Derek Matthew Fong = Professional Problem Solver

I have a diverse background as a commercial photographer, an autonomous vehicle technician, a Cyber Security enthusiast, and a project manager. I have worked in-house for Apple, been a part of huge advertising campaigns, and even opened up a brick-and-mortar photography studio during the Pandemic (and turned a record profit!)

I consider myself a professional problem solver.

I originally studied photography, but I could never grasp why I loved it nor what I wanted to do with it. I originally loved fine art photography because it was a complex problem of solving creative issues in how to convey a message. When I was hired as my college’s first student photographer, I learned to love product photography and how to properly advertise a product – and all of the problems that arise in a marketing campaign.

But it was never taking photos that I really loved – it was that I got to solve unique and interesting problems everyday as a photographer. What’s the best way to light a blueberry to make it shine? How do I rig a camera 20 feet up in the air safely? How do I operate a 150-thousand-dollar camera? How can I be more efficient in my workflows? I happily solved and tackled these problems until the Pandemic hit in 2020.

During this time I was tasked with a harsh reality of recently signing a commercial lease and going “all-in” on my photography journey. While I struck deals with my longtime clients to find ways to thrive during this period, I soon found myself yearning for a new challenge.

I decided that I wanted to try something new – full time work – after being freelance for the last 7 years. This led me to working at Apple as a Digital Technician where I got to help photograph the best technology in the world. My time there was cut short due to it only being a contract to temporarily fill in, but I loved every moment of it.

After my time at Apple was finished, I knew my learning journey had just begun. I worked with the most brilliant minds I had ever been around, and I wanted to expand my knowledge further. I enrolled in a Cyber Security bootcamp, and spent an extensive 3-month period learning about Linux, Python, and Networking (and much more!)

After graduating I found myself working in a garage fixing self-driving cars for Cruise. While this was a huge departure from being a photographer and the larger scope of Cyber Security, I fell in love with my job there. Unfortunately, mass layoffs forced me to leave, and I have been looking for work since.

During this time I have learned even more skills such as SQL, and I am now moving towards completing my PMP certificate for project management!

I encourage you to explore my website here, as it includes my past photography work. It tells the tale of the last decade I have had working as a photographer, and the numerous challenges and skills that go along with it (essentially every great ‘soft skill’ in the book along with impressive troubleshooting skills).

There is so much I have learned and developed over my career; may it be Linux to high end retouching techniques.

Currently I am looking for a company that is looking for the perfect person. Someone who maybe needs a creative project manager, a technician, a consultant…at the end of the day, if you need a professional problem solver, I’m your guy.

If you are on LinkedIn I’d love to connect!

Linkedin Profile Link

Contact me