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Category Archives: Photo Business
Celebrating 25 Years in the Outdoor Industry
Patagonia 2009 Calendar Cover
Saying “Yes” to try climbing changed my life. I grew up racing sailboats, but the first day I climbed rocks I was an all new 18 year old. Turns out I had an inner dirtbag that was set free when I discovered the yacht club & topsider free world of the crags. My calling had been answered. Shortly thereafter I had myself a job in the bike department at an REI. I didn’t really know squat about climbing, but I did know bikes, so with an eye on the wall of cams and carabiners, I started my career in the outdoor industry. That was 1987.
Now, 25 years later, many of the same people I knew then, like myself, are still in the industry. A kind of family. By 1991 I was a full fledged dirtbag climber. I lived in my truck, sold espresso while on the road to make some money, dined in the bin aisles of grocery stores and actually wore white lycra (It’s back in, but not for climbing). Suddenly, I even had companies willing to “sponsor” my choice of lifestyle. My duties to them; climb, be a nice guy, make some photos and do some slideshows. One thing led to another and I got really into the making photos part.
The early days, 1998, of Beth Rodden. It later became an ad on the back cover of Climbing Magazine.
In 1997 I was managing my best friend’s Climbing Gym, the Rocknasium, in Davis, California. One day a tiny little girl walked in and tried climbing for the first time. Her parents supported her, she was happy, and, she was very, very good. Her name was Beth Rodden and she would go on to become one of the best climbers on the planet. We became close friends, and it was with Beth that I started to learn how to be a photographer by documenting her career as it took off.
1998 was a turning point, I wasn’t getting any younger and I certainly wasn’t getting rich as a bike racer or climber. I was falling in love with making photos and so decided to go back to school and study photography. I went from being a fulltime athlete, climber and road racer, to living in Santa Barbara, California and going to class. Notice I didn’t say anything about any other classes up until this point… this kind of references that inner dirtbag thing.
At the Brooks Institute of Photography I met Janine. Soon, she too was sucked into the vortex of the Outdoor Industry. She also found herself living in a vehicle. A nice girl from Switzerland, with endless talent who also happened to be an architect, was suddenly getting intimate with my version of American life.
But that American Life turned into this American Dream come true.
Our vision was simple, to live and work precisely in line with what we love; to be outside, in the mountains, as athletes, travelers, and photographers of it all. We wanted to work with companies who made gear we really used and to shoot magazine stories that we’d like to read. This we continue to do, but we have also been owners of a stock agency, consultants, multi-media producers, spokespeople, and product testers & developers. Finally, we started our own online Mountain Sport Athlete website, DolomiteSport, a spinoff of our energy and love for this lifestyle.
25 years later, we both know something about the outdoor industry. It has supported our photo business for 12 years, given us endless opportunities, inspired us, challenged us and it has been the source of countless friends.
The photography that is found in our Portfolio reveals who we are as creative people. But the examples of work found on our Clips page reveals even more. It is the result of how we have combined everything we love; making photos, supporting & working with brands and still being true to our vision which is living and working in line with our passion.
PatitucciPhoto's Published Work Samples : Click to View
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Newly Published Trail Running and Backpacking Photos
Runner's World USA Rave Run January 2012
Here are a few examples of some recently published work in American outdoor magazines, all three of of whom we have been working with for a very long time. Both Backpacker and Runner’s World are magazines we started working with back in 1999 and our first days in business. The magazine Trail Runner didn’t come along for another few years but immediately became a great friend, literally, as we have had some great times with the editor Mike Benge while on assignment, including a memorable run across Iceland in 2004, later a feature in the magazine.
The Runner’s World Rave Run (above) was shot in Norway this last winter when we were there for an ice climbing shoot with BD athlete Kurt Astner. While Kurt was off scouting one evening for this shoot, Janine and I went for a very cold run, to which we later returned to make the Rave Run photo. Temps were in the -10C range… Bbrrrr… Ice climbing, ice running, that was the deal, but Norway is truly stunning. You can read about the whole trip at our DolomiteSport site.
Below is the January issue of Backpacker Magazine and features two close Italian friends, Andreas and Alexandra, while hiking a section of the Dolomites Alta Via 2 Trail.
The Dolomites Alta Via 2
Finally, Trail Runner’s current January 2012 issue features their annual calendar with several of our photos.
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PatitucciPhoto Outdoor Industry Mountain Sport Published Work
It’s time again to round up some recent clips of our published work. Unfortunately, we don’t get to see much of where our photography ends up, so the few clips we do get are fun to show off. It also kind of justifies and explains all this traveling we do. One interesting thing to note is how our work is used by these companies. When we started in this business in 1999, everything we shot was for print ads, catalogs, point of purchase, tradeshow, etc… Now, it seems most everything is for web usage, some print ads & POP and lots of tradeshow displays.
