#18 - David Patterson - August 14, 2017 - Steamboat Springs, Colorado

One of my first paying jobs out of college was working as a freelance photographer's assistant in Washington, DC. I started assisting photographers in early 1994. I placed a classified ad in the back of Photo District News that ran for about five years that listed me as an available assistant in Washington, DC.  During those years I probably assisted at least one hundred different editorial, commercial, and architectural photographers who were based all over the United States.  I worked on a lot of photo shoots before I even got my first real assignment. I also worked with a number of Washington, DC based photographers on a regular basis.  David Patterson was one of those local photographers that hired me to help him with his architectural photo shoots.

David called me up in the spring of 1994 to work with him and I immediately took a liking to working with him. David is just nine years older than me but had an immense bank of photographic and business experience under his belt back in 1994.   He also was incredibly easy and fun to work with.   We would often start our photo jobs in the late afternoon and work all night and into the following morning. Architectural photography in commercial spaces often requires that images be made during the night so that the business or office workers are not disturbed.  

David does some very impressive architectural work and travels quite a bit doing it now. Take a look at his site here.  His wife Lance is also an impressive artist/painter, her site is here.   I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that David's brother is one heck of a cinematographer, director, and director of photography. He has worked on a few Hollywood movies. If you don't believe me, see his work here. 

Unfortunately for me, David decided to move to Colorado later in 1994 with his then girlfriend Lance. I helped them move out to Colorado, then I came back to photograph their wedding in 1995 and then in 1997 I solo pedaled my bike from Raleigh, North Carolina to their home in Jamestown, Colorado (just outside Boulder).  I continued to assist David for a few years on occasional photo shoots in the DC area when he would come back to town for work. 

David and Lance moved to Steamboat Springs a few years back and now have three children - two teens and one who is in college.  They renovated their 100-year-old home and both David and Lance work out of a wonderful studio office in the back of their property.  I made some of the images of David around his office and home. We also went to one of David's favorite spots near his home Butcher Knife Canyon to make some of the images.