Studio Astute - Professional Photography - Fairport, New York
Steve Baldwin
/biography
/bio
BS Degree in Photography from The Rochester Institute of Technology, 1969
I was raised in Westport Connecticut. My interest in photography started at an early age, but the passion evolved slowly. By high school I got a job at the local camera store where most of the pros did business. This was all it took to get me hooked.
I had not planned to stay in the Rochester area, but was offered a job for a successful commercial photo studio upon graduation from college. Unfortunately the studio made a few bad management decisions and it did not last.
I did a variety of things to get a studio on my own and after over 40 years of running a successful commercial photo studio. I am now in a position to let that work slide a bit and to take on new challenges.
Digital photography has opened a whole new and exciting world for me. When I bring an old photo back to life, I get a sense of satisfaction that can't be measured.
I love animals, and although sort of a side line of my business, photographing them is something else that I find rewarding. It is impossible to predict what a pet will do, but something good always happens.
The close up photos I take are pretty much the same for me that crossword puzzles or chess might be for someone else. There are equal parts creative and technical challenge. I can spend hours on an idea and get nowhere or I may get a great shot in a few minutes. Until I start to work I rarely know which it will be.
The sunset and sky photos are relatively new to my portfolio. Most of my professional life I lived in the Corn Hill area of downtown Rochester. A great neighborhood, but not much in the way of sunsets. I had the good fortune to meet my fiance, Jan Gates a few years back. She has a cottage on Georgian Bay in Canada and the sunsets are absolutely wonderful. Then a few years ago we bought a place in Fairport with a really great western view. So now I've become a sunset guy.
I never know what tomorrow will bring, but I feel incredibly fortunate to love what I am doing even though I've been at it for about 50 years.