Vicki Thompson

Photographer Vicki Thompson was raised in the East Bay, where at the age of 10, she received her grandfather’s camera as a gift from her father for Christmas, and it opened up her world. By no means raised with wealth, Thompson was struck at an early age by the extreme poverty documented in National Geographic. As she matured, she found work documenting stories for the Silicon Valley Business Journal, which gave her the chance to witness the meteoric dot-com boom and all the major players. Thompson still shoots for the Business Journal but on the side has developed a bit of an artistic photographic collection via her Instagram feed. Often documenting San Jose in crisp and vibrant HDR (high dynamic range), Thompson finds the unique subject in anything she documents, whether it be an event for the Business Journal or a person walking down the street. In the future, she hopes to get her pictures in history books, so people can see the world through her eyes forever.

“My photos act, in a way, like a record of my inner visual dialogue. I’m accused of being a dumb blonde a lot—you know, the ditzy kind, often looking off into space. So my photography is kind of a retort to that notion. My photos are really a direct transmission of what I’m seeing, what I’m thinking, and what is going on in my head. My Instagram, even more so than my work for the Business Journal, is sort of a record of my thoughts expressed in a visual way. Not everyone gets it, but I hope most do.”

Written by Tad Malone