by others.”

He’s found a community with his fellow creatives. They learn from and inspire one another, and travel together in the name of their shared craft. A hike through Patagonia, the southernmost tip of South America, has been the most memorable. His group had the scene to themselves, the views providing an experience Kelly could never forget – even if he hadn’t had his camera on hand.

“I wouldn’t be where I am without photography,” he says. “I love travel, and my job is allowing me to go to these amazing places and meet these amazing people who also share the same love of photography and filmmaking.

“Every day I wake up and pinch myself that I’m doing this.”