Casey Templeton Photography

Thrilled to announce the cover of MLB 2K12 that I shot of Justin Verlander for 2K Sports.  Kudos to a great design by Adam&Co.

As a senior at James Madison University, I had the opportunity to sit in on a video production class for the semester where we produced MACRoCkumentary which explores the The Mid-Atlantic College Radio Conference (MACRoCk).  MACRoCk is the annual celebration of college radio and the independent music community held at JMU and is happening next week, April 1-2, 2011. Check it out.

Below are a few images I took during the weekend along with the MACRoCkumentary.

The masses seem to connect with America’s Pastime fairly well so lets talk about “being a photographer” in terms of baseball.  Anyone can own a baseball bat, even the very best baseball bat, but we know without a doubt that we can not hit a 95 mph fastball out of Yankee Stadium.  So why do so many people think if they own a fancy digital camera that they are automatically a  “professional photographer?”  It appears that putting a camera up to your eye can also make you blind to reality.

“Oh yeah, I’m a photographer too.” -2 of every 3 people you know

I am often asked if I get nervous about everyone now becoming “professional photographers.” The truth is, no.  The more bad photographers out there, the more we have a chance of sticking out in the crowd. Going back to putting it into terms we can relate with: if a beautiful woman is standing in a room alone, she is still a beautiful woman.  Fill that room with 100 other not very attractive women and that woman’s beauty stands out even more.

The accessibility of photography is possibly the most biggest contributor to the growth of the art. Yet, to allow photography to be a hobby is altogether different than claiming a professional status. I always want to make myself available to help starting photographers, developing their own personal vision from behind the lens. Personal photography is a gift, an attainable artistic tool that we should all use to document our lives in a beautiful remembrance.

Being a professional photographer and actually making a living at doing it, is so much more than owning the right equipment. This also applies to countless other professions.  Let us beat the dead horse here:

- Just because I own Photoshop, doesn’t mean I’m a designer.
- Just because I own a pen, doesn’t make me a writer.
- Just because I can turn on my Mac computer, doesn’t make me a web developer.

Feel free to leave your own or share your photos of pretty flowers and sunsets.

Images from shoot with TNA Professional Wrestler and country music singer, Mickie James, on the farm where she keeps her horses.