Hands-On Photography 152 Transcript
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Ant Pruitt (00:00:00):
Today on Hands On Photography, I am joined by a, he's flat out photography legend. Mr. Kevin A. Reese, sits down with me and we're just going to go through a bit of a, a, a journey back in time in his photography career and just get some bits and, and, and pieces of knowledge and, and just all kinds of great photography nuggets that I just found fascinating. Some great stories, some great images. And Mr. Kevin is a lot of fun. Y'all <laugh>, y'all are really gonna dig this conversation. Y'all stay tuned.
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Ant Pruitt (00:00:40):
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(00:01:15):
Hey, what's going on everybody? I'm Matt Pruitt. I hope you're doing well. I am unbelievable as always. This is hands on photography here on twit.tv. This is a fine show where I like to sit down and share different tips and tricks that are gonna help make you a better photographer as well as a better post processor. And every now and then, I am honored and blessed with opportunities to sit down with other professional photographers out here in this world that are doing some great things, and they always have some interesting stories and interesting tips to share with you. Delo Hands on photography listener. Now this week we do have a guest, but allow me a few minutes before we bring the guest on. First, I just wanna say thank you and welcome to all of you that are joining us for the very first time.
(00:01:57):
I really do appreciate all of that support. Go ahead and, and just go ahead and subscribe right now whatever podcast application you're using. Yeah, I know Apple Podcast is the king of all of the apps, but there's other apps out there too. They're Spotify, there's Overcast, there's even YouTube. Yes, we podcast to our YouTube channel as well. Subscribe there, like share all of that magical algorithmic stuff. Really does help out to show, helps push us up in rating. So I really do appreciate that. Secondly, my voice sounds weird today. Yes, you probably notice I want to apologize for that. But then again, I shouldn't apologize because I was yelling at a football game all weekend. And when you're a passionate football fan like myself and you go to the games live, yes, you will yell and this is what your voice is gonna sound like for a few days.
(00:02:45):
So that isn't neither here that day. Anyway, hey, we got a guest this week. Today I'm sitting down with Mr. Kevin Reece. He is an unbelievable photographer with a quite a storied history. He's been doing this, doing this craft and skill for a very, very long time. And I can't wait to just sit down and pick his brain and hopefully, you know, he's gonna share some little nuggets with me that's gonna help me get a little bit better. And maybe we'll share those tips with y'all too. I mean, I'm selfish. I just wanna get all the goodies and tips for myself. Kidding, kidding, kidding. Anyway, Mr. Kevin Reece is here in, in, in California. He's been shooting for the nfl, he's been shooting for the nba, he's been shooting for the Major Lee. He's been shooting a little bit of everything. It's not just the sports photographer, it's so much more than that. But let's go ahead and bring 'em all Mr. Kevin. How you doing, sir?
Kevin Reece (00:03:34):
Yeah, good, good, good to be on with you, man,
Ant Pruitt (00:03:39):
Sir, I really do appreciate you, you joining me today. And, and it's, it's an honor to have you on going back through and just looking at your history and looking at the things you shoot. And we have a mutual friend
Kevin Reece (00:03:52):
Oh yeah. Oh yeah.
Ant Pruitt (00:03:53):
<Laugh>. And we're talking about Mr. Mr. Tara Lloyd Tara Lloyd down there with the 49ers mm-hmm. <Affirmative> football team. Yeah. He, he and I talked here and there, you know, cuz he is a little busy right now, now that football season is gone. But he's such a great dude and he had nothing but nice things to say about you and I really, Oh,
Kevin Reece (00:04:13):
I would probably see him on Sunday. Yep.
Ant Pruitt (00:04:15):
Ts the season <laugh> ti the season. So you'll, you'll be shooting with him on the sidelines here and running around and running circles around him, I'm sure. Right?
Kevin Reece (00:04:25):
No, well, <laugh>, I, I used to, but, but I, I don't, I don't run those circles as fast as I used to.
Ant Pruitt (00:04:33):
<Laugh>. So, Mr. Kevin, tell us a little about you and, and, and what you've been doing over the years. You know the, the typical question that photographers get is, Hey, say, what was the first camera you got? I'm not gonna ask you that. But I, but what I do want to know is, what got you interested in the world of photography, you know, all of these years ago? Was it just just accessibility or, or, or was it in particular that got you into photography?
Kevin Reece (00:05:01):
Well, if you, if you wanna know that it has <laugh>, how many hours do we have
Ant Pruitt (00:05:06):
<Laugh>?
Kevin Reece (00:05:08):
Well, if you, you know, I'll, I'll give you to read his digest version really. I mean, you know my, my mother was really into taking photos and that really kind of started it there. Okay. and I have, I, to this day, I still have some of those photos that she took many, many, many years ago. And then when I was in junior high school or middle school mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, I took, I joined a camera club there. And then when I got to high school God blessed me with a teacher who took me. And I, you know, I wouldn't even be talking to you right now if it hadn't been for my high school photography teacher, God rest his soul.
Ant Pruitt (00:05:58):
Now, that's, that's a pretty strong statement, really.
Kevin Reece (00:06:01):
Oh, oh, oh, for sure. You know,
Ant Pruitt (00:06:04):
Sure. Some of us, it, it's, some of us are fortunate to have a person that sort of just happened to be placed into our lives, you know, beyond our control. There's two people in my head right now, and they're my coaches that I love dearly. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, those, those two cats. They change my life as a young teenager. So it sounds like this was a bit of the same thing for you with your Well,
Kevin Reece (00:06:28):
Yeah. Yeah. But I ran track also, so I had coaches too mm-hmm. <Affirmative> I still do my running did it tonight. But that man changed my life. He really did. Yeah. You know, and I, and I came from a very good family. My mother's father were together until my father passed. Right. And then my mother passed and I have cousins and, and, and so on and so forth. So I came from a very good family. But my photography teacher really is my is my mentor. And he, he took me to my very first photo show.
Ant Pruitt (00:07:08):
Okay.
Kevin Reece (00:07:10):
In high school and paid for the ride on a subway. I'm from Brooklyn, New York, so I'm from dead style Brooklyn,
Ant Pruitt (00:07:16):
Dead style. All
Kevin Reece (00:07:17):
Right. Oh, yeah, You would die
Ant Pruitt (00:07:19):
<Laugh> bitty. And he's got his shirt on. There you go.
