Tom Minczeski has always been passionate about photography. "Growing up in the 50's, I was exposed to some of the great photographers of the day. My folks were regular subscribers to Life magazine, a weekly publication then, and when it arrived, the first thing I did when I got home from school was flip through it from cover to cover. I wasn't always interested in actually reading the stories, but in looking at the photos. Many of the great photographers of the day were either contributors or because of their stature in photography or affiliations with other Time Life publications, were published therein: W. Eugene Smith, Margaret Bourke White, Dorothea Lange, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Gordon Parks, Robert Capa, to name a few. It didn't hurt that my Dad and older brothers were avid amateurs as well. When I was around ten years old, My Mom gave my Dad an enlarger for Christmas. I think my fate was sealed when I later saw those first images appear in the developer. It was magical. And it's been like that ever since - even though I think I understand it a little better now. There is still a thrill with seeing something I've photographed emerge in the developer or come up on the computer monitor."

Following in the footsteps of his dad and brothers, Tom pursued photography as a hobby throughout his high school and college years. "It wasn't uncommon for me to go on long, long walks (I had no car then) at all hours-either to a park, woods or Lake Michigan particularly at dawn or sunset when the light would be most magical. Shortly after graduating from college, I met a wedding photographer who ran his own wedding business from his spacious home in Milwaukee, WI. We talked and after seeing my work, he hired me to shoot weddings for him. I've been photographing weddings ever since then and that was in 1972. After moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, though, I wanted to expand my horizons a bit more."

And expand them he did, working under contract to California Photo Service and expert photographer Norm Fisher shooting for the Oakland Raiders, Warriors, and Athletics in addition to some major Bay Area clients including The Transamerica Corp, Fireman's Fund, Matson Lines, BART, The Port of Oakland, FCB, J. Walter Thompson, and a host of others. "Norm was great... I've never met anyone who could work a cocktail party the way he could and get total strangers to cooperate. Of course, I later learned that he knew practically everyone... still, he was the consumate master of the grip and grin. He was pretty good at shooting sporting events as well. And he always seemed to get involved in location shoots involving large pieces of equipment. Those were fun. Norm gave me a great introduction to corporate photography."

In the mid-eighties Tom was contacted by A.D. extra-ordinaire Mare Earley and began shooting regularly for Fairchild Publications out of New York, most notably for Entree, Electronics Retailing, HFD, and WWD, in addition to the Chicago Tribune. He also photographed for a local business publication, The Bay Area Business Executive. "These were exciting things to do, because we were interested in more than just a typical head and shoulders shot of a CEO. I didn't realize at first how easy it would be to get one to do some out of the ordinary things. The CEO of CP National was a long distance runner, so we went to what is now part of the Golden Gate Recreational Area just west of the St. Francis Yacht Club after we had done some shirt sleeved office portraits and photographed him running on the beach with the City in the background. He liked it so well he had me make a large print for his study. And then there was the Chairman of the Board for the Clorox Co. He had never been on the roof of his building, so we went to the top of corporate headquarters in downtown Oakland and shot him surveying the city from there. Sometimes a little imagination goes a long way and sometimes you have to go with the flow. Well, you always go with the flow, but occasionally, you get to direct it more than others. That's where the real fun is." Another assignment of that ilk was to cover the Greyhound Bus Driver competition to see who would have the priviledge of driving John Madden around the country in the Madden Cruiser for his coverage of NFL football. "There are only so many shots you can take of a bus running a slalom course or backing up through a lane of cones. Getting John Madden to curl up on the massive bed inside is another matter, but that's what happened. Hey, come to think of it, I never did get those negatives back. Hmmm."

At the same time Tom was concentratiing on his editorial work, he was also involved in showing his portfolio at all the local ad agencies, shooting weddings and pursuing his personal art work as time allowed. "Everyone asked if I had done any product or table top photography. At the time, that was the weakest part of my book. Eventually I met Gael Newman, a business woman who owned her own boutique ad agency and was also looking to grow her business. She knew someone who knew someone and before you knew it, she was showing comps for a four color Christmas Gift Guide at Longs Drugs that we had created together along with Barbara Nishi, one of the most creative graphic designers I've ever had the pleasure to work with. We got that job and another and another and within two years, we were producing 18 to 20 ads per year." By the time the final contract expired in the mid nineties and Longs brought all ad production in-house, the team, which had grown to include designer Trine Douchand and two additional assistants, was producing over 40 ads per year, averaging over a hundred products per ad.

"It was a wild ride. We shot everything...Cars, soap, stereos, canned goods, cough syrup, sweat pants and deodorants, beer and wine, hard liquor, and blood pressure and glucose monitoring devices thrown in for good measure. Products with babies, toddlers, teens and some grown-ups, too. Oh. And the someone who knew someone? She married him!"

Throughout his career in the Bay Area, Tom's been involved photographing modern dance companies. Referred to Dianne Rothenberg, a dancer with a local troupe, he went on to work with the late San Francisco choreographer Tance Johnson and Brynar Mehl before he moved back to New York. Tance used Tom extensively for her Dance Action and Tance Dance performances. Tom still shoots for choreographers Bonnie Sita of the Move Dance & Theatre Co. of Oakland and Cecelia Bowman with the University of San Francisco Dance Dept . Additionally, Tom has photographed the North Berkeley Actors Stage productions of original and classical plays. "One of the tendencies when shooting an athletic event is to follow the action. With a motor drive, a lot of film, and lots of light, you'll probably get a pretty good shot of a peak moment. In dance or theatrical productions, you need to anticipate that peak moment a bit more and look for a moment of stillness or equilibrium between a rise and a fall when a body is almost motionless since you'll most likely be shooting with minimal stage lighting. Unless, of course, you're in a studio setting. "

Exhibitions of his personal work at local galleries include a series of Yosemite and eastern Sierra Nevada prints at the Wrubel Gallery at the Nature Company. He has won Addy Awards for his self-promotional photography, CD covers, and promotional photography for the 2000 AdMark Addy Awards Call For Entries. He continues to provide commercial clients Rix Indusrties, Inspection Services International, Grainaissance, The Salamander, The California Department of Health and Human Services, Lightspann Illumination and Design, Farotte Construction, Wild Packets, Bridges Marketing Group, Bay Sports Publishing-to name a few, along with musical geniuses Tom Miller, Jim Munzenrider, Tom Bertetta, and Ernie Pinata, with the highest quality photographic service. "And I've gone back to my professional roots- shooting more weddings thanks to my fellow Bay Area Photographers' Guild members Don Melandry, Eliot Khuner, Andy Partos, and Rufus Diamant. Covering weddings for me is so different now then when I started out thirty years ago, fresh out of college... I really love it! A wedding contains all the elements my professional career has trained me for: Action. Suspense. Decisive moments. Posed shots and candids, portraits and place settings. Locations that occasionally require some specialized lighting skills... it's a perfect combination. And though the structure is the same in many instances, no two are ever alike. And where else will you find so many happy people dressed up and generally on their best behavior?"

"The truth is really pretty simple: I'm a photographer that loves to shoot- hey, this light looks pretty good on you right now...ready?!"

Passionate words, indeed, from someone following his bliss with the love, help, and support of his wife, Barbara, and two daughters, Marika and Sarah.