Right from the start of my first photography class in high school, I knew I had been bitten by “the bug”. I spent all of my free time trying to capture everything, learning to process the images (film developing then), and most importantly, developing an eye. A feel. . . . I shot for my school newspaper all through my Junior and Senior years and even winning an area Photojournalism award for my high school newspaper.

After college, I was hired by KFTY- TV50 in Santa Rosa, CA. I spent 8 years their working my way up to Chief Director where I was responsible for directing 2 newscasts a day, supervising the crew and directing all special events.

I loved the fast pace of directing “a live broadcast”. Whether it was the nightly news or election night coverage or telethons, the adrenaline rush was unbelievable.

I had always loved sports and in 1988, I decided to leave KFTY and try to break into the Bay Area sports freelance scene. I started working for the Oakland A’s in-house Diamondvision crew. The beauty of the Bay Area sports scene is that they had 2 baseball teams, when the A’s were away, I ran camera for the Giants telecasts. I spent 10 seasons with the A’s working my way up to directing their in-stadium show. It was here in the Bay Area, that I really got my “Sports Television” education. I worked on broadcasts for the A’s, Giants, Warriors, Sharks, ESPN and all of the local Colleges.

The San Francisco Bay Area has one of the strongest and most experienced sports television crews in the country. Many work the World Series, Super Bowls and other major events. It was here, that I learned from the “Best of the Best”. . . Sports, is where I really learned to anticipate. Not just the immediate action, but the big picture. Baseball may seem “like watching paint dry”, but covering it “Live” . . . Wow! There are so many stories and scenarios unfolding at once. If you can cover baseball, you can cover anything. . .

Sports is also where I learned to develop an eye. An eye for how people move & react - on and off the field. There’s always a story to tell. It’s the eye, that separates the professional photographer from the rest.

My sports background and my other passion, “playing pool,” led me to “The Women’s Professional Billiards Association.” I spent a few years as a Camerman and Director on many of their ESPN telecasts.

While working in television was exciting and educational, lately, I have been focusing more and more on where it all began - still photography.

In this digital age of instant gratification, my passion gets stronger by the day. I’d like to think my eye is too. There’s nothing more rewarding than for me to look at something I just photographed and say Wow! It’s even better if I hear it from somebody else. . . Enjoy my images.

- Kurtis Goodson

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