Kevin Reece (00:07:25):
But, but I mean, no, he was a total inspiration. And I mean, I could, we can go on for hours, I could tell you about him, but he is really, really the foundation, I have to say that mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. And in fact, he came, the last time I saw him, he came to my show. I had photos at a show in New York mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. And he came to that show that night and brought his grandson and, and it was pouring ring that night, <laugh> in New York too. But he came to that show and and unfortunately at the time, I didn't know that would be the last time I saw him. But but he, he's really there. And, and then I just took it. My cousin was a radio reporter in Washington, and he got me, believe it or not, back in the day when you could call up a team and be from a radio station and ask for photo passes,
Ant Pruitt (00:08:25):
<Laugh>, you know, things are just a little bit different now, huh. Yeah.
Kevin Reece (00:08:30):
They, you know, a lot different. And they went for it. And really, that's kinda how I got started, really, to be honest with you. And then I took the ball and I just ran with it. Nice. And and I really haven't put GA really since high school. I haven't put the camera down since, Really.
Ant Pruitt (00:08:48):
That's awesome. So it was sports that sort of drew you in more to the genre, or, or was it other types of photography that
Kevin Reece (00:08:56):
No, I, I, I mean, you know, I I, I had always been doing, you know, I, I, I want, I, I won a local, getting back to my high school days mm-hmm. <Affirmative> I won a local photo contest. I want first place in a local photo contest.
Ant Pruitt (00:09:13):
Nice.
Kevin Reece (00:09:14):
And I won second place and a national photo contest.
Ant Pruitt (00:09:18):
Good grief,
Kevin Reece (00:09:19):
<Laugh>. Yeah. In high school.
Ant Pruitt (00:09:21):
Nice.
Kevin Reece (00:09:22):
And, and that's when I kinda figured, okay, well, you know I ain't gonna make a living running track, you know, And back then they had to pro track league or whatever it was, tour. Mm-Hmm. I guess that's what it was. And I kinda figured that, and I said, Okay, well maybe I should focus in on this. And, and so that's kind what, how it kind played out. And then you know, I, I was doing other types of photography and then I kept, again, my cousin kept getting me into these games mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, and then I, you know, I started taking them to, again, a completely different industry at the time. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> I started taking 'em to all these magazines and newspapers, and they liked the work. And again, you know, I, I just kept banging our doors and, and, and kept shooting games. And like they say, the rest is hysterical.
Ant Pruitt (00:10:22):
Well, alright. So I'm, I'm sure there has been a lot of changes, but there's one thing, at least in, in my experience that hasn't changed, is it takes a bit of a motor. It takes a bit of some, you know, some self-motivation and self driver to, to say, You know what? I need to go, You're not knocking on doors anymore. Now it's, I need to email these people. I need to call these people. I need to email 'em over and over and over again. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> at least that's my experience is that's still the same today. You still need to be able to make connections
Kevin Reece (00:10:54):
These days. It, it's kinda, you know, agency driven, uhhuh you know, and my, my role in the industry is completely different from what Terrell Lloyd does. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. So we both have like, completely different approaches to the whole business. Right.
Ant Pruitt (00:11:18):
Okay.
Kevin Reece (00:11:18):
Right. And, and so you know, I, I work with I work with my main client these days as we speak is I'm working with a newspaper here in Southern California. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> Antelope Valley Press. Okay. Okay. And I work with them. I basically only cover pro sports here in Los Angeles. And like, there's, there's, there's almost a game every night in Los Angeles.
Ant Pruitt (00:11:46):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Kevin Reece (00:11:53):
Ok. You know, every weekend, that's for sure. But almost every night you know 365, I would say <laugh>, three 40 of them, you know.
Ant Pruitt (00:12:06):
That's crazy.
Kevin Reece (00:12:08):
Yeah. There's a game here in Los Angeles of some type. And so I basically work with them now. And also I, I do assignments for ap
Ant Pruitt (00:12:18):
Right.
Kevin Reece (00:12:19):
And a couple of other agencies. And that's pretty much where I work right now. That's where my concentration is right now.
Ant Pruitt (00:12:28):
Now, what was it like for you, started out trying to build the relationships with those, with those different agencies that are out there? Because nowadays everybody has some type of marketing team, some type of PR firm or, or team, if you will, or even some type of PR agency that they specifically work with. What was it like? Well,
Kevin Reece (00:12:52):
Give me the names of those. Cause I could use some of those <laugh>, gimme some names and emails. I use some of those. But, but I, you know, I, I've been in the business a long time. Mm-Hmm. And, you know, I I you used the word relationships. So I have relationships with people. I've been working with 10, 15 and some of 'em 20 years, you know. Wow. Wow. So they know they know me. They know what to expect from me. I know what to expect from them. Right. I, I, I, I, I trust them in their decisions and so on and so forth. Right. So you know but I, I probably could use some, some PR firm to, to promote my work. Yeah.
Ant Pruitt (00:13:45):
Well, I don't necessarily want to give them a plug or anything, but I've worked with a company called Edelman, and I believe they're down there in your area, in southern California. Okay.
Kevin Reece (00:13:55):
Well,
Ant Pruitt (00:13:55):
We can, I'll give them your, your, your information. Yeah. I, I've worked with them on, on covering events in the past. Like with Adobe, they're, they're, they were my first end with Adobe and handling their events and so forth. And I've worked with them on a couple other products here and there. And it's, they're just great. I've, And like you, like you said, it's a relationship because Twit being a podcast network, we get a lot of different PR folks, marketing folks reaching out to us all the time, all day long. Hey, my client so and so would be a great fit as a guest on your show. You know, that's usually the pitch that we get. And a lot of times it's, it's a lot of stuff that you've never even heard of. Some things you probably don't want to be associated with or whatever, but that's, they're doing their job, they're doing that type of marketing. They're just casting a wide net. I get that. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. So when you talk to people, especially in our industry, being able to connect with one or two particular PR folks, it, it makes a big difference because it's a, it's a legit relationship. I know my agents by name and can call 'em, email 'em or what have you, and they're gonna help me out if it's, if it's time for me to get a story covered or whatnot, you know, So
Kevin Reece (00:15:17):
I've never had an agent mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. That's, that's, that's, I've worked with agencies, uhhuh to sell my photos, but I've never personally had an
Ant Pruitt (00:15:25):
Agent. Oh, no, no, no. I'm not saying I have an agent. I'm just saying I know the, the representatives at the agency that can help, you know, it, steer the road and get me in the doors. Okay. Of said client, that kind of thing. It's been, it's been fun trying to build those relationships, and it's been bumpy here and there, but it's just a nice learning experience been. And it all boiled down to former relationship, former relationship. Just be genuine and, and, and you'll be all right. And you clearly have done that <laugh>. So I need to be getting into getting more into your head now. I wanted to, I wanna pull up a couple images here real quick here. So let me see if I could switch my screen. This one here, this one here in particular, you know that guy <laugh>?
