PHXPHOTOGRAPHER's photostream

I came to this site a couple of weeks ago expecting to find another social networking site full of scrap book pictures. Wow, am I ever blown away! The quality and variety of photographs is mind blowing. I have been shooting professionally for more than 25 years. I am a sports and event coverage specialist. I have covered everything from the Olympic Games to NASCAR Racing, and thousands of benign corporate events.

Over the years I gravitated towards video production to expand services. These days I now own a full service video production company and we shoot much more video than stills.

As a veteran photographer I have always found the best way to fire up my old passion for the art of photography is to discuss the subject with excited amateurs that are infused with the joy of making pictures. Recently, I made a commitment to myself to begin taking pictures again, just for me, and for the sole purpose of enjoying the medium. I have spent so many years caught up in the business of photography that I now rarely fire a frame unless I am paid to do so. I need to change that so I will begin here. My Flickr account will not be a portfolio, it will be a bucket of old stuff I dump something into when I have time. Sorry for the disorganization and lack of glamour but I am incredibly busy with my business and family and have no time, desire, or need to make this a brag spot. I will simply offer images up for viewing and discussion. I am also my own worst critic so will resist the urge to edit heavily and hold back the less than good stuff. I know sometimes the viewer sees something in an image I don’t see.

With that said, at the risk of sounding arrogant (I’m not), or old (I’m not), I will offer up some unsolicited advice and opinion. Technical knowledge and proficiency is critical and must be learned as a given factor in today’s world. The problem with that is emphasis on cameras and software often overshadows photography. A camera is simply the tool a photographer makes a picture with, it is not the picture. Any photograph is only as good as the person who took the shot. As an event coverage specialist I am often approached by amateurs eager to pick my brain, and I enjoy that. But here is the rub, no one wants to talk about photography anymore. The first question is often, “what camera you shooting with” or worse yet, “how many megapixels is that thing?” Amateurs want to talk about cameras and not photography. When shooting next to another professional, if they ask me anything at all, they might ask “what exposure you trying out on this shot?”. Once given my shutter speed and aperture they will understand everything I am trying to achieve with that shot.

Here is the sounding really old part. There was a time when I shot with cameras that didn’t even require a battery to function. Setting one hundred transparencies down on a light table in front of a photo editor or art director was a hell of an education. But much of the knowledge and skills I had then that allowed me to earn a living with a camera still apply today and I still use them. That is the point of this soap box. To me, photography is about making pictures, not the camera in your hands. Something has to come from within the shooter and exit the lens before a pixel matters. It is an amazing combination of art, knowledge, skill, and mechanics. The left brain has to work in synchronicity with the right. Without the left brain all you get is pixels.
So here at Flickr, I will offer up some images and opinions. I will also find my own inspiration by being amazed at the work of amateurs and pros alike, which have fire in them for the art of imagery. I have been incredibly humbled by what I have seen here so far. It raises my bar and inspires me to enjoy my craft again.

Steve