Greetings All!

I know it has been a very long time since our last eNewsletter. So many things have happened and there is much exciting news to share with you. In the last year and a half, we purchased our own building, grew our yacht racing photography sector tremendously, added a young and talented emerging photographer to our company and are now helping to reshape the Rochester Public Market. And did I mention I tore my ACL playing soccer and had to go through 7 months of rehab during this time??

So, I’d like to dedicate this newsletter to all of this progress.

• The Building:

• The Yacht Racing Photography Sector:

Those of you whom we work with regularly are already aware of the yacht racing photography we’ve been doing over the years. Some will wonder how we possibly came across such an opposite 2nd specialty. Yet it makes more sense than what one might first think. The combination of Architecture and Yacht Racing is a true Yin and Yang. On the surface, the approach is the exact opposite. Long contemplative set-up vs. immediate reaction in ever changing turbulent seas. Yet the design of racing yachts is as much a study of form and function as any building. And buildings, when photographed in a dynamic way as opposed to a static approach, have all the life and energy of a sailboat cutting through the deep blue ocean. A client once commented that the composition in my architecture photos can clearly be seen in my yacht photography images. And the energy and movement of the latter is reflected in my photographs of buildings. That was a very moving comment for me and to this day, consciously defines my approach. I really believe the combination of the two keeps me fresh.

• New Addition to Tim Wilkes Photography:

The resources of Rochester Institute of Technology are a great asset to our community. At this point, everyone working for Tim Wilkes Photography is a graduate. Jeremiah Tamagna-Darr, while in his 3nd year at RIT, came to interview for a studio position. While he was not the right fit for the position I was trying to fill, I couldn’t help noticing how vibrant and fresh his sports photography was. Although he had no experience with sailboats, I knew he was someone I could train, as long as he wasn’t prone to sea sickness! The summer of 2007 was getting so booked up that I decided it was time to start training this promising member of the next generation.

We took him to Block Island Race Week, a 200 boat regatta with turbulent currents and exposure to the Atlantic Ocean. After the 3rd day of the 5 day event, I had to hop on a mail plane to the mainland to start my journey to the next assignment. Since we had just sat through 3 days of light winds and mediocre conditions and the forecast for the last two days was for sunshine and 20 knots of breeze, I turned to Jeremiah and said, “These days are where everything happens. It’s all up to you now”. Then I hopped in the 6-seater and left. Panicked with pressure, he set to the task and did a great job! Now we can rely on him to handle many regattas throughout the year while I move around between architecture shoots and other regattas.

• The Economy and Architecture Photography:

Despite the turbulent economic climate, we’ve kept a steady pace serving our clients. While we occasionally add new ones, our focus has always been on building long term relationships. Our clients know that we will always be there ready to take care of their needs no matter what the deadline.

New news! Thank you and congratulations to everyone we’ve worked with who submitted projects for the Rochester AIA Awards, including Bergmann Associates, LaBella Associates, Passero Associates, PLAN Architecture, Smith + Associates and SWBR Architects!

In closing, please enjoy the summer! Go sailing if you ever have the opportunity. And plan on celebrating with us later this year when we have our opening party in the Rochester Public Market!

Best regards,

Tim Wilkes