Kevin Reece (00:16:08):
Yeah. That guy tap me on the shoulder at a 49ers game about five years ago,
Ant Pruitt (00:16:16):
<Laugh>.
Kevin Reece (00:16:18):
And, you know, you know what's interesting? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> about that, First of all did you know that was a pro bowler?
Ant Pruitt (00:16:26):
I did not know that.
Kevin Reece (00:16:28):
Yes. See, I knew, Are you
Ant Pruitt (00:16:29):
Serious?
Kevin Reece (00:16:30):
As a heart attack?
Ant Pruitt (00:16:32):
Oh, dude. See, he didn't even tell me that. He, he's told, he has told me a lot of things on the phone here recently,
Kevin Reece (00:16:38):
<Laugh>. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't think you knew that, but
Ant Pruitt (00:16:42):
He left that.
Kevin Reece (00:16:44):
Yeah. Yeah. Him up with that.
Ant Pruitt (00:16:46):
Oh,
Kevin Reece (00:16:46):
He on the pro.
Ant Pruitt (00:16:48):
Nice. He was a PBA guy. That's awesome.
Kevin Reece (00:16:51):
I don't know if it was pva, but, but, but I know he was a pro bowler, that's for sure.
Ant Pruitt (00:16:55):
That's fascinating. But
Kevin Reece (00:16:58):
That's for sure. Yeah.
Ant Pruitt (00:16:59):
And it explains a lot too, though, because there's a certain bit of calculation in the world of Bowl and people, the way they see things, you know them cats. Yeah, Yeah, them cats. They, they could see the Dagum oil on the lane, like nobody's business, you know? So, Yeah.
Kevin Reece (00:17:14):
But Wow. You know, But, but, but, but Ter is, well, first of all, we're, we're, we're very good friends. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, and, and you, I've stayed at his house and he stayed at my house down here in LA mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. And you know he, he, he, when he was on your show, he mentioned that when he was starting out, some people were icy and didn't wanna like, talk him and whatnot. Yeah. But he also said that there were a couple of guys that did talk to him mm-hmm.
Ant Pruitt (00:17:49):
<Affirmative> mm-hmm.
Kevin Reece (00:17:50):
<Affirmative>. And I was one of 'em,
Ant Pruitt (00:17:51):
<Laugh>. Ok. That's
Kevin Reece (00:17:53):
Awesome. And I, I, to this day, I, I can't remember the, the specific game, but I remember him at, at, at 49 a game there at Candlestick. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And cuz I used to go up there all the time. I worked for, for many years, I've worked for Tops Trading card.
Ant Pruitt (00:18:10):
Oh, wow. I
Kevin Reece (00:18:11):
Remember many years. Wow. For many years. Yeah. And, and remember we didn't have pro football here in LA for, I think it was 27 years, or was 26 years, or whatever it was. I think it was 27 years. We didn't have pro football. 20, No, 28 years. Wow. We didn't have pro football here in la. So they used to send me up to San Francisco, Denver, Seattle, San Diego on a regular basis. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, and then I was candlestick almost every other weekend. You know, if it wasn't, if it wasn't Candlestick, then it was across the bay Over and Oak.
Ant Pruitt (00:18:51):
Right. Right. You
Kevin Reece (00:18:52):
Know, and, and so I remember covering a game one day there at Candlestick, and, and this brother tasked me on the shoulder, and, and it was, and it was I didn't know his name at the time mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. But, but, you know, he, he was asking me all these questions and I remember he came, he came up with a a cannon. I, I wanna, I wanna say a f1
Ant Pruitt (00:19:15):
That sounds
Kevin Reece (00:19:17):
Rights. One with a 72, 10, 28
Ant Pruitt (00:19:21):
Mm-Hmm.
Kevin Reece (00:19:21):
<Affirmative>. And, and he looked at me, he started asking me questions, and I remember I looked at him and he, and he, and he will attest to this, to this day mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, I looked at him, I said, I said, Dude, you see all these dudes out here with these four two eights and these three, two eights and these 600 fours.
Ant Pruitt (00:19:40):
Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Kevin Reece (00:19:42):
I
Ant Pruitt (00:19:42):
Said, 300 is like the minimum <laugh>
Kevin Reece (00:19:44):
Minimum those would have a converter on.
Ant Pruitt (00:19:47):
Right.
Kevin Reece (00:19:48):
Yeah. You know, Cause I used to that I said, Man, you wanna come out here? I said, Dude, you, you gotta play the game. Like these dudes
Ant Pruitt (00:19:58):
Are right.
Kevin Reece (00:19:59):
You see me with my 4, 2, 8, don't you?
Ant Pruitt (00:20:02):
Right. <laugh>. So you just gave it to him straight?
Kevin Reece (00:20:05):
Yeah, I gave to play. Its just like these dudes playing the game in front of you, you gotta play the game just like David. Right.
Ant Pruitt (00:20:13):
Right.
Kevin Reece (00:20:14):
And he never forgot that. He ne he brings that up all the time. And he said that, that that's, that transformed him. Yeah. That was like a what, what an epiphany or something.
Ant Pruitt (00:20:26):
Epiphany, Yeah. <Laugh>. Yeah.
Kevin Reece (00:20:28):
And he said that's what, like, that's when he went and bought the equipment and started investing in more equipment. And, and one thing was to another. And now he's a superstar. And I, and I, I'm so proud of him. I really am. I really am.
