Before>Today>Future: REWIND. A photographer's perspective
Like most photographers starting out, there seems to be a reason you picked up your first camera and sought out to capture images that weren’t on automatic settings or simply your smart phone deciding the outcome.
For me, it was a desire to capture images of my sons out on the playing field. See, they are athletes and as far back as I recall, both of my boys have been competitive in many sports.
My eldest had been involved in all sports, since an early age, but it wasn’t until 2013, just about the time that I was getting ready to retire from the U.S. Navy, did the neighbor across the street show my son a lacrosse stick. It seemed like the spark of curiosity struck and he was now interested in learning this “new” sport called lacrosse.
My recollection of lacrosse dates back to my elementary school days circa 1980 in Maplewood, N.J. when I witnessed a game being practiced inside a high school gym and the athletes were moving a solid rubber ball back and forth using a stick with a small net on the head and while wearing a helmet. I was intrigued by the pace and the skills these players had. I was intent to learn this game until – with one shot on goal, my mind was changed. What seemed to be a 100mph missile went towards the goalie and hit him on the one sacred spot men associate as the mother of all painful body parts. The impression of the goalie dropping to the ground, getting back up, laying back down all while yelling expletives and seeing his soul leave his body stuck with me. That was enough to never consider playing lacrosse again.
So now it was 2013 and with my son’s growing interest in playing lacrosse, those haunting visions came back, but I had been able to learn a bit more of the sport and the actual mechanics involved. He was an 8th grader getting ready to start high school. We went out to watch one of the games and he got a chance to speak to the coach for a short period during the half.
Moving into his freshman year, the tryouts for lacrosse finally came. Not only did he make the J.V. team, but he actually played a few varsity games, which for a young man having just picked up a stick literally less than a year ago, I was highly impressed. Here was dad, a camera, and a vision to become a sports photographer. My plan was to be able to get the most awesome Sports Illustrated cover photos ever seen. At least those were my thoughts. I figured, if I could get some great images, I would become “that guy” who would be able to get sport images and share with the high school.
I have saved all of the images that I have ever taken, and periodically I go back and review them. I am able to gauge my progress, but mostly it’s a period of horrific frustration asking myself, “why did I take this shot?” Most parents armed with a camera truly only seek images of their own children playing sports. I was no different, but I would also capture images of other players on the field. I maintained a simple philosophy of "just follow the ball".
As the years progressed, my photography skills grew and my understanding of the sport was critical for capturing images that were progressively more interesting to look at. I was now shooting sports almost 70% of my time with a camera. I also had been developing my photography business in the more common genres; headshots, real estate, commercial products and yes, even a few attempts at weddings. One of my first ever product images was for Wolf Athletics who wanted images of their new release, Ghost lacrosse sticks. Sports photography became one of my primary interests and the genre that I more often chose to photograph.
By the time my oldest was about to graduate high school, I was now establishing myself as a sports photographer. I had invested in additional gear, gained the trust and respect of local athletic directors and was shooting three to four days a week at various sporting events. I had become a freelance photographer for MaxPreps and was being welcomed at events because the athletes were hoping to see their images on my Instagram feed.
Over the years, I’ve shot 40,000+ sport images, sit on the board of Puerto Rico Lacrosse as VP and Director of Media, sat on the sidelines of NCAA lacrosse championships, shot International lacrosse tournaments, college regular season and of course high school and club lacrosse. On one occasion, I found myself sitting next to Paul Rabil at the 2017 NCAA championships and we shared a few minutes discussing International Lacrosse.
All this exposure has resulted in thousands of people who I’ve met, started friendships with and shared more of my photography. It was one of these connections that sent me a DM encouraging me to compete in publicDIVISION’s in-house photographer contest. It seemed as it might be a long shot because at the time, I was shooting less sports due to the restrictions COVID-19 had imposed but decided to go for it. I wanted to capture their brand but with my style of dramatic photography. Their followers were able to judge and vote for their favorite shots and well, the outcome is known.
For the past few months I’ve been able to work with publicDIVISION (pD) and provide branding images. I’ve gotten to work with a solid group of guys and receive early exposure to their products, which by the way, are durable, comfortable and fashionable in my opinion. However, the greatest satisfaction has been being able to bring it full circle by photographing my oldest who is featured in the images I submitted in the contest.
The athlete who introduced me to photography was now back in front of my lens. It has been quite some time since that neighbor gave my son his first stick, and yet eight years later, I’ve established myself as that sports photographer, he continues to be an athlete and my work is now shared by major brands.
I suppose this was about: Before>Today>Future
