Name: Jon Thorpe
Home Town: Mississauga Ontatrio Canada
Home Base: The Big Smoke -Toronto Canada
Home Page: http://www.unionphoto.ca
Employer: I am the head cheese at the boutique studio of Union Photography Inc.
Sports Photographed: I mainly photograph events such as the 100ft aisle dash, the garter scrimmage and bouquet toss. See, wedding and action sports photography are fairly similar.
Favorite subject: I actually really enjoy shooting adventure and recreation and can always be found donning my camera while on road trips. My latest trip was out to Northern California and Yosemite. The trees are really big there.
Recent Projects: I am actually working on a top secret photo project at the moment as part of a side business for my event photography. It's consuming my life and I will replace this paragraph with the actual details soon!
Do you remember when you realized photography was more than a point and shoot camera?
I realized that I was really into photography while I was working for an interactive agency in Toronto. I had finally saved up enough money for a Canon 10D and a few good lenses and automatically took on the non-official job title of "In House Photographer". Things quickly progressed to the point where my imagery was running in national campaigns for companies such as Labatt Breweries and at that point I decided to head out and try things on my own as a photographer.
What was your first camera? And what is your current.
I can't really recall the exact model of first camera that I owned - but I believe it was one of those 35mm Kodak fun cameras with the plastic lens and body that leaked light everywhere. But I really caught the photography bug in high school, when the first waves of digital arrived and I realized that I could really push my creativity to it's bounds. From that point on I had owned systems by Olympus, Canon and since making the switch, Nikon. My current setup is a Nikon D3, D300, full range of glass ranging from 14mm to 200mm. Lighting is provided by SB800's, Alien Bees and my favorite - the sun.
What has photography done to your life?
It has taken it over! But really, photography has changed my life in so many positive ways and has been a springboard for my creativity. Without it, I would still be working a 9-5 job in a dimly lit design studio somewhere. I now work twice as many hours, but I absolutely love it. Can you really call that "work"?
As a career photography has let you see much of the world. Where are the places you wish to return or are most memorable?
I absolutely love travel and only wish to do more. New Zealand holds a top spot for me. I visited the country a few years back and it struck me as a place of renowned beauty and naturalism - where one feels ultimately free. I would head back there in an instant!
Being an action sport photographer, one would generally assume you also play the games you shoot. What are favorite sports to do with out a camera bag on your back?
I try to stay pretty fit in general and a pretty active climber, cyclist and kayaker. I find that it really helps in bringing a healthy balance to my life and also keeps my body in good enough shape to weather endless days of lugging gear around.
Who or what do you look too find inspiration in?
I would not say that there is any particular outlet for my inspiration, but I do try to stay away from the inevitable over hyped trends whenever possible, in an attempt to define my own work. That being said, I do follow a lot of popular media to see where things are headed and to devise ways of staying fresh in a market where both the style of photography and clients requirements are ever changing.
Life behind a lens means being witness to the best of times and the worst. Please let us know an experience from each.
Best: There are a lot of "best moments" for me when behind the lens. I suppose that it comes with the territory of wedding photography. I am typically photographing the most joyous occasion in a couples life and it's hard not to get into at times. I have, on more than a few occasions, found myself getting emotional during particularly moving moments with couples. It's all pretty magical. Outside of weddings, it would have to be a month and a half long trip that I took to New Zealand a few years back. I met some great people, climbed a few fantastic routes and I still have not witnessed better sunrises than those on the east coast of the South Island.
Worst: I try my best to avoid worst case scenarios in wedding and event photography, because it really is critical to the client and to ones reputation. I have had major equipment downfalls such as shutter failures and strobe failures, card losses and drives crashing, but with a strong backing of redundancy and planning, nothing has proven detrimental. One of the most fun weddings I ever shot was during a full blackout!
What would you say to a young shooter with who dreams of traveling the world taking photos of the elite athletes in our sports?
Stick with your passion and don't be afraid to take calculated risks. I see too many great photographers out there who are 'stuck' because they simply don't push themselves and miss out on opportunities. Another extremely critical aspect to photography has nothing to do with f-stops, substance, style or quality. It's business. If you can't build a business plan or market yourself, you are as good as done.
Tell us one over looked lesson you have learned in the photo business:
Seeking help when you need it. I still struggle with this and I am not talking about the psychological side of it either!
What I mean, is determining when its appropriate to get others to do the work for you. This could be outsourcing your color correction workflow or hiring someone to build your website for you. For me, it's having a book keeper - because I hate that stuff and it's not worth my frustration when I could be more productive shooting and editing.
