We recently connected with David Parker and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, David thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

I don’t know how much different it is, but I plan, plan and plan more. I do a lot research on a course before photographing it that what seems to be the only thing I cannot control is the weather and skies.

David, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started back in 2004 or 2005 and was photographing landscapes and buildings. A friend suggested I share some of my work and convinced me to join Flickr, which was a huge community back then. I would look at maps and locations online and scout out what was around a destination and I’d just drive with my cameras and see what I would find. I’d built a fairly large image collection of various places across the Midwest; from bridges to barns and anything in between.

Unfortunately to do so, I played a lot less golf. Tired of dealing with a compromise of either photographing sunrises and sunsets, I decided to bring my camera to the course one day and the results were decent. It was similar to photographing a landscape or structure but the main subject was the golf course green instead of a bridge or building.

I tried to juggle doing both landscapes and golfscapes, but the golf work won out as I felt that I could do better, consistent work on the golf course than driving around trying to find a new location that someone may not have photographed yet, or finding a different angle on a subject.

My clients all love the work I produce and it is a great feeling seeing it out in the public. I’m currently working with one client who is interested in ordering a lot of metal and paper prints of my images to sell to their members and to display in their clubhouse, so it isn’t always social media or online marketing that the images are used for. The images help boost more interest in the golf club or course, and in turn brings in more clients for them.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Buying equipment is always tricky in the beginning. I used to collect old skateboards and had a newish Canon film camera which I ended up selling off to purchase my first digital SLR camera. Anything else I need for the business I now only purchase with money that the business has brought in. I’d really love to get my hands on something like a Nikon Z9, but if I don’t have the income from photographing golf courses or selling printwork then I don’t buy it. It is too easy to get into debt with buying equipment, but is much easier if you have a product you can sell and bring in money to save towards those items.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

One of the most rewarding aspects of being an artist is seeing my work out in the world. It is a great feeling of walking into a clubhouse and seeing your work on the wall, on a scorecard, or checking social media and seeing images you’ve created online.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.parkergolfphotography.com
• Instagram: @parker_golf_photography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParkerGolfPhotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/david-a.-parker-photography

Image Credits
©2022 Parker Golf Photography