Welcome to the personal space behind the business of Wingate Downs Photography…a figurative pulling back of the curtains, to reveal the more personal side of my company. While the medium of blogging is new to me, I’ve always believed in having a strong “private energy” in my photography and in my writing. I’m excited that I have this new opportunity shareimages and writing that is not so work-related. Buried somewhere in the poetry of Bob Dylan is the line that “those not being born are so busy dying”. Count me in as one who feels newborn with each sunrise, no matter how many sunsets I’ve seen also! This business of photography is fascinating, putting me in wonderful places with inspirational people, and my hope is to share some of this with you. I can recount so many times that I was SO glad I made my living documenting life with a camera…two atmosphere’s down in the ocean, watching the earth swirl from the cockpit of a fighter plane, riding on a motorcycle in the winding hills of northern Italy, or from the whitewater of a Tennessee river...I’m excited about what tomorrow’s opportunity might bring, and thank you for checking out this ongoing narrative. I plan to make the trip worthwhile!
Let me start with where I am, and how I got here…In my world, the business of photography is conducted within the context of friendships. Creating the relationships I have with my corporate, portrait, and wedding clients allows me to better meet their needs, and makes the whole job more fun for everyone. I enjoy my work-and I think this is reflected in my images. My background is in straight photojournalism, with a heavy emphasis on sports and news, which (too often) isn’t happy. In the 18 years prior to my current freelance life, I won awards with images of tragedies and sadness. OK, there were some fun times also, but the depressing side of life was taking it’s toll (have you ever seen an old paramdedic?) I finally had enough, and jumped when I got a chance to shoot the ’96 Olympics as a photographer for the games themselves. It is SUCH a joy to be so involved in the “happier” times…I’ll never forget covering the gold medal presentation to an 18 year old Slovakian, who had left his war-torn country to come here and compete. His pride and happiness was universal. These days I share the best of times with my clients: weddings, births, business openings and beautiful performances that inspire the soul. This is the stuff of life, and this is where I need to be!
Photography is a passion with me, as with so many creative types, and thus it infiltrates every part of my life. I came to this place in life naturally, as my father was a photographer also, and I grew up seeing photography as a part of his work and play. My dad’s love of photography may have landed more squarely on me, but his interest in writing is shared by my whole family, even if we don’t equal him in talent. My siblings were more academically oriented, but I needed something in my hands, something I could create…and it wasn’t lost on me that photographers are given special allowances and regarded well (all except new photographers, that is!). As I attended the University of Georgia, I melded my major of photography with my minor of drama, and found the two complimented each other. As a photojournalist, one has to be an observer at times, but also be unafraid of stepping in to catch something that tells the story best. The key to getting the images I like most is being sensitive-knowing when your presence affects a person or event, and being careful to duck out as needed. There are no hard-and-fast rules for photojournalism, just a level of sensitivity that must be cultivated in time.
Every photographer is the summation of his or her experiences. Each shoot creates a better understanding of the camera, and of life’s varied circumstances. Waiting, finger poised on shutter, for the instant when club meets ball on the final play of the Masters Golf tournament is quite different than trying to time the “peak” of a kiss in a wedding, but they both involve critical patience and quick reflexes. Getting that last shot of a powerful running back bearing down on you before you take flight is quite different than uncomfortably aiming a camera in the midst of death and emotion, but both involve a resolve to capture the image that must be caught. Only in “doing” can one learn how to capture the mood of certain scenes with color and light, or freeze the dance of hummingbirds fighting over nectar. Only in practicing can a photographer know the possibilities, and a good photographer is always learning! (We have an expression in photojournalism “You’re only as good as your last shot”. This is a wonderful creed, as it ensures that our best images are always ahead of us!). I look forward to sharing the images and the experiences with you through this wonderful site. Thanks for joining me!