Ant Pruitt (00:20:42):
Yeah. He put in, he put in all of the work, you know, like yes, he, he invested in himself, but he also put in a lot of hours to really get better at that craft. And it's, it was just talking to him and listening to his story, It was so dak I inspirational.
Kevin Reece (00:20:56):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, and, and, and, and from background too.
Ant Pruitt (00:21:01):
Right. He's an IT guy.
Kevin Reece (00:21:05):
You know, I, I, me, I, I, I, you know, I went to school for photography. I a graduat of the school of Visual Arts in New York. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. So but, but no, that's my man. That's my man. Was the, that photo was taken at the last game of the season last year. Cause the last, the Rams last home game was against the 49ers.
Ant Pruitt (00:21:32):
Just the 49ers. That's right. Yeah.
Kevin Reece (00:21:35):
And that was the game where they 49ers came in and beat them and made the playoffs, but the Rams and made the playoffs, but they didn't win the division
Ant Pruitt (00:21:45):
Didn't win a division.
Kevin Reece (00:21:47):
Right. And, and that, that photo was taken at that
Ant Pruitt (00:21:50):
That's awesome.
Kevin Reece (00:21:51):
At that
Ant Pruitt (00:21:51):
Time. That's awesome. Down there in, in SoFi Stadium.
Kevin Reece (00:21:55):
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Ant Pruitt (00:21:56):
Yeah. Good stuff. Good stuff. This episode of Hands on Photography is brought to you by Na Reva. Today's it pros are in a tough spot. The shift to hybrid working and learning means they must equip and support more spaces with audio and video conferencing systems at the same time. They're busier than ever with network security and the shift to cloud based solutions and infrastructure issues. And the list goes on and on. Whew. I gotta tell you, I don't miss those IT days at all. These factors along with product shortages and delays have put an unprecedented strain on IT. Resources, you know, people time, expertise, and budgets. This is driven customers to demand intelligent products that require minimal effort from IT to deploy and manage at scale. That's the key at scale with the bonus of requiring zero end user training on the top of that.
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Kevin Reece (00:25:10):
I think that's the same, that's the same game. Mike,
Ant Pruitt (00:25:12):
I assume that it was <laugh>. Cause I'm looking at the jerseys. Yeah, I'm looking at the jerseys, like, Yeah, that looks like their current, the the current Rams jersey. Cuz I can tell from the color gradients on the numbers and so forth. Right, right. But, but again, shooting football for, you know, Yes, I shoot high school football, I don't get, I haven't been able to shoot pro ball or anything like that mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. But in my experience, I try to sort of plan out my shot based on where I think the ball is going. And I find that it tends to have, tends to create a much more dynamic and bit of energy in the shot. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> especially if you have the reach, you clearly have the reach on this one. I don't know if you're using a 400 or 600, but you clearly have some reach on this shot. But what is your approach when it comes to shooting for football games? Be it the, Well,
Kevin Reece (00:26:04):
Going back to what you just said, you, you can do that if you want. You can try to pre think out the photo, but mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, it's very, it's very difficult mm-hmm. <Affirmative> to do that. And we what that is, I use Sony equipment mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, Okay. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, I'm ay shooter. And that's, that lens is A2 600 I think it's a three five to six three. Mm
Ant Pruitt (00:26:39):
Wow.
Kevin Reece (00:26:39):
Okay. Nice. Yeah. Yeah.
Ant Pruitt (00:26:41):
Three, five.
Kevin Reece (00:26:43):
Yeah. And so and as far as a play like that, that's, that's what I call a a string it out play. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, you know you, you start on the quarterback mm-hmm. <Affirmative> you start on Matthew Stafford in that case mm-hmm. <Affirmative> mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. And then you just have to, you have to string it out. I guess that's the best way to describe that. You know, it, it, it, it, he gets the ball out, obviously he got it out to cup, cup flat on that mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, and you, you know, you just have wherever the ball goes, you, you play with now you can, you can, sometimes you can anticipate it mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, you know I call it like baseball. You can guess at it <laugh>, but you know, sometimes you, you, you lose as in sometimes you win. Right. So it, it's kinda a, it's kinda, in my opinion, it's a, well, I know this is gonna sound simplistic, but to me, most sports covering sports is luck and angles. Mm-Hmm.
Ant Pruitt (00:27:57):
<Affirmative>, No. That, that, that's, that's legit <laugh> that's legit.
Kevin Reece (00:28:03):
Because, you know, you know, it, it, you know, he could have, he could have got the ball around the other way. Sure. Could know. And then you, you, you, Jack, you know what, outta luck mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. And so you just have to, you just have to be looking for, you have to be looking for it and just catch it. If it's there, if it's there, you catch it. If it's not, then okay, next play. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, you know, you know, you can't, it's hard to predict that, you know, because you just never know what, you certainly don't know what those coaches are thinking up upstairs. Right. Right. And where that ball's gonna go and what, who they think they can take a, what defensive back did they can take advantage of mm-hmm. And so on. And so, I mean, you played the game. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, I'm,
Ant Pruitt (00:28:49):
Yeah. And, and, and, and, and I don't want people to sit here and think that I'm trying to be some type of magical genie and, and, and know where the ball's going. No, I, I don't necessarily mean that. What I what I mean by it is, I know it's third down and eight and and they've been getting stuffed on the run for a quarter and a half. They're probably not gonna try to run a power left, power off left tackle, more than likely they're gonna try to run like a dig route, nine yards in. Because the, the NFL game is really, really precise on that, you know? Yeah. And so that's where I sort of try to point my lens, you know, on the high school level or what have you, I, I know the down in distance and I'm sort of trying to point my lens about, Oh, they're probably gonna do this. And, and again, it's a luck. Sometimes it works out and sometimes they totally just go the direction
Kevin Reece (00:29:37):
Know.
Ant Pruitt (00:29:41):
You know, it's so precise with those guys. Yeah. I, I would love it. Yeah. What I love it.
Kevin Reece (00:29:45):
<Laugh>. Yeah. And <laugh>. And, and, you know, I had a, my son played high school ball and two years of college ball mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, and any pro will tell you that the difference between junior high school, high school, college and pro is the speed of the
Ant Pruitt (00:30:03):
Game. Speed. Speed. <Laugh>, I play college ball. And it was so much faster. So much faster.
