Hello everyone. I just found this forum the other day and figured I should give a little introduction. My name is Rob Vreeland and I'm a professional photographer in the San Francisco, Bay Area. I specialize in actions sports (more on the extreme side) and I currently hold a senior photographer position at Kiteboarding magazine. While I would love to be able to pay the mortgage with that type of photography, it just isn't possible. I'm now in the process of starting a new Pet Photography business and I do believe it will be a very fulfilling career, as well as a decent money maker that can pay the bills.
Photography for me started back when I was about ten. My dad purchased a beautiful Nikon FG and all I wanted to do was to play with all the cool dials and buttons. Unfortunately my father wouldn't let me touch the camera. In high school I signed up for a photography class which finally gave me a chance to learn how to use a camera. I was instantly hooked and by my senior year I was spending several hours a day in the darkroom and had been accepted with early admissions and a scholarship to Rochester Institute of Technology. At RIT I majored in commercial photography but after two intense years of learning the craft of photography, I was burnt. I sold my cameras, bought a computer and switched majors into Information Technology. Years past and I never picked up a camera until Nikon released the D1X. From that moment I realized I no longer had to live in a darkroom to do my photography and I was hooked once again. I experimented with all sorts of photography including landscapes, portraits, products, sports and pets. The sports photography really got me motivated but the income potential just wasn't there (unless I wanted to shoot kids baseball and soccer).
One day while organizing all my archives I realized I had a large collection of some great pet photography (mostly of my dog Murphy) and started researching the idea of doing it professionally. I did an incredible amount of research, wrote a business plan, secured some funds and I'm just now about ready to open it to the world.
My style is something that I can't simply describe. Other people just tell me I have, "the eye". Whatever it is, it seems to work and people are always amazed. Now I guess it's time to turn it into a real business.
My new Pet Photography website is now up and running. The "About Us" page is still missing as I haven't finalized what will go there. Please take a look and let me know what you think. You will find three portfolios. The first is, "the inspiration" which is pictures of my dog Murphy. The second portfolio, "the work" is images that I have done of friends pets. The third portfolio, "the adrenaline" is my action sports portfolio (I know, not pet related, but I believe it shows what a competent photographer I am).
Enough about me. I'm off to continue reading all the messages in this forum.
Murphy Dog StudiosCheers!
Rob
