Today's Guest: David Lominska of Polo Graphics. in Wellington, Florida
Today's Host: John Bentley
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David Lominska Transcript Page
David Lominska Expert PageANNOUNCER: This program is sponsored by morephotos.com the online photo sales solution to professional photographers worldwide. Welcome to the VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight with your host, John Bentley.
JOHN: Today on VTalk Radio's Photography Spotlight, we are in the studio with Wellington, Florida, photographer, David Lominska, of Polo Graphics. Welcome to the program today, David.
DAVID: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
JOHN: Well we certainly appreciate you joining us. Now you have a unique slant on photography. Tell our listening audience what you're up to.
DAVID: I specialize in the sport of Polo. Most people know Polo from, you know, Ralph Lauren or you've heard of Prince Charles and stuff like that. It is a very viable and exciting sport, and I specialize exclusively in photographing it.
JOHN: We're talking about Polo; how big of a sport is that in this country?
DAVID: In this country, I think the current membership of the United States Polo Association is; I think it's somewhere around 5,000, and there's about 15,000 that play around the world.
JOHN: What about just in Florida? Is there a lot of Polo clubs in Florida being a warm weather area?
DAVID: Yeah, well what happens is that in the winter everyone comes down here so they're not dealing with the Michigan winters.
JOHN: Certainly not. Now isn't this an East Coast kind of thing too?
DAVID: No. It's West Coast as well. In fact, I spend my summers out in Santa Barbara, California, and out there during the dead of winter, they go down to Palm Desert, Palm Springs area. There's several clubs in that area. So, but Florida is definitely the world's winter capital, for Polo. People come here from all over the world to play.
JOHN: Now certainly being a photographer for this kind of sport presents it's own dilemmas. What are some of the things you have to work around or work with to get a good photograph?
DAVID: Well one of the major challenges is that you're working on the filed itself and it's 300 yards long by 160 yards wide. So you can imagine nine or ten football fields lined up. So your covering a huge area, and then you're talking about great speeds too. These horses are running anywhere up to, you know, 30 - 35 miles per hour. So it's always, you know, that mix for a great challenge and why you know the long lens are necessary.
JOHN: Now when you go and shoot an event like this, do you take a couple of photographers with you or an assistant?
DAVID: No. Generally I work by myself. Occasionally, I might hire an assistant, but I work by myself. It's just a matter of, you know, you just have to wait for the plays to come to the right place.
JOHN: How long does a match last?
DAVID: Generally an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half.
JOHN: Ok.
DAVID: Polo is made up of six periods called chuckers that are 7 minutes a piece, and each player will play a different horse during each period so he'll bring at least 6 horses to the field, but often 8 or 9 horses.
JOHN: Wow, I did not know that about Polo.
DAVID: Yeah, so and in that 7 minutes, a horse will run up and down the field a total of between 3 and 5 miles so it's a very challenging sport. When you think of the Kentucky Derby, what's that it's a mile and an 8th, mile and a quarter?
JOHN: Let's talk a little bit about the equipment you are using. What do you have going on there?
DAVID: I use exclusively Canon equipment. There definitely the state of the art when it comes to sports photography.
JOHN: You must have some special lenses too then?
DAVID: Excuse me?
JOHN: What model camera do you have and you probably have some special lenses too?
DAVID: Like I said, my primary lenses are 600mm F4 and then I use the Mark II and I haven't upgraded to the Mark III yet, but sort of waiting because I've heard it has some bugs and I'm just waiting for them to get the bugs worked out. So those are the...and then I have, you know, a whole range of lenses for, you know, things on the side lines and other aspects of the sport down to a 15 mm lens, you know, fish eye lens.
JOHN: Now, what about some of the places you've gone to do these events...to photograph these events? Are you doing just the United States? Are you traveling the world? What are you doing?
DAVID: Lately, I've been staying in the states mostly during the summer I travel like this past summer, I went up to Calgary, Alberta, in Canada. And they play in Sheridan, Wyoming, and they play in Santa Barbara, California, for August, and then back to the East Coast back to Aiken, South Carolina for the fall season.
JOHN: Now, before we take a break here, David. Why don't you share your website and contact information for our listening audience.
DAVID: Yes, my website address is www.polographics.com; (561) 798-1439.
JOHN: We are in the studio today with Wellington, Florida, photographer, David Lominska, of Polo Graphics, and you are listening to VTalk Radio's Photography Spotlight. We'll be right back after these important messages; stayed tuned.
