Pub. Note: Patrick Robinson, who was a perennial winner in the Photography category of the MARKETING Awards, sent me a batch of his new work recently. I thought it was well worth sharing with visitors to the site and also asked Patrick to give us a little background on how he got into the photography business. Here is his reply, along with a stunning selection of his recent work. See more at www.patrickrobinson.net.
By Patrick Robinson
When I was about 12, my brother, Ken, handed me a twin-lens reflex camera and said, “Start taking pictures.” That was the impetus for a lifelong love of photography. In middle school, high school and college I kept trying to improve, a camera almost always with me, and I kept learning. I probably know way more than I need to about photo-processing chemicals, especially now that only about 37 people in the nation still use stuff like Diafine developer, in what has become a lost art.
Once I was out of school, my publisher dad took a chance (also, because he could get me cheap) and let me begin taking pictures for the Federal Way News and White Center News, the weekly newspapers our family ran. I managed to win some awards through the WNPA and branched, out shooting a few other styles, from portraits to products. But by 1976 or so, I was restless and went into advertising and promotion for the papers. I put the cameras down.
In 1983, we started Digital Post and Graphics, featuring a device called the Quantel Paint Box. By 1986, we added more gear and an audio partner to create the first all-digital production house in the world. From time-to-time I’d take a photo, but I felt like I’d been there and done that. After we sold DPG in 1988, I went into consulting and ended up doing web design and worked for Carsey Werner Productions in Hollywood, developing its Internet presence for productions like That 70’s Show and Third Rock from the Sun.
During that period, digital photography was born. At first, it was pretty limited and very expensive. We bought a Sony Mavica that was 1.3 MP and recorded images on a floppy disk. Then, in about 2007, my wife said, ‘You used to take some pretty good photos. Why don’t you get a digital camera?”
I didn’t. But like most things in life—she was right. She surprised me with a Nikon D40 for Christmas. It promptly died the next day. I got another one. It died, too. So I bit the bullet and went out and bought a Nikon D80. I began taking pictures again for the West Seattle Herald and posted them on social media. Something strange happened.
People began telling me they were on chemotherapy, or had been deeply depressed or were feeling suicidal and they looked at my photos and it lifted their spirits. Wow! It made me tear up to think I could make a difference in their lives with just some photographs. That did it.
I bought a few other camera and lenses and share my photos whenever I can. I built a site where people can buy prints at www.patrickrobinson.net, and I keep shooting.
When I go out to to shoot now, I do so with confidence, but I always ask of the universe, “What are you going to show me?” and amazingly enough, photo opportunities seem to present themselves to me.
It’s mostly a combination of experience, gear, software, making the effort and a smidgen of talent—but there’s also something about staying open-minded and looking at the world with “baby eyes,” as if it’s the very first time I’ve seen it. I tell people all the time, that photography is all about perspective and light—just like life.
Postlogue: Here are 15 examples of Pat’s work, beginning with Sailboat Sunset Perfection Off of Alkai, which was the Big M winner in the 2015 MARKETING Awards. We’ll let you choose your own names for the others.