Kevin Reece (00:30:10):
Yeah. Yeah. You, and that's the thing, I, you know, defensive back like
Ant Pruitt (00:30:18):
Yeah.
Kevin Reece (00:30:19):
On him, like, Oh my god, you know, and, you know, 300 pound defensive linemen,
Ant Pruitt (00:30:26):
They can line back. Yep. They can scoot too.
Kevin Reece (00:30:29):
Yeah. You know, and so that's the thing, you know, you know, a hole closes up in the blink of an eye mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, you know, and that's come you very rarely see. Rare, You know, I saw something rare this past weekend when I did the chargers and the
Ant Pruitt (00:30:49):
Sea hawks. Yeah.
Kevin Reece (00:30:50):
Right. And the Chargers scored a safety. Okay. And, you know, you don't see a lot of safety.
Ant Pruitt (00:31:01):
Not in the nfl. Nope. <laugh>
Kevin Reece (00:31:04):
No. You see a lot of, and I got it. It was right in front of me too. That's awesome. And so I got the whole sequence and like, you know, so that's very rare, you know, And, and it's like, it's like, I also say like, in baseball at play, at home plate, those are rare.
Ant Pruitt (00:31:20):
Right, Right.
Kevin Reece (00:31:22):
You know, And and so you just have to be ready for it. That's all.
Ant Pruitt (00:31:27):
Right. Now, again, just looking at your preparation with an NFL game my understanding is, is everything is sort of roped off for the press photography, and there's the, the whole dotted line and, you know, a virtual rope, if you will almost like you have a, a photo pit like you would in a concert. How, what is your thought process far as navigating that? Do you take into account down in distance, or, or
Kevin Reece (00:31:55):
No, no, no.
Ant Pruitt (00:31:56):
You just wanna camp out or
Kevin Reece (00:31:58):
No, no. First of all, there's no ropes. Okay. now if you wanna talk about a pit baseball. Yeah. You were in a photo, well, <laugh>. Okay. Right. And so you can't you know you've only got pending on the stadium mm-hmm. <Affirmative> you've only got about four locations that you can shoot from. Okay. That's, that's baseball. Okay. Right. Right. But, and as now you're right there, there's a, there's actually, there's two lines. There's a white line and a yellow line mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, and you can, if you want to, you can go up to the white line, and, but you have to kneel. You have to go down, down on you knee. Right. The yellow line. You could stand and you can go anyway. The only place you cannot go is ary. Right.
Ant Pruitt (00:32:47):
Yeah. That's normally boxed off with paint on.
Kevin Reece (00:32:50):
Right. Well, but it's the same line. Right. It's the same line. And so, and none of us, we all, you know, we're all pros. We all been doing this for a long time, so we know where we can go. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, we know what we can do, and none of us wants to get kicked out. Right.
Ant Pruitt (00:33:06):
<Laugh>, so, Right.
Kevin Reece (00:33:08):
So I, you know, and, and, and all the security knows us. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> and, and basically here in Los Angeles, I would say there's really only about 30, maybe, maybe 40 of us that cover all the teams, and we at all the games. Mm-Hmm. And we all know each other, and all security knows us. So there's never, never an issue.
Ant Pruitt (00:33:31):
That's awesome. That's, that's awesome.
Kevin Reece (00:33:33):
And I'm sure it's the same in Bay Area in New York, Chicago, you know? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. So everybody, everybody, you know, everybody trying to make a living. Yeah. You know, and, and so there's never any issues, but no, I can go in the end zone. You know, you have to kneel in the end zone. That's the only thing. I try to I'm not as young as I used to be, so I try to avoid going down on my knees a lot. But I have knee pads and everything, and so I'm prepared for that, you know? But no, there's no, no. Like I said, you know everybody, everybody's professional and everybody's trying to make it look mm-hmm.
Ant Pruitt (00:34:16):
<Affirmative>. Nice. Now, I wanna pivot into another shot here, because again, you've been doing this for a very, very long time. Yes, sir. Okay. You've been shooting for a very long time. And this particular image right here is
Kevin Reece (00:34:31):
<Laugh>. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ant Pruitt (00:34:33):
This is proof of how long Mr. Reese has been doing this. You know, this is the legendary Lakers and Celtics rivalry. Oh, man.
Kevin Reece (00:34:44):
That's in that's I wanna say game 6 84.
Ant Pruitt (00:34:49):
Oh my gosh. I saw that. And I'm like, just the, the thought of being down there on that baseline in, in
Kevin Reece (00:34:57):
The NBA finals. I think it's game six. I think it's game six. The caption will, I, I, I know the caption will tell you <laugh>, but at the time, at the time, I didn't, nobody knew, but I think it's six Hall of Famers in one photo.
Ant Pruitt (00:35:15):
Isn't that crazy? Just
Kevin Reece (00:35:17):
<Laugh>. Yeah. I think, I think it's six. Yeah.
Ant Pruitt (00:35:21):
Unbelievable. Is worthy. There's Kareem, there's Parish, there's Bet, there's Johnson. Just, Oh, I, I, I saw this and I got chills, man. Yeah.
Kevin Reece (00:35:31):
I've sold that quite a few times. Donated it to to a fundraiser. I, I was I was I went to summer camp nine summer straight as a youth and a teenager. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And the summer camp that I worked at in in about 30, 40 miles north of Boston had their 100th birthday. Or should I say anniversary? Last, no, it was back in June. It was this year. It was this year. I went back for the, I went back for the 100th anniversary and they auctioned that photo off. I don I donated that photo for an auction.
Ant Pruitt (00:36:21):
Nice.
Kevin Reece (00:36:21):
And they, and they got a nice piece of change for it.
Ant Pruitt (00:36:24):
Nice. Yeah. That is, that is awesome. But, you know,
Kevin Reece (00:36:27):
And also, you know, and that was a costly photo because if you go back if you go back and watch I, again, I think it was the game six. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, the Celtics won that and that, and they won that game, and they won the finals. They beat the Lakers and the fans stormed the floor that night. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And you now you asked for some crazy stories,
Ant Pruitt (00:36:53):
<Laugh>. So, you know,
Kevin Reece (00:36:55):
That's, I I'm pretty, It was that night. I, I don't hold me to that, but I'm pretty sure it was that night. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> and it was a stampede.
