Randy Pace's photostream  

Photography has always been a love and hobby of mine. I spent 20 years in the U.S. Navy and was blessed with getting to go to a lot of cool places in this world. For a major part of that time I took my trusty Canon AE-1 (which I still have) with me everywhere and shot photographs of most places I visited.
Then along came digital photography, my Canon 40D...and roller derby. My oldest daughter decided to join the Kansas City Roller Warriors women's flat track roller derby league. I never had a son, so this was my chance to play the photographer sports dad. I started shooting photos of the games and eventually, the Roller Warriors brought me in as one of their two photographers to which I am extremely grateful to them. The other photographer, Phil Peterson, helped me immensely in shooting derby. You should look him up and check out his work. He not only shoots great derby, but does fantastic photo journalism as well. Another shout out goes to Jules Doyle, who is probably the best roller derby photographer out there and just a really nice guy who isn't afraid to give you helpful hints.

Shooting roller derby turned out to be the most challenging photography I have ever shot. It is fast, lots of action, and under some of the toughest lighting conditions imaginable. Focusing is a challenge all in itself. My feeling is that if you can shoot roller derby you can adjust to just about anything else out there. Shooting derby also opened a lot of doors for me now because of all the contacts I have made. Again, thank you Roller Warriors. You know I love you all and I am so proud to be associated with such an incredible group of women.

I consider myself a serious amateur, although lately it seems photography is starting to consume all of my free time. Luckily, I have the best, most understanding wife in the world who lets me take out my creative side for a drive through photography. I shoot most of my work for free, but have gotten a few paying jobs to help support my hobby. I have joked that maybe I should put out a tip jar. I'm just not sure I would enjoy photography as much if it was a full time job.

I love shooting action and sports, live music, pinups, graffiti, people in general, alternative things, details of a bigger window of life, and anything historical. I now have a grassroots garage studio complete with the ambiance of tools, workbenches, mower, my Harley, yard tools, and the smell of oil and fertilizer. Hey, it works.

Capturing an image, especially of a cool action shot, is a rush. I love the feeling you get from someone else enjoying your photography. My photography idol is Annie Leibovitz. I love how she documents life...the good and the bad. I never expect or intend to become the great photographer Annie is, but I do hope that my photography is the one lasting thing I can leave my daughters after I'm worm food. I think what you shoot tells a lot about who you are, so that is why I'm not going to fill out this profile with my interests and favorites. I think my photography speaks for itself.

Lastly, I love hearing from other photographers, and especially browsing their works. I have found so many other shooters to inspire me. Thank you all!