Our image above is from the 2012 Runner’s World Germany Calendar we did with our good friend and photographer Lars Schneider. Together we shared the whole project and are excited to see some of our best trail running images printed large and on high quality paper. To see all the images in the calendar, or to purchase (for our European friends) visit: Runner’s World Germany 2012 Kalender
Over the last winter, we were fortunate to be a part of the Gore-Tex Product Testing Team for the new Pro and Active Shells. In addition, we worked with Gore to produce some imagery used to promote these amazing new fabrics.
Every year for as long as we have been living in Europe we have looked forward to the big German outdoor industry calendar’s for all the key mountain sports. We have had many covers but none so beautiful as the Mountain Bike calendar for 2012 featuring one of our most popular images from the Italian Dolomites. It is an image Janine found and made of me riding – so it’s double fun to see our image used big and starring your’s truly.
In the amazing company category are two of our very favorites. Smartwool, above and Patagonia below. We respect both of these brands as companies working to do the right thing. They responsibly manufacture superb products and treat people well. For Smartwool, we shoot much of their advertising work, above are some of the website’s images we have produced. And below is the 2012 Patagonia European Workbook cover featuring Janine running Dolomite trails.
The extremely popular Swiss women’s mountain sport clothing brand Wild Roses has become a company we work closely with. This is a brand that has supported our relationships with their Ambassadors so as to visually demonstrate women mountain sport athletes and professionals living their dreams.
Along with Patagonia and Smartwool, brands we personally rely on and use everyday, is a company we partner with; Deuter Backpacks. Since 2006, Deuter Packs are on every trip we do as we work with them for most of their advertising photography.
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Also posted in Clips, Photography
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Social Media for the Outdoor Photographer
Our friend Alberto, whom we met via Twitter, on one of our many trips together. Here, seen Twittering from his @albertodegiuli
Visit any online news source these days and it’s guaranteed it won’t take long to find an article on Social Media. For those in the business of photography, we are seemingly all onboard. What works for one may not work for another, but here, we have found that one truly does stand out. For us at PatitucciPhoto and DolomiteSport, the Social Media winner is, hands down… Twitter.
Not only have we developed a healthy following for both our accounts – we have made some very real friends with people we did not know pre-Twitter. Looking back, it seems quite simple; by actively Tweeting, getting involved, sharing and actually reading what people have to say, we have made friends – all this not because we had to, but because it is genuinely enjoyable. Thanks to having things in common, paths crossed and the rest is history – actual friendship.
Looking at who I follow, I find it interesting that there are very few companies left. In the early days I followed a lot of outdoor industry magazines and gear manufacturers – very few remain. I found them boring, clearly not engaging, too much spewing and far too many of the ubiquitous, “Our new blah blah… check it out!”. ZZzzzzzZZZZzzz – Gag. Real people willing to communicate are much more intriguing.
On our DolomiteSport account I created two lists, one of Mountain Sport Athletes, the other of Cyclists – the people on these lists were all becoming very known to me and I was finding myself actually looking forward to what their thoughts were on some topics, whether it be ski conditions, the latest cycling doping scandal, who did what and where, etc…
I recently read that the reason Google puts emphasis on blogs for search results is that blogs are often real world references of what is important, what people think, and what is happening – not just a company marketing or putting spin on something for its own benefit. This all sounds very much like how I have found Twitter to be, the personal things matter most.
But then there are the Twitter oddities. What’s up with the if you don’t follow me I’m not going to follow you rule? Are you reading what I say and finding it uninteresting? – then okay, un-follow me. But don’t just un-follow me out of spite because I offed you when all you did was tell me what cafe you’re in or what song you’re listening to. This is the Twitter dilemma, finding those truly worth friending, …much like life I guess. And then there are those who follow 20,983 and are followed by 20,352. I find them immediately suspicious. Are they really reading anything, or just looking to spew?
How does any of this pertain to what we do as professional photographers? Maybe not so much, but relationships are relationships and what goes around comes around. You never know who is lurking out there – and yes, we have received work from all of this, but better, we have had countless people inform us that our photos and words have inspired them to go to the very places where we have been. This, with the friends we have made, is the reward.
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Are you a mountain sport athlete and want to get to know a great group, follow our list:
For cyclists, our fun list is: Cyclists
Not following us? – give us a try at:
Twitter : PatitucciPhoto – Photos from work, fun and thoughts about being fulltime professional outdoor industry photographers.
