Rarely is it possible that someone’s job and hobby happen to be the same thing, which is unfortunate because the Navy could use a few more Sailors like Photographers Mate (PH) Second Class Eli J. Medellin.

The 45-year-old San Antonio, Texas native’s prowess behind the camera and willingness to go the extra mile has earned him the 2004 Junior Sailor of the Year for Fleet Imagining Command Pacific.

Medellin currently works as the leading petty officer of the Fleet Imaging Command Pacific’s Everett facility. He and two other PH’s are responsible for the photo coverage of the many events that happen on station and around the local community.

While the longtime photography buff is a nine-year veteran of the Navy, he’s only been a photographer’s mate since Nov. 2002. 

He joined the Navy in 1997 after frustrations with the photography field made him want to pursue something different.

“At the time, I was working so hard at photography, but I just wasn’t making any money at it,” Medellin said. “I got fed up with it and decided I wanted to do something different; something that, to me, seemed new and interesting.”

And what interested him was firefighting.

“The way damage controlman (DC) was advertised to me by my recruiter, I thought I was going to be a firefighter for the Navy,” he said. “The next thing I know I’m standing engineering watches down in the bilges.”

After more than six years as a damage controlman, Medellin decided that he was ready to get back into photography. He intended on getting out of the Navy once his enlistment was up, but his current command had other plans.

“At the time I was on board USS Ruben James (FFG 57),” remembered Medellin. “The senior leadership would come up to me and ask what it would take to keep me in the Navy. But I was adamant about getting out and becoming a photographer.

“Finally the commanding officer (CO) asked me what it would take. I told him I wanted to be a photographer and he said I didn’t have to get out of the Navy to be a photographer,” said Medellin.  “He told me to contact the command master chief and start working on a cross-rate package to photographers mate. The CO made a few phone calls and before long I was getting phone calls back from the DC and PH detailers telling me they were actively working on my case.

“A couple of months later I received orders to the Defense Information School(DINFOS) at Fort Mead, Md.,” he added.

Medellin excelled in program and graduated from DINFOS with honors. He received orders to Naval Station Everett and upon arriving, hit the deckplates running.

“I was really gung ho when I got here and couldn’t wait to get started,” said Medellin. “Heck, before I even rented an apartment, I was already getting underway with USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG 60) to take pictures.”

Pictures that Medellin and most other PHs take are commonly submitted to the Chief of Information (CHINFO) web site. Only a select few images each day are selected to be reprinted onto the web site.

These pictures can then be used by other publications or media outlets as long as the photographer is credited with the shot. As a result, Medellin’s work can be seen in Navy Times, All Hands, and, of course, The Northwest Navigator.

“The airmen that were here when I arrived kept telling me I’d never get published on the web site because they never got published themselves,” said Medellin. “They told me I was putting a lot of effort into nothing. By them telling me I couldn’t do it, just made me want to do it even more.”

And in a little more than two years, Medellin already has more than 90 images on the web site.

“PH2 Medellin has shown more initiative than I’ve seen from anyone in years,” said Lt. Cmdr. Rembrandt Smith, officer in charge of Fleet Imaging Pacific Seattle. “He’s made the commitment to become a professional photographer. He has the drive to get out and find the pictures and now he’s taking all the young PHs under his wing and making them better photographers.”

Now that Medellin is in charge of the station’s photo lab, he finds himself shooting less these days, but is very much involved in the labs output.

“It’s gotten to where I’m in charge now and I have to make sure my guys are getting their time to shine,” said Medellin. “So I don’t get to shoot as much as I’d like to, but when I send someone out, I’m very interested in what they bring back. 

“I sit down with them and look at their pictures and read their captions. It’s my goal to see that they improve and that we send out the best quality product from our work center,” he said. “I still feel responsible for every single picture we send out of this office.”

And while Medellin is helping make his folks better, he still feels there’s still a lot of room for himself to improve. That’s why he submitted a package to Syracuse University’s photography school. 

“Hopefully Syracuse Uni-versity is in my future.  It’s a $100,000 worth of education that the Navy pays for,” said Medellin. “Only about 10 sailors get to attend each year. The Navy pays for tuition, books and even gives you an open account at the book store for papers, pens, backpacks, anything you need.”

But regardless whether Medellin is accepted to the school or not, he still says he’ll continue doing things the way he always had.

“Even if I don’t get it, I’m still going to continue doing what I do,” he said. “I don’t want to sit behind a desk. I want to be out there, whether it’s at sea or somewhere on shore. I can do it all.”