It’s and honor to be back on Scott’s blog, and if you’re here reading this, I hope you are as big of a fan of Scott as I am. “Thanks” is never enough for someone I have learned so much from.
As we are all hopefully sitting safely and healthy in our homes, it is my hope that we all are taking time to reflect on the people and work that helped us get to where we are today. Scott is certainly on that short list for me. If you take nothing else away from reading this, be kind to people, regardless of who they are.
Here is a throwback to 2009 when I first met Scott and was literally a nobody just trying to take pictures of some sports. The story of how this photo even came to be is great, but that is for some other time.
I have been a sports photographer for almost 15 years (what?!), and I just finished up my first season as a staff photographer for the Tennessee Titans. No job is without its bumps and issues, but this is truly a dream job. I dreamt of working for an NFL franchise since the day I picked up a camera and its crazy to sit here thinking about how wild the journey has been to get here.
This first year took me with our team to the AFC Championship game and was one of the most challenging and most fun seasons I’ve had. And this offseason will certainly go down as one of the most memorable of my life, but that is probably the same for all of us.
I would love to impart some wisdom or share something that will be helpful to everyone who reads this, but my truth is probably not much different from many of you with everything going on in the world right now… I’m afraid of the future, I’m afraid for my job, I have been told to work from home but I’m not sure if I am doing it right, or that I am being as helpful to my coworkers as I would like to be.
I’m a photographer after all, I should be making pictures right? I have made some pictures and have plans for some other things to help, but it’s a strange feeling not being able to leave your house and go create.
The joy I have felt in this strange time is the community of photographers around me. As a whole, sports photographers have a reputation as being a curmudgeon-y group of grumps who are somehow always mad about something.
But the truth I have discovered is that while those people exist, they don’t speak for all of us. There are so many great people who help each other in times of need and want to see each other succeed. No other time have I seen it more than now when most should be grumpier than ever, but they are not. So I salute our industry as a whole, especially in these times of uncertainty.
I don’t have much else to say or add to this week, but if you have some time and have some questions, shoot me a message over on Instagram or email me and I would be happy to catch up with any of you!
All the Best and stay safe and healthy!
You can see more of Donald’s work at DonaldPage.com, and keep up with him on Instagram and Twitter.
