We recently connected with Maxwell Williamson and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Maxwell thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?
It was never really an idea to begin with honestly.. During the pandemic I purchased a camera to use as a new hobby and to photograph my children. I created an Instagram account solely for my photography. I did a few photo shoots of friends and family at no cost before I ever accepted a paid shoot. Being so new to the photography world I really didn’t know what route to go with. I wanted to photograph anything and everything from landscape,wildlife and definitely sports. The problem with wanting to cover sports was we were at the height of a pandemic. However, there was one sport that was allowed to continue in my hometown of Stockton,CA. That sport would be dirt track racing at Delta Speedway, a track I went to many races at as a fan in my childhood. I reached out to the track inquiring about the possibility of photographing their next race which they allowed. I went into the track absolutely clueless about sports photography, let alone 20+ race cars going upwards of 70MPH on a small 1/7th mile dirt track. Well thanks to the powers of social media my work started to get out to the masses and the support and feedback was tremendous. Because of that I decided to return race after race. while maintaining my full time job as a cellar worker at Van Ruiten Family Winery in Lodi,CA After a few weeks of covering the races I was eventually asked to cover a race team consisting of two teenage brothers , Austin and Ashton Torgerson, from Glendale,AZ. I was nervous as ever, but the shoot went well, so well I was asked to be their full time team photographer including traveling to other tracks.. I was very fortunate enough to have an amazing and supportive boss and co workers at the winery who allotted me the time off as needed to pursue this new endeavor. After a year of being a part of their race team I was offered a full time position broadening my responsibilities from producing media from micros sprints all the way to Monster Trucks! With this new position came a relocation for my entire family. So my wife Añna, children Makeyna and Maddox, my father Gary and I packed our bags and moved to beautiful Phoenix,AZ. During this span I was constantly trying to learn more be it in person advice from a fellow photographer or countless YouTube tutorials on photography. I can’t tell you how many times I told myself “I’ll never get to the level I want to be” or “just give it up it’s a waste of time and energy..” Thankfully I had an amazing supporting cast who reassured me I was on the right path. We’re now approaching the 3 year mark I’ve been behind the lens and the doors that have opened have been nothing short of unbelievable. I’ve photographed some of the best racecar drivers in the world At several different ranks and 17 different tracks around the country.. I also was offered a position to cover my favorite sport, ice hockey, for prohockeynews.com. My newest adventure I’ve been dabbling in is concert photography. Where I’ve covered a one of my favorite bands, August Burns Red as a freelance photographer. My work from those few concerts eventually turned into an offer to take photos at concerts for Arizona Rock And Metal Magazine. My first two gigs for them is later this month! It’s a lot on my shoulders, but I honestly couldn’t be any more thankful for everyone who’s helped along the way no matter how minimal or how tremendous.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I mostly touched on this in my previous answer. I offer photography services in just about any department who would like to work with me. I’d say I specialize in action sports and aviation photography, but I love challenging myself in other areas. I also do occasional video work from time to time, but photography is where I shine. I would love to work with new clients, if interested I’d love to hear from you!
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
Well I purchased my first camera that included two lenses with money set aside from work finances when I was at the winery. After I started to sell my work that would fund mostly everything aside from room and board as well as travel expenses which was covered by race team. Once I was in a position to upgrade gear I would sell what I no longer needed to help with costs as well.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Freezing a special moment in time for individuals. A photograph can have so much backstory In certain situations, and then I hear someone thanking me for capturing their moment feels so surreal. To myself I’m just enjoying my passion, but to many others my work can mean so much more!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.maxwellpatrickimagery.com
- Instagram: Maxwell_patrick_imagery
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaxwellPatrickImagery
- Youtube: @maddoxsworld1129
- Other: The YouTube channel is my 7 year old sons. It’s relatively new, but I edit all the videos on there besides the shorts.