Twitter : DolomiteSport - Our lives as athletes & travelers; climbing, cycling, skiing, trekking and living inspired lives in the mountains.
…And finally: Are you following us but we’ve missed you, and we really must meet? Tweet us! We’d love to hear from people.
Tagged Mountain Sports, Social Media
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How Working as a Professional Mountain Sport Photographer has Changed
In a fairly remote part of Switzerland’s Wallis Alps last week, I caught myself knowing about a little water hole around a coming turn in the trail. Sure enough, moments later, there it was. The fact that I knew about it made me realize just how much time I have spent in this part of the world. In fact, since 2000, we have spent the vast majority of every spring, summer and fall in the European Alps. All this had me reflecting on our time working in the mountains and how we, as professional mountain sport photographers, have evolved in the last 10 years.
For us, here is a fun comparison of What Was vs. What Is.
Film
Film management has been replaced by file management
Then: Within every pack we carried was a drybag full of film cannisters. Velvia for saturated colors, Provia 100 for the go to film, Provia 400 for lower light, B&W for fun and a few Agfa 1000′s for grainy moods. Film was heavy, bulky and needed protection from moisture. Each roll needed its own care and details written with magic marker on the outside; push 1 stop? clip? shot at 160 instead of 50. If you don’t know these terms, you didn’t shoot film.
Now: A large drybag full of film has been replaced by a neat & tidy film card pocket. Where there was processing, now there is download, storage and backing up. We never really thought much about the fact that film had no backup, but now the thought of having digital files in just one spot is not an option, of course it needs to be backed up, in three places no less. Film took up space, digital takes up time.
Image Storage
Then: After shoots we would take all our film and head to the lab. There were always rolls needing special processing and so we would have them clipped, where a small piece of the film is processed separately. We would then return to the lab and make decisions about processing times. Once everything was determined all the film was run. 48 hours later it would be ready. With all our traveling, we decided to not have the slide film mounted, it took up too much room. Instead we had it sleeved which we would then edit and hand mount later. Today, this seems absolutely crazy.
Now: Return to computer from shoot. Download to Lightroom, backup on two hard drives. Keep hard drives in separate places, upload to remote storage if time and internet connection allows.
Regardless of what, how or where you shoot is to simply just be out - so you can shoot
Presentation & Delivery to Client
Then: This got interesting while traveling in Europe. We had no scanner so the film was sent off for review. Those same images we didn’t have mounted at the lab all had to be hand mounted, packaged up and FedEx’d off to the client for review. No backup. If the needed image was elsewhere, we begged the client to wait.
Now: Clients visit and order from our online Stock Site. With iPhone App we deliver ready for print hi-res files with one click.
Internet
Then: Traveling in the Alps, it basically didn’t exist. Weeks might go by without the option of checking in.
Now: Traveling in the Alps, it basically exists everywhere, and if it doesn’t, wait an hour or two and you’ll be in range.
Style
Then: We climbed alpine peaks, we hiked multi-day tours, we ran long distances – always making images of everything we did, whether it be for stock, commercial shoots or editorial assignments.
Now: Nothing much has changed here, except we stop to Facebook and Twitter about it all.
Attitude
Then: Psych level was off the chart, everything was new and exciting.
Now: Happy to report that 10 years later the psych level is still off the chart but with vastly more experience to make it all even better..
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John Harlin Swiss Border Project
Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of joining American John Harlin for three days, as an assignment for SwissInfo.ch, during his epic project to circumnavigate the entire Swiss Border under his own power. The route is a combination of John’s decision making and the advice of a specialist in cartography, with each day more or less plotted, where to sleep/bivvy, where to re-supply, even where to take a rest day. John is being tracked for live positioning and is posting video and photos along the way.
The entire project, including the interesting question, “Why?”, is : SwissInfo: John Harlin’s Border Stories
John on the Silvretta Glacier. A solar panels sits on his pack for charging mobile devices to keep in communication.
John Harlin and a much deserved ice cream
John started the project last summer but was injured climbing. He returned later in the year for some easier sections that allowed him to use bikes and waterways. With these sections finished, he knew he would return in 2011 for the bulk of the border, the entire southerly section through the Alps. Most efforts in the mountains are measured by thousands of meters gained, for John it is hundreds of thousands of meters gained; 220,000 vertical meters to be precise. And, being Switzerland, it is precise.
The goal of the project is to see and learn about Switzerland in a very unique way. This is a country with four official languages, a rich culture of people living in the mountains, incredibly rugged & complex terrain thanks to the Alps and Jura, and of course what may arguably be the most idyllic landscape in all the world. Yet it also has thriving agriculture and a dairy industry famous for the finest cheeses and chocolates. It is all this that John has set out to see, he just happens to be on the line that contains it all.
