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On Saturday, February 07, 2009, I drove to Chase, Maryland, a few 10 miles on the East side of Baltimore, on the Chesapeake Bay. I spent part of the day with Cambodian native photographer Rothany, 41, who owns and manages a Photo and Cosmetics studio with his wife. That day, a customer came to have a “Valentine photo shoot”, a gift from her boyfriend…
Rothany arrived in the United States in 1981. He confesses that 30 years later, he still has nightmares from his time spent under the Khmer Rouge regime. After living in Chicago and California and working 10 years as a manufacturing engineer, he came back to his original passion – photography – and opened in 2005 his own studio in Maryland. Rothany has been a photographer for 25 years. Providing photo, video and web design services to his customers. The building where his business is established is shared with a cosmetic studio managed by Rothany’s wife, Sayni, skincare consultant.
Business has been doing pretty good at the start and Rothany didn’t worry much about anything, until … until the economic crisis appeared. Today Rothany worries about the future and about the investments he has made these last years, and wonders for how long he can still hold in his hands his American dream and achievement…
