Bermudian will be photographing Pan Am hockey tournament in Chile
A Bermudian has been selected to be the official photographer for the upcoming Men's Pan American Hockey tournament in Chile.
Alex Masters is now in the South American country to record the prestigious event for posterity. His journey began in Bermuda, with pictures he took of his 15-year-old sister, as she competed with the Bermuda national team in a match against Canada. "I'd posted them on my Facebook page and (a friend) Francesca Cacace, sent me a message saying that I should submit them to the Pan Am site because they were really good. So I did," he said.
The 23-year-old's images so impressed Yan Huckendubler, webmaster for the Pan American Hockey Federation (PAHF), that he asked if they could be used on the official website.
"Apparently more people visit the PAHF site on a daily basis than I'd have imagined," he said. "I had people from the other teams and several parents from the Canadian side ask if that was me, and if there was a way to get a copy of the images."
The overwhelming interest led to Mr. Masters' opportunity to shoot in Chile. He is there now with Bermuda Hockey Federation President Mark Mello, until march 15 when the tournament ends.
His hope is that the event will be a springboard to further opportunities. "The International Hockey Federation will be at the games," he told The Royal Gazette. "My aim is win them over and I may get the chance to go to Argentina to shoot."
Previously a sales associate at PTech, Mr. Masters said he turned his passion of photography into a profession last May.
"After high school I was in England furthering my education prior to me immersing (myself) into photography.
"My dad used to be in the photography profession, which is how I was introduced to photography and when I graduated my mom bought me a little point and shoot camera," he said.
And so developed his love for picture taking.
Mr. Masters said he received on-the-job training by local photographers. "Robert (Big Boi) Daniels had me shoot party scenes for him. I'm not really a people person, I usually like to observe like a fly on the wall, so that opportunity provided me an 'in' to communicate with people."
According to Mr. Masters, his best work was featured in DeviantART's Daily Deviation a website for under-appreciated work. In one day, there were 15,000 'unique views' and 1,700 'favourites' saved, which put it at the second most popular submission in the performance art category. "The picture I submitted on the site was from an In Motion dance school performance," he said.
The photographer said he would like to leave Bermuda and gain experience abroad, before returning to bring what he has learned back here.
He is now in process of building a photography studio. "In Bermuda there are many of us who want to do bigger than what we have the facilities to do. For example, we turn our living rooms in to studios. I am planning on buying industry standard equipment and making the space available to other photographers."
Sports photography is a new venture for him. Much of his work can be seen in wedding albums across the Island. "I'm hoping to survive the wedding season, it's a lot of hard work but it's rewarding when you see the final product and the satisfaction that it brings my clients," he said "I have worked along side Sacha Blackburne who is a lifestyle photographer who does great work."