Headed for the Dreilanderspitze, up & down. For me, usually a commercial photographer, it is a joy to shoot a journalism story and react to things instead of setting them up.
There was some irony in my joining John in that just last year I became a citizen of Switzerland. I am in love with my new country and hungry to learn everything about it. So, to be assigned this documentary project by SwissInfo.ch, which for ten years has been our favorite news source, was a true honor. And then there was John… quite an amazing character and certainly a new great friend. There we were, two American born guys who love Switzerland, walking along the border, soaking it all in and enjoying every minute. John is still out there, I hope to re-connect again soon.
Arriving to the summit of the Dreilanderspitze separating Austria from Switzerland
Lots of navigation checks are in order. The border typically follows ridges, but which one?
Hut life; Email, post video & pics, blog, wash socks
Meeting locals along the way
What are the odds? We met a Swiss couple walking the border of Switzerland's largest canton, the Graubunden. Lots of stories and route info to share
A nasty big climb to regain the border from the valley below
John happily took my bike for a long descent from Samnaun along the border to where he would begin walking again.
John telling the Border Guards that he is keeping an eye on things
Also posted in Clips, Photography
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Trail Runner Cover June 2011
Dolomites Trail Running
We are excited to once again have the cover of the June 2011 issue of Trail Runner Magazine. This is our eleventh cover for Trail Runner.
The image was made in the summer of 2009 when we ran the Dolomite’s Alta Via 1 in four days. The image features our great friends Patrizia Taibon and Gabe Luethje cruising by the lens. The Alta Via 1 is the John Muir Trail of the Dolomites and has become a popular running tour utilizing the many huts along the route. For more information about the running tour, the Dolomites and the Alta Via 1, visit our DolomiteSport site’s Running the Alta Via 1 page. Guided and self guided running tours in the Dolomites are offered from our friends at Holimites.com.
To see what we do as we do it, follow us at Twitter : @patitucciphoto
Also posted in Clips, Trail Running
Tagged Alta Via 1, Alta Via One, Dolomites, Trail Running
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The PatitucciPhoto Story
Dan & Janine : India 2008
This post goes up as an introduction to who we are for our new Facebook Page. Sure you can read a brief summary on our Portfolio’s About Page, but if you feel like getting to know us a bit better, the personal story, here it is.
PatitucciPhoto is the husband and wife team of Dan and Janine Patitucci. In 1999 we set out to build a photography business, we didn’t know what that business would be, but we knew we wanted to make photos. After a little fashion work, commercial this & that, and editorial assignments – all of subject matter we were not interested in, we decided to stop pursuing being photographers, and start pursuing our passion – mountain sports and travel – of these things we loved, we would make some photos.
We bought a VW Westfalia, moved in, and hit the American roads. For two years we lived out of our van. We climbed, we ran trails, we hiked, and of course we made photos of it all. Along the way we made countless friends and a lot of contacts. What we didn’t make was money. But we persevered, strongly believing in the idea that to Follow your Dreams can only only lead to success. And so it did, but not after a lot of breakdowns in the VW.
Janine doing a little fishing in Alaska
Along the way were some detours. There was the much needed financial payoff of a spring and summer spent commercial fishing in Alaska. There was the winter spent living in a warehouse when every waking second was spent making PatitucciPhoto a reality – with a dial up connection. And there was a lot of time doubting that what we were doing would ever lead to anything but a long road trip with some funny stories. Amongst all of this we had amazing support from family, friends and a few very special businesses that believed in what we were doing.
In 2003 it started to come together, work started coming to us. We had settled in Bishop, California but were splitting our time between the US and Janine’s home country of Switzerland. For five years we went back and forth, shooting summer in Europe and winter in the US. Since 2003, we have been fortunate to have constant streams of commercial & editorial work as well as a thriving stock archive. In 2007, we decided to spend more of our time in Europe and settled in the Sud Tirol of northern Italy.
We often hear that we are living the dream life, followed by the, “How did you do it?”. While we feel endlessly fortunate, we did, and still do, work very, very hard. We had a vision, we believed in ourselves, and then what is really the most simple, yet difficult step – we started the process – and we never gave up. We believe the single most important factor is to be true to what you are most passionate about. For us, it is to be free and healthy, to surround ourselves with great people, to play in the mountains, and to make images derived from the energy created from this lifestyle.
Seems there is little need to add any photos here with the exception of some fun, “who we are” additions. If you want to see our portfolio, and what we do for work, it’s but a click away.
This is our story, and it’s ongoing. We hope you enjoy our work and would love to hear from you.
Dan & Janine Patitucci
Also posted in Personal, Random Thoughts
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