Ant Pruitt (00:37:04):
Right,
Kevin Reece (00:37:05):
Right. Okay. I'm sure it
Ant Pruitt (00:37:07):
Boston Gardens,
Kevin Reece (00:37:08):
Man. Yeah, yeah. Your fans can, It's, I'm sure it's on YouTube and, and it like everything else. And they, they, they stormed the floor that night. And I, I, I, to to this day, I can remember, I, I felt like I was in the middle of a stampeded,
Ant Pruitt (00:37:27):
<Laugh>.
Kevin Reece (00:37:28):
And, and, and I mean, they were just from all angles. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, I, I, I, I've got by the, I've got photos <laugh>. Right.
Ant Pruitt (00:37:35):
<Laugh>
Kevin Reece (00:37:36):
And was crazy that night. And, and I just, you know, I, I, but I live to tell, so Yeah.
Ant Pruitt (00:37:44):
<Laugh>, you know, when I'm, I'm looking again, I'm looking at this image here. Let's see. So I'm, I'm looking at this image and it's just so that gum iconic, I mean, just perfect timing. Do you remember what you were shooting with to capture this?
Kevin Reece (00:37:58):
Oh, yeah. Well, the, I, I call those the film days.
Ant Pruitt (00:38:03):
Of course. Of course.
Kevin Reece (00:38:05):
So I'm pretty sure I had my F1 Canon f1. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Cause in those days I was using the Canon f1. I might, by that point, I might was a four. So I had been shooting for a reasonable amount of time by then mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, and I probably had it can at a, I had, by then I was using two cameras mm-hmm. <Affirmative> which I still do today, but Right. Probably a Canada AE one program also. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, I remember. Yeah. And that's probably with my 85 lens, I, I, I suspect, I think that's what it, but by then I, but by then I had a 202 8 also. Mm.
Ant Pruitt (00:38:57):
I barely stepped up, man. 2, 2, 2 8 on a basketball court. Oh
Kevin Reece (00:39:02):
My. Yeah. Yeah. That's good question. You know, that's one of the things about digitals, one's things I about digital. There's a few things I don't like about it. Right. But but that's one of the things about
Ant Pruitt (00:39:20):
It. Now, there's another iconic photograph here that I want to just still just sort of going back into the, the vault, if you will. Let me switch the screen here. This image here.
Kevin Reece (00:39:30):
Ah, yeah,
Ant Pruitt (00:39:32):
Man. The one
Kevin Reece (00:39:34):
I have. Yeah. My son has that on his wall.
Ant Pruitt (00:39:37):
Oh my goodness. Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls, Michael, his Airness, Air Jordan, Chicago balls going in with the bit of a kiss, the rim slam dunk
Kevin Reece (00:39:49):
That's in that's in the old LA sports arena, that was guest clippers. And that arena doesn't even exist anymore. That they tore it down for the new a ffc I think it's Bank of America Stadium. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> on the same spot. But I remember the, the thing I remember most about that game was I was covering Clippers on a regular basis by then, cuz I had moved to the West. Cause that I had moved to the West coast by then. I, I moved to the West Coast in November of 86.
Ant Pruitt (00:40:29):
Oh, okay.
Kevin Reece (00:40:30):
So that's probably right around 90 or somewhere in there. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> I, I can go back. I, I, I've blog all my games
Ant Pruitt (00:40:40):
Based on the sneakers. I'm guessing like 90, 91
Kevin Reece (00:40:43):
<Laugh>. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I sound about right. <Laugh>. And, and I remember how the Clippers was so bad back then mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. And I remember how the parking lot was usually empty. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Okay. But that particular night, I remember, I, I got off of work and then I tried to get in there, and then I couldn't get in the parking lot. I barely got into that parking lot. And that's what I kinda realized, like, Oh, that's right. The poles tonight. Right,
Ant Pruitt (00:41:17):
Right.
Kevin Reece (00:41:19):
You know, and so I got there. But yeah. That, that, that's an incredible photo. Yeah. I, by the way, that's not the only photo I have of him.
Ant Pruitt (00:41:28):
Oh, man. I, I can only imagine. So you, you're, you're going to the arena, you know, you know, it's the Bulls tonight, you know, Michael Jordan is not on the injury report. You know, Do you have something in in mind or is it still, I need to make sure I'm following the game and making sure I'm getting the critical shots, but, or No, I
Kevin Reece (00:41:49):
Know. No. You know,
Ant Pruitt (00:41:49):
What is it like, I mean, it's, it's fricking Michael Jordan, you know, <laugh>
Kevin Reece (00:41:53):
<Laugh>,
Ant Pruitt (00:41:54):
I, and I'm, and not his rookie year. I mean, this is, he's, he has made a name for himself. You
Kevin Reece (00:42:01):
Know, you know, I to be with you, Ann. I really I don't really approach games like that. I just, I, I just I just, you know you know, at at that, at that point, I don't think he'd won a championship by that point. I
Ant Pruitt (00:42:20):
Don he had, didnt he had, but he, he, he hadn't, but was still Right. Michael Jordan. George.
Kevin Reece (00:42:25):
Yeah. You, yeah. That's, that's and he was in front of Pat Toss. But you know, I I, to this day, I really don't approach. The only games that I really, I really approach where I really are kind of like really thinking about 'em mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, or, or the competitors is, is, you know, the really big games, the post-season games. Right. The bowl games. And I haven't done a finals in a while, so mm-hmm. <Affirmative> you know, I did a couple of World Series, but Reg, to be honest with you, regular season games. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> you know, I, I really don't, All I do is all I think about it, just really just getting there, beating the traffic in
Ant Pruitt (00:43:17):
<Laugh>,
Kevin Reece (00:43:21):
Do I getting,
Ant Pruitt (00:43:25):
Oh Lord, please let me beat the traffic tonight.
Kevin Reece (00:43:31):
Something to, and get my spot. And that's really kinda how, if it's a regular season game,
Ant Pruitt (00:43:38):
You know. Oh, dude, I love
Kevin Reece (00:43:39):
That. I don't really have any specific, you know, I, I, I know the, the one thing that I know I've come out of there with some pictures. Right. I will come out there with some pictures.
