The minute I held my first camera I knew what I wanted to do. I was 17. Thank you Mr. Ochs, 12th grade photography teacher. I ruined a few Ocean Pacific shirts back in the day but it got me where I am today. I thought I wanted to be an anthropologist, biologist, astrologist, etc. but I just played with the pencils and sometimes fell asleep.
But give me a camera or a canvas and I perked up. It's like a drug, when you find your calling. You never stop thinking about it. Eventually, when the snow-globe snow particles settled, there I stood in that tiny bubble of a world with a camera around my neck looking for a place to point it. I wanted to go for the top. The Statue of Liberty. The New York Times.
Well, I landed at The Gazette in Colorado Springs. One of the best little papers in America. A photo staff that would not quit.
Check this out.
Here is a short list of some it's past and current greatness.
Bob Jackson - Pulitzer Prize winner. Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald. Yes, that photographer.
Rick Loomis, Jeff Chiu, Smiley Pool, Jay Janner, Mark Reis, John Kotlowski, Chip Litherland, Chuck Bigger, Peter Lockley, Tracy Boulian, Tom Kimmell, Kevin Kreck, Jerilee Bennett, Andy Rogers, David Bitton and on and on.
I worked with all of these people.
The Gazette photo department is now a staff of three. Editors and photographers, just a few years ago, numbered 11. Wow. Shameful if you ask me. What the hell happened? In the age of visual communication, one of the most incredible photography staffs in the country went from 11 to three.
So, what do you do? Well, you either crawl into a hole in the wall or you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try to start all over again.
And that is what I am going to do. Today I decided to start from the top and work my way down. I applied for positions at Getty, Reuters, The New York Times, ZUMA, Sygma, and the Falcon Community News (joke).
I know a few people at some of these great organizations and I have hope.
Here' the bitch of it all. When I applied to Reuters, I said I to them that I would love to work for Getty! And then I misspelled Reuters.
F*** me. Oh well.
In the meantime, the photojournalism is raging in my blood. I can't wait to get the next assignment.
So, I cannot stop being a photojournalist. I am a freelance photographer right now. But my heart belongs to photojournalism. Luckily, I have received assignments from the Denver Post. I am grateful. I love working for these guys. They really are true friends. And I am hoping they call me more often.
Here is a portrait I did last week for a story about a high school hockey team, Fountain Valley School, who had the potential to make it the state hockey championship finals after an 18 year dry spell. They gave it there best but lost in the semifinals. The Denver Post ran a story and a slide show on their website. Here is a link to the story.
A true honor.
The head coach let me have a few minutes to make this photo. A very nice guy but their bus was late. It was totally rushed but that's what they pay me for. In the end the Denver Post ran this image and it was all over their website. That made me happy.
Please, continue to check out my website www.bryanollerphotography.com
But give me a camera or a canvas and I perked up. It's like a drug, when you find your calling. You never stop thinking about it. Eventually, when the snow-globe snow particles settled, there I stood in that tiny bubble of a world with a camera around my neck looking for a place to point it. I wanted to go for the top. The Statue of Liberty. The New York Times.
Well, I landed at The Gazette in Colorado Springs. One of the best little papers in America. A photo staff that would not quit.
Check this out.
Here is a short list of some it's past and current greatness.
Bob Jackson - Pulitzer Prize winner. Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald. Yes, that photographer.
Rick Loomis, Jeff Chiu, Smiley Pool, Jay Janner, Mark Reis, John Kotlowski, Chip Litherland, Chuck Bigger, Peter Lockley, Tracy Boulian, Tom Kimmell, Kevin Kreck, Jerilee Bennett, Andy Rogers, David Bitton and on and on.
I worked with all of these people.
The Gazette photo department is now a staff of three. Editors and photographers, just a few years ago, numbered 11. Wow. Shameful if you ask me. What the hell happened? In the age of visual communication, one of the most incredible photography staffs in the country went from 11 to three.
So, what do you do? Well, you either crawl into a hole in the wall or you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try to start all over again.
And that is what I am going to do. Today I decided to start from the top and work my way down. I applied for positions at Getty, Reuters, The New York Times, ZUMA, Sygma, and the Falcon Community News (joke).
I know a few people at some of these great organizations and I have hope.
Here' the bitch of it all. When I applied to Reuters, I said I to them that I would love to work for Getty! And then I misspelled Reuters.
F*** me. Oh well.
In the meantime, the photojournalism is raging in my blood. I can't wait to get the next assignment.
So, I cannot stop being a photojournalist. I am a freelance photographer right now. But my heart belongs to photojournalism. Luckily, I have received assignments from the Denver Post. I am grateful. I love working for these guys. They really are true friends. And I am hoping they call me more often.
Here is a portrait I did last week for a story about a high school hockey team, Fountain Valley School, who had the potential to make it the state hockey championship finals after an 18 year dry spell. They gave it there best but lost in the semifinals. The Denver Post ran a story and a slide show on their website. Here is a link to the story.
A true honor.
The head coach let me have a few minutes to make this photo. A very nice guy but their bus was late. It was totally rushed but that's what they pay me for. In the end the Denver Post ran this image and it was all over their website. That made me happy.
Please, continue to check out my website www.bryanollerphotography.com
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