Who are the top amateur billiard photographers?

nathandumoulin said:
Photography is a skilled trade, one that requires knowledge, practice, and talent. I fully understand all the functions of the camera, and considerations that need to be made before taking a picture....and yet I still have enough respect to know that I am not a professional photographer. It's sort of like pool. Just because you know tangent lines, english, and pattern play, doesn't mean you can compete with the pros.

Like any skilled trade, a good photographer deserves respect. So many people think they can just pick up a camera and shoot amazing photos, just as many people look at my movies and think they could have produced them themselves. This is clearly not the case, for numerous reasons:

1) An amateur is untrained, and is oblivious to what makes for a quality photograph. They lack the knowledge to spot the mistakes in their own pictures, while anyone with a trained eye could easily pick them apart.

2) A good photographer has something that the rest of us lack: opportunity. They're already at the pro events. They have access to key figures and situations that I am personally unable to photograph.

3) Equipment. A good camera setup is at least $4k. Most amateurs lack proper equipment. Good equipment doesn't make for a great picture, but it certainly helps.

Now I don't mean to slam your post or anything. I realize that your intent was purely positive and I thank you for that, however I really think more credit needs to be given to anyone who specializes in anything. Photography is just one example.

On a second note, thank you everyone for your contributions to this thread. You've supplied me with plenty of good photographers whom I'll certainly look into over the remainder of the week. :thumbup:
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when i was in the publishing I had at least $20,000 in camera bodies and lenses, I couldnt take a decent picture to save my life. It aint the camera, its the photographer,
 
Fatboy said:
when i was in the publishing I had at least $20,000 in camera bodies and lenses, I couldnt take a decent picture to save my life. It aint the camera, its the photographer,
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Well, the equipment helps a lot. I shoot a lot of theatre, and the possibilities of 2500 ASA at high quality together with f/2.8-lenses and spot metering make the job easier.

With older/smaller cameras which can not go beyond 800 ASA without serious noise, it was often hard to get decent pictures without the use of prime lenses instead of the more flexible zoom lenses.

Spot metering helps a lot in difficult lighting with huge contrasts. You don't get it with cheap equipment.

Best regards,

Detlev
 
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Photo bug

Please post up some pics if you feel like it Sweet Marissa. I always love seeing your work. You have an amazing eye.
 
Jorge Torres

Jorge Torres from the former Propoolvideo.com has a great understanding of photography and put out some of the most professional and consisten work out there. IMO the best around.
 
There is a guy in San Diego named Ashi Fauchler (I think). He takes some good photos. You can probably google him and I think he has some stuff on Flicker.
 
hilla_hilla said:
There is a guy in San Diego named Ashi Fauchler (I think). He takes some good photos. You can probably google him and I think he has some stuff on Flicker.
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Ashi does great work. His Flickr gallery is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/billiardphotos/

The best pool photographer I have met is JP Parmentier (sp) from France. He is an owner of Kozoom and shoots a lot of stuff for the Eurotour. I will see if I can dig up some of his stuff online. He showed me quite a bit about photography.
 
JCIN said:
Ashi does great work. His Flickr gallery is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/billiardphotos/

The best pool photographer I have met is JP Parmentier (sp) from France. He is an owner of Kozoom and shoots a lot of stuff for the Eurotour. I will see if I can dig up some of his stuff online. He showed me quite a bit about photography.
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Justin, is that the lanky guy with the shaved head that was at the Derby this year?
 
JCIN said:
Got to disagree with you here. I did the whole "How hard could it be?" thing. Three years later I have a very small understanding of photography and all that is possible even in a pool room setting. I would wager I have shot as much as anyone in the last few years and the key is something Mason King told me "All of the interesting stuff happens after the shot." or before in some cases. No way I could of shot these pictures three years ago without good equipment.
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Do you do weddings too? :o:D
 
nathandumoulin said:
There's another thread asking about high-res pool photos, for the purpose of printing. No one seemed to have much luck finding any good pics (thus far at least).

I was wondering, who are the top amateur billiard photographers? By this, I mean people who snap pictures at events as a hobby, rather than to make money from it.

I'm asking because I'd consider contacting them to buy a few photos. Maybe help support their hobby while scoring myself a nice desktop wallpaper or something, or even a printed poster.
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I can help you out as well... Just let me know!
 
Julie Baker is a fine amatuer photographer who does a lot of photography at pool events on the west coast. I know she will be at Seven Feathers Casino taking pictures this weekend. She would be glad to help you out.
 
JCIN said:
Got to disagree with you here. I did the whole "How hard could it be?" thing. Three years later I have a very small understanding of photography and all that is possible even in a pool room setting. I would wager I have shot as much as anyone in the last few years and the key is something Mason King told me "All of the interesting stuff happens after the shot." or before in some cases. No way I could of shot these pictures three years ago without good equipment.







3293022794_abf13de2f6_o.jpg
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I love that pic of Oscar w/ Ernesto in the background, sweating. That pic so perfectly sums up one of the most interesting and touching relationships in pool. In fact, it sums it up so well, I'll stop typing and let the pic do the talking.

Thanks

Kevin
 
Rick Schmitz

Rick Schmitz takes quite a few pics around Arizona's pool halls. He also goes to the DCC each year if I'm not mistaken. I beleive his site is under Rixx Images or something like that. He is a user here, maybe he can chime in.
 
I think there are a lot of amateurs who are technically excellent but not necessarily artists. GREAT photography (IMO) goes well beyond the technical know-how and requires years of artistic study. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy the amateur work. In fact, I REALLY REALLY do. It's an awesome time we live in where we can have so much access to images and its a massive improvement from the polaroid era. However, because we have such easy access to video, we as viewers have placed fewer demands on photography.

I also think pool is drowning in stock photography, so much so, photographers actually look for ideal stock photos instead of photos that would tell a story. The current photo of Jeanette Lee on azbilliards.com is precisely what I'm talking about. I don't know who she's playing or if it's even related to the written story. I don't even know if it's an important shot. 20 years ago, most photographers would look for a more telling picture.
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
...I also think pool is drowning in stock photography, so much so, photographers actually look for ideal stock photos instead of photos that would tell a story. The current photo of Jeanette Lee on azbilliards.com is precisely what I'm talking about. I don't know who she's playing or if it's even related to the written story. I don't even know if it's an important shot. 20 years ago, most photographers would look for a more telling picture.
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My sentiments exactly. I watch all these "photographers" at pool events with their expensive equipement going for the same old stock shots. They seem blind to all the real drama going on around them in pool - the anticipations, reactions, and interactions - that would connect with us emotionally.
 
nathandumoulin said:
There's another thread asking about high-res pool photos, for the purpose of printing. No one seemed to have much luck finding any good pics (thus far at least).

I was wondering, who are the top amateur billiard photographers? By this, I mean people who snap pictures at events as a hobby, rather than to make money from it.

I'm asking because I'd consider contacting them to buy a few photos. Maybe help support their hobby while scoring myself a nice desktop wallpaper or something, or even a printed poster.
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I'm not reading this whole thread... if nobody mentioned him already, RichR.
 
demonrho said:
My sentiments exactly. I watch all these "photographers" at pool events with their expensive equipement going for the same old stock shots. They seem blind to all the real drama going on around them in pool - the anticipations, reactions, and interactions - that would connect with us emotionally.
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While some people prefer emotion photos, I have found many players on the regional tours (men and women both) love these so-called "stock photo"-type of photos of themselves. Yes, emotion photos are good also and capture the drama (especially of the pros), but new players and amateur players do not mind some "pool shooting photos" of themselves, also. :)
 
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