Ant Pruitt (00:43:50):
I love that. I love that. Now we're gonna switch to one extreme here. If in, in my opinion, so let me switch the screen here. We're gonna go from MJ to his airness to mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, this shot here. So to, to our folks that listen to the show and audio and don't watch it, or I'm looking at a, a NASCAR shot. There's, there's three images, three cars here, and an image trail trailing each other in one of the turns. Yeah. and what some folks don't know about me in particular I used to be somewhat of a NASCAR fan, being a Southerner coming from the Carolinas. And my grandfather was a mechanic all of my life. So it was always in the cars. And my college roommate used to work part-time with NASCAR and just, and it all just sort of just came together with me, The engineering side of it and all of the physics and stuff.
(00:44:45):
It just, it was fascinating to me. It's not as interesting to me now, but back then, you know, 20 years ago, it was, it, it just really fascinated me. And then as I got into photography and, and just looking at sports in particular, NASCAR is one of those things that I never really thought about shooting. So, with you being able to go from all of those different sports with the ball, you're now into auto sports in, in shooting, shooting a NASCAR event, what is that like? Because there's only so much that you're gonna see especially in nascar. Cause it's just a circuit, you
Kevin Reece (00:45:24):
Know? Yeah. Well, well, I always say you know, they're driving 200 miles an hour and making a left turn.
Ant Pruitt (00:45:31):
Yes.
Kevin Reece (00:45:32):
<Laugh>, <laugh>.
Ant Pruitt (00:45:34):
That's it.
Kevin Reece (00:45:35):
That's it. <Laugh>. But first of all, that photo you showed mm-hmm. <Affirmative> was taken this year. Okay? Mm-hmm. <Affirmative> out at font Montana. And you know that this year was the first time I, I, I had gone out there in probably about 10 years. Really? Mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. And this, here's the thing about Mascar I'm not a fan of it mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, but I, I find it, I find it, I find it very difficult to photograph mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. Okay. And I, and I'll tell you why mm-hmm. <Affirmative> first of all, now you, you, you, you say you, you were a fan. So you've been there, you've been to the race tracks mm-hmm. <Affirmative> and so on and so forth. For those who have never been to, and I'm sure quite a few of your viewers have not been to a NASCAR race mm-hmm. <Affirmative> it is ears Spiriting.
Ant Pruitt (00:46:33):
<Laugh>.
Kevin Reece (00:46:36):
Okay. And if you don't have either a headphones,
Ant Pruitt (00:46:41):
Headphones, some type of plugs, man, or some type of
Kevin Reece (00:46:44):
Plug, your head is gonna explode.
Ant Pruitt (00:46:48):
It is so loud and you're outside.
Kevin Reece (00:46:51):
That's the thing, you know, that's the thing. You don't realize when you watching it on tv,
Ant Pruitt (00:46:55):
Youre outside and you still can't hear <laugh>.
Kevin Reece (00:46:58):
It's you. Ok. And those cars are loud. And, you know, it's funny. Tell, in fact, me and a photographer were talking about this on actually <affirmative> at the Charger game when we got out there Yeah. It was last year you got shot that. Yeah. no, earlier this, excuse me, Earlier this year. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And, and we were, were sitting in there and with, with the other photographers, and we saw this guy, we saw this dude, and this dude was dressed like he was going into battle
Ant Pruitt (00:47:40):
<Laugh>.
Kevin Reece (00:47:42):
Okay. I mean, he had all his equipment. This dude had like, you know a glass on God,
Ant Pruitt (00:47:49):
<Laugh>,
Kevin Reece (00:47:50):
You know mask on mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. And he had, he was covered, He had gloves on, and his arms were completely covered. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> and like, and me, and me and this guy from ap. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah. we were kind like sitting there laughing at him. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, like, like you going into battles, something like that, know, like, or about, you know. And so, but that guy had to laugh, laugh, because I went out there on that specifically, that photo that you're showing. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Okay. That's taken from, they have photo spots for photographers in the fence there. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. See, but what you don't know is when those cars by and when they're coming mine, all those particles,
Ant Pruitt (00:48:54):
All that rubber
Ant Pruitt (00:48:56):
<Laugh>
Kevin Reece (00:48:57):
Is shooting all over, Get on. I know. I'm out there with, I got my nice fancy hat on and I got, you know, and, and, and, and, and I'm getting pelted.
Ant Pruitt (00:49:13):
Yeah.
Ant Pruitt (00:49:14):
<Laugh>, I meaned.
Kevin Reece (00:49:18):
It's just like I, that I only handle it before for about a half an hour. Yeah.
Ant Pruitt (00:49:26):
I mean, literal
Kevin Reece (00:49:28):
Not in there for about half
Ant Pruitt (00:49:32):
<Laugh>.
Ant Pruitt (00:49:33):
That's said a lot.
Kevin Reece (00:49:36):
<Laugh>. I mean, I mean, I mean, I'm, and I'm, I'm serious. It was like it rained though. Mm-Hmm.
Ant Pruitt (00:49:43):
<Affirmative>, I've
Ant Pruitt (00:49:44):
Been to the races, I've been down in the pits and stuff. Cuz I've gone to some, some hosted events. People hosted me there. Yeah. And, you know, had all of this whole vi i p stuff. So I've gone down there and I've seen all of that stuff. I know exactly what you're talking about. It, It ain't for the faint of heart, It <laugh>.
Kevin Reece (00:50:02):
No,
Ant Pruitt (00:50:02):
I mean, I
Kevin Reece (00:50:04):
Know. And that was, again, like I said, that was not the first time I shot Nas and I forgot that.
Ant Pruitt (00:50:11):
Yeah. <laugh>.
Kevin Reece (00:50:12):
And, and, and, and so I said, Okay, enough of this <laugh>.
Ant Pruitt (00:50:18):
So
Ant Pruitt (00:50:19):
I'm out.
