Who is this Tony guy?

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One of my best friends, from my youth, told me that I have a comic-book mind. At the time I was not too excited to have my friend stick me with what I perceived to be a negative descriptive tag. It seemed to be shallow somehow. Over the years I came to see the insightfulness of the observation. The truth is that I really do process thoughts in pictures. Someone can ask a question and I envision the answer as a descriptive image, kinda like a storyboard.

I developed an interest in photography in my late teens. Under the instruction of a great photographer, Ed Bogenschild, I found a calling behind the lens. Timing was not my friend however, and after HS graduation, I spent the next 32 years doing anything BUT photography. 

In 2002 my son started playing high school baseball and football. Each season led to either a better camera system or new lenses, and my old passion started to reemerge. As he played more and advanced further, I ended up with many more opportunities to hang with and shoot amazing athletes.  My son's developing baseball skills led to a college scholarship out of state, and I ended up driving across the country a few times a year. There wasn’t a single road trip that didn’t also come with images of great faces or cool landscapes, and ultimately  some pretty fun stories. 

Good Sports and Event photography is the antithesis of a 140 character lifestyle. These images are more than a mere click at an event. They represent the art of anticipation and spacial awareness, as well as a willingness to see something special "show up" after I have done my best to be a patient man. There are no more valuable things in life than when someone sees what I see in one of my galleries and then asks me to be part of their event. Since those early days of sports shooting,  I found that my style of shooting, photojournalistic, also worked well in the street event experience. I have always believed that people were far more attractive and expressive when photographed candidly.

A good photograph is a powerful reminder of unique moments in time, life landmarks, you might say. While landscapes and staged images can be really awesome, the significance of a great moment is worth it’s weight in gold. That is what I look for when I grab my camera bag and head out for the day.