Roseli Johnson never expected to reinvent herself at the age of 48.

But that is what she had to do when she lost her job as a gallery administrator last December.

“I was working at the Bermuda National Gallery East in St George’s,” she said. “I was really disappointed.

“I have always had an interest in photography and I loved talking to all the photographers who came in.”

The sudden freedom gave her the time to turn her interest into a new career path.

“Now, photography is an obsession with me,” she said. “I spend hours each day outside snapping photographs.” She made her first sale at the Gallery at Canopius art show this month.

“I was so excited to sell my first piece,” she said. “I was just thinking of the show opening as a great night out; I wasn’t really expecting to sell anything.

“The photograph I sold was of the Vixen shipwreck.

“I always thought of my photographs as silly. I take bluebirds, fish or pretty Bermuda scenes, so it was validating to find other people who liked what I like.”

Mrs Johnson always had an interest in art, but never had the chance to devote herself to it. She drove for the L’Ecole school pickup service for 20 years.

“I am happy now being able to dive in with my photography,” she said. “It has been phenomenal for me.

“I think I have been so lucky to find something in life that I truly enjoy. It is a good time for me because my wonderful son, Max, is 15 and doesn’t need me as much.”

She and her son still spend a lot of time together, despite his newfound independence.

“We go for walks,” she said. “He wants to be a marine biologist so I call him my fish whisperer. He goes down to the water and the fish just come to him. I have gotten some great photographs of parrotfish, thanks to him.

“We have also been whale watching together and every time I go out with him we see whales. So I call him my whale whisperer also.”

Mrs Johnson was born in São Paulo, Brazil and moved to Bermuda with her parents as a toddler. She is married to Bermudian David Johnson.

“I go back to Brazil every year,” she said. “We have a little house and I do a lot of photography there.” She is proud of a photograph she took of birds in Ubatuba, an area near São Paulo.

“These colourful birds were super quick, so I challenged myself to be able to get a photo of them,” she said.

Until the Canopius show, her photographs were only displayed on her website, www.imagesbyroseli.com, and her Facebook page.

“I have an amazing group of Facebook friends who really encourage me with my photography,” she said.

“The first photo they went crazy over was one I did of a bluebird. Facebook just lit up over that one.”

Mrs Johnson has now branched out into portrait commissions. “I have done about five or six sessions with friends and family mostly,” she said. “I find landscapes much easier to do.”

She is self-taught but is looking forward to taking some online photography courses.

For more information, call 334-9169 or e-mail roselij1@northrock.bm.

• The Gallery at Canopius show runs at 11 Par-la-Ville Road until June 12. It is open by appointment — call 292-9905 ext 33.