Mr Jesse Lindemann

Travel Photographer and Documentary Film Maker

Jesse Lindemann was the dux of Brisbane State High in year 12. He described himself as a focused, goal-oriented student. He believes his choice of subjects helped him to succeed because they were related to what he wanted to study and he genuinely enjoyed them; maths B, English, business studies, legal studies, economics and physical education. He was interested in all of these subjects so he studied hard and was able to achieve highly.

A highlight of Jesse's time at State High was playing for the 1st XI football team when he was in year 8, which was an experience that gave him a "whole new level of confidence and perspective". Another memorable moment was receiving the Caltex All Rounder Award in year 12. Jesse remembers attending his brother's year 12 graduation when he was in year 7, a year before he came to State High. He says he saw the Caltex All Rounder winner accept their award and thought to himself, "I want to be like that person". He studied hard and got involved in many extra-curricular activities. He describes receiving that award as "the most satisfying moment of [his] whole time at State High".

After studying law and commerce at the University of Queensland, Jesse worked at Deloitte, in Australia and in the UK until 2016. According to Lindemann, travel photography was originally a "side gig" that he pursued after he left Deloitte and was working with his wife on her business. They were travelling a lot so Jesse built an online audience and started taking photos for Tourism Noosa. From there, his business "snowballed" with one project leading to another. He started doing projects for Tourism Queensland in early 2018. His work is displayed on his website (thephotobohemian.com) and on his Instagram page (@photobohemian).

One of Jesse's favourite projects was one of his first with Tourism Queensland, where they went on a road trip from Townsville to Mackay. He photographed the Whitsundays, taking helicopter flights to sand caves in the Great Barrier Reef, a sea plane over Whitehaven Beach and saw lots of kangaroos. After this experience, Jesse thought "we've got to do more of this, and has been travelling around Queensland and Australia doing photography projects and creating content since then.

In 2020, travel restrictions limited Jesse's work, but since July, he has been involved in campaigns that are focused on "getting people out and exploring Queensland." He has used his photography to promote Queensland to Queenslanders and the rest of Australia.

Jesse advises people to "pursue your passions and don't worry if you fail, or aren't sure where life will take you because eventually, the path will reveal itself". This advice was helpful for Jesse, who found his "dream career" with travel photography.

Written by Angeli Lamont*

*NB: This alumni profile was crafted by a State High student as part of the school's student/alumni interview project during the 2021 Centenary celebration.