Today we’d like to introduce you to Tony Cervati.
Hi Tony, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My photography journey started about 5 years ago. I work in a home office in a technology field and was looking for a break from all the emails, alerts, text messages, etc. that come with that line of work. I started to go for walks in the neighborhood leaving my phone at home just to enjoy completely unplugging for a while.
After a few weeks, I realized that without the distraction of phones and other work related interferences, I was noticing all these amazing things right outside my door. Flowers, birds, butterflies, little insects, water dripping from faucets. All of it.
I wanted to capture some of these things in photos but didn’t want to try to use my cell phone. I decided to try a DSLR, and went on Craigslist to find one. A few days later I was meeting a Durham fire person and picking up a very old and well used Nikon D40 with a 18-55mm lens.
These changed my walks and the way I view the world immensely! I was then not only seeing the wonderful small details the world offers, I was actively LOOKING for them to capture in an image.
That was it… I was hooked. Photography is about the process of how the camera changes how to look at something, or observing the minute details of a subject that otherwise could have been missed.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Although it might make for a boring read… it has been a pretty smooth road.
Picking up a camera does not mean shooting a print worthy image on each shutter click. It about the process, the witnessing of details, and learning the craft to take more amazing and captivating images. Not a lot of obstacles presented with that. LOL
I truly take images that I enjoy. It is absolutely amazing and wonderful that others enjoy them too, for sure!! However, there is usually no “pressure” to capture anything specific at any time.
And that, for me, is one of the things that makes photography so fantastic!!
Sometimes it does get a little more stressful when I am shooting an event or capturing milestone moments for people. You only get one chance to get the shot. However, I just immerse myself in the environment and let myself look for those special details just as I would on those first photography walks.
It always comes out wonderfully.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I consider myself a nature, aviation, lifestyle, and event photographer.
I try to use the power of photography to find the extraordinary in everyday places, and to celebrate the wonderful magic of nature all around us. Images can portray the full beauty of nature, how fragile it is, and the need to be the best caretakers possible of our planet & all its inhabitants.
Chiefly I am naturally drawn to subjects capable of flight such as birds, airplanes, or new and old spacecraft. In particular, our feathered friends bring me so much joy, peace, and calm when I watch them. I try to photograph them in as much detail as possible so I am able relive that moment once they continue on their way.
What I think sets me apart in my photography, especially my bird photography, is the attention to detail in the subject itself. I like to create an image, say of bird, that catches the viewers eye as a scene in nature. Then, upon further inspection, when zoomed in, the world of patterns in feathers, marks on the beak, and striations in the eye take the viewer deeper into the experience.
I like to think of it as a sort of reward for the viewer for taking the time to look deeper. To pause on the image and take in the particulars. To see the subject differently than can be viewed with the naked eye.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Everyone needs to take some level of risk – leaps of faith if you will – in order to achieve a goal, improve on a particular skill, or experience something new. I take risks mainly to concentrate on the later.
For example my girlfriend Mary and I enjoy being on the motorcycle together. We enjoy moving through the environment while not being isolated from it. The sounds are different, the feeling of the ever changing temperatures, the connection with what is around us.
The motorcycle we currently have we found used down in Tampa, FL. It was exactly what we had been looking for, it had a great story, and was super low mileage. Mary and I boarded a plane at RDU with just our helmets and riding gear, flew to Tampa, and took a car to the dealer where it was.
An hour later we were on the motorcycle and road it the 700 miles straight back home to Durham. Was our first two up trip that was longer than an hour. It was a risk, of course, but the adventure alone was SO worth it.
As a note there is huge difference in taking a risk, and being reckless. Being reckless is completely unnecessary – like trying to ski a black diamond run when you have never skied before. It’s just foolish. LOL
Pricing:
- $175/hr for events and portrait sessions
- $75 for a 30 minute mini-portrait/headshot session
- I am ALWAYS open to discuss special projects or ideas.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tonycervatiphotography.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonytookthatphotography/
- Other: https://linktr.ee/TonyCPhotography