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JOHN: We are back in the studio with Wellington, Florida, photographer, David Lominska, of Polo Graphics and you're listening to VTalk Radio's Photography Spotlight. Welcome back to the program, David.
DAVID: Thanks for having me.
JOHN: Now, we've been talking about your photography business. You're strictly doing Polo events all across the country and possibly around the world too?
DAVID: Yes. I actually I used to spend my summers in England and then from England I would go out to France and Italy and down to Africa and, you know, other places.
JOHN: Now as for just the Florida area, I would imagine there is a lot of Polo events going down there. What are some of the towns and communities in the Florida area that you've done shows at?
DAVID: Well it's basically based here in Wellington. Wellington is one of the largest equestrian communities in the world, actually. During the winter we have something like 7,000 horses here and so it's not only Polo, but it's show jumping and drasage as well. So it's definitely an equestrian community. So, fortunately most of the three or four major clubs right here within, you know, 15 or 20 miles of Wellington. So I'm able to cover a lot of different events here.
JOHN: And David how long have you had Polo Graphics? How long have you been doing that?
DAVID: I've been photographing Polo exclusively as a business...this is my 25th year.
JOHN: Oh wow.
DAVID: Yeah, I've been doing it for a while. I started out, actually, I started out playing Polo when I was in college. I had some friends who I rode with who started a Polo club at the school I was attending at the time, and then I left school and started working Polo as a groom and a trainer taking care of the Polo horses. I did that for 6 - 7 years and started doing photography as a hobby on the side, and it quickly shown that I had a knack for it and found that there was a better future than cleaning up after the horses.
JOHN: Yeah, I used to have a job like that.
DAVID: Is this going to be on cable or internet...I mean are we under FCC regulations here?
JOHN: Yeah really, fortunately not.
DAVID: Ok, we have phrases for what I did. Anyway, so in 1983, I went into the Polo photography full time and it was interesting because at that time was right after the Falklins war and the only other full time photographer was Argentine Polo photographer and they banned all the Argentines from England so it left the field open for me to actually get a foot hold and I spent 11 years spending my summers in England.
JOHN: What a great opportunity. Sure. Boy talk about being in the right place at the right time, huh?
DAVID: Exactly. Exactly.
JOHN: Certainly. Something else I wanted to ask you about. Photo organizations; being a photographer for as long as you have, I would imagine you're involved in some organizations?
DAVID: I am a member of the ASMK. Actually I just joined recently, but other than that, not really, no. I keep pretty busy just...
JOHN: Too busy to do that kind of stuff, huh?
DAVID: Yeah.
JOHN: Sure. Sure. Now when you go to an event and you're shooting this great action, what are you looking for as a photographer? What are you trying to get? What's your goal?
DAVID: The goal is to capture the play, you know, to tell a story. You know, to what's happening out there and I found that I have an advantage in photographing the sport in that I used to play the sport, and as in most sports, the key is in anticipation.
JOHN: Sure.
DAVID: Knowing what's going to happen, where it's going to happen, and when it's going to happen, and hopefully being there and being ready. So, I feel that, you know, having played the sport and worked with horses all my life, gives me that advantage. So what I do is I look for key plays that, you know, makes the sport look, you know, spectacular that show what's happening...show off the key players and perhaps most important show the horses to their best advantage. Show their athleticism, their beauty, their speed, and the grace of the sport.
JOHN: Now, can you share perhaps a funny little story of shooting one of these, maybe a predicament you got in or?
DAVID: Well I've been fortunate; I've only been run over twice. It's definitely one of the hazards of the sport. Mostly I do shoot from the end line and the players especially when they're coming to goal, they are thinking of nothing else but that goal, and I don't shoot in the goal mouth usually, I'm 30 - 40 yards to the left or right, but sometimes they're looping around trying to get back onto the field and they're looking on the field, and they're not looking at you. So I have been run over twice. By getting hit by a 1000 pound horse going 30 miles an hour is serious business, and I have seen other photographers who didn't know the sport, you know, get seriously hurt. It's a very dangerous sport.
JOHN: Well I want to thank you for joining us today on VTalk Radio's Photography Spotlight, David.
DAVID: You're welcome.
JOHN: It's certainly been a pleasure talking to you. Before I let you go though, will you kindly share your website address and contact information for our listening audience.
DAVID: Yes, my website is www.polographics.com, and my phone number is (561) 798-1439.
JOHN: We have been in the studio today with Wellington, Florida, photographer and Polo Photographer, David Lominska, and you've been listening to VTalk Radio's Photography Spotlight. Thanks for tuning in today. Everybody have a great afternoon.
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