Kevin Reece (00:50:20):
And so I, so I have to tell you, I, I went back to the media center mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, the, the photo media center. And I just waited for the race to end. And then I got the winner and the know the winner survey, all that <laugh> and, and, and so on and so forth. But I, I hung in there and I tried to make some other, you know the olds the saying in the business is try to try to make a photo. Right. Try to make a photo, try to tell a story. Right. You know, and I tried to do that. And now this is a little different. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, this one is a little different because you are allowed to, if, if the pit is empty if the team is not in the pit and it's empty mm-hmm. <Affirmative> a photographer is allowed to go in there and you can shoot mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. And I just happened to luck up and I, this guy came in for a pit stop
Ant Pruitt (00:51:18):
Right. As you walked in. Wow.
Kevin Reece (00:51:20):
Right, right, right. Well, I was there for a little while and the guy came in and he needed a pit stop, and now you could see that up close mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. And you see how they're in and out of there. He, that car's in and out of there. What? Maybe
Ant Pruitt (00:51:35):
14, No
Kevin Reece (00:51:35):
More than 25 seconds. Maybe <laugh> minute.
Ant Pruitt (00:51:39):
Oh, it's less than that. <Laugh>. It's, it's really quick. Most, most NASCAR pit stops. I think they clock 'em at about 14 seconds when they're in the
Kevin Reece (00:51:49):
Box. Yeah. That'd be my right. That'd be my Right. Yeah. Cause I mean, it was fast, you know, And then, and there's another shot that I have, I didn't, I didn't send it to you, but mm-hmm. <Affirmative> with a Fuel is shooting out of the back of the car.
Ant Pruitt (00:52:03):
Yep. And they have the catch can behind the car to try to catch some of.
Kevin Reece (00:52:07):
Right. You know, And so
Ant Pruitt (00:52:08):
Yes, I know nascar, I know
Kevin Reece (00:52:10):
<Laugh>. Ok. Yeah. So and by the way, I've spent a lot of time in North Carolina. My mother's from Green, God rest her soul. My mother was from Greensboro.
Ant Pruitt (00:52:20):
Oh, okay. Right. Yeah. I know
Kevin Reece (00:52:23):
A lot of time in North Carolina.
Ant Pruitt (00:52:24):
That's where the Aggs are in North Carolina A and t and all of that.
Kevin Reece (00:52:27):
That's right.
Ant Pruitt (00:52:28):
Yeah.
Kevin Reece (00:52:28):
Yeah. Spent a lot of time in Greensborough, <laugh> spent a lot of time. I haven't been back here in a while though, but trust me spent a lot of time in Greensboro.
Ant Pruitt (00:52:40):
That's awesome. That's awesome. Mr. Kevin, this is, this has been a lot of fun. You know, it, I'm going through these images that you shared, and it just shows me that, you know, you're, you're more than a photographer. You're a, you're a freaking artist, sir. I mean, you
Kevin Reece (00:52:58):
Well, I, you know, that's what I wanna say to your audience mm-hmm. <Affirmative> that I I know my email subject said sports photographer <laugh>. But, but I, I really don't consider myself a sports photographer. I've always considered myself a visual artist. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And I didn't send you some of my other work because I think we need to stay on the subject at hand. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. But but no, I consider myself a visual artist. You know, I've done a lot of other types of work. I've done portraiture, I've done model shoots mm-hmm. <Affirmative> and I, I, I give myself photographic projects. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> Okay. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And, and frankly, I, I know you and probably a whole lot other people are gonna probably get mad when I say this, but I'm bored with sports.
Ant Pruitt (00:53:52):
Oh, man.
Kevin Reece (00:53:55):
I know, I know, I know, I know. But I, I'm bored with it. And, and so I try to make, I try to create something else. It, it's very, you know, it, sports photography does not, in, in my opinion, it doesn't lend for a lot of creativity.
Ant Pruitt (00:54:15):
No. There's only so much you can do. Yeah. I think with
Kevin Reece (00:54:20):
The clients need a very specific type of photo. Right,
Ant Pruitt (00:54:23):
Right.
Kevin Reece (00:54:24):
But, but I have, I have given, I personally give myself photographic projects throughout the years, and I have quite a few of them that I could share with you at another time.
Ant Pruitt (00:54:36):
Now, I don't know about you, but this is something that I that I'll do from time to time far as when I consume sports photography, because just like you said, this is only so much that you're gonna be able to do because the, the client, whether it be Sports Illustrated or Time or whatever, they have a, a specific assignment in place for that photographer. But what I find myself doing is when I look at that image, is I'm, I'm usually looking beyond the subject. I'm looking into the crowd. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, because it's fun, fun faces and stuff going on in the crowd, You know, especially like say Dwight and the catch, you know, he's, he's, he's extended for that, for that ball. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> what's happening right behind him as that's happening. You know, what are the faces doing in the crowd? I like looking at stuff like that. Do you? Oh yeah.
Kevin Reece (00:55:26):
Oh yeah. I've very, Well, you know, the best, the best example of that is Halloween every Sunday at a Raider game.
Ant Pruitt (00:55:35):
<Laugh>. Oh, yes. Yes.
Kevin Reece (00:55:38):
Hey, Okay.
Ant Pruitt (00:55:39):
Oh, I'm sure they'll do up for you. I
Kevin Reece (00:55:41):
Got photos like that.
Ant Pruitt (00:55:44):
You gotta send me some of those. Oh, man. <Laugh>, Mr. Victor, I editor for the show. He, he, he, he's,
Kevin Reece (00:55:53):
Yeah. I call it h I call it Halloween every Sunday. But but no, I, you know, that's another thing. That's another one of my projects. Now I sent you another photograph of Sohi Stadium, but I would tell you also mm-hmm. <Affirmative> that I have a photograph of every stadium that I've ever been to that's years. That's awesome. Of, and, and, and 90% of them inside and out.
Ant Pruitt (00:56:23):
Nice.
Kevin Reece (00:56:24):
In fact, I've got photographs of of stadiums that don't even exist anymore. And including Candlestick
Ant Pruitt (00:56:31):
Park. Right. Something like Candlestick. Yeah.
Kevin Reece (00:56:32):
Yeah. Yeah, I've got photographs of the Boston Garden that doesn't exist anymore. I mean, I, a ton of them, you know, that I, I could go right off the top of my head that don't exist any mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. So I've, I've, but it, they've actually, it was, somebody told me that many, many, when I started out in the business mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, somebody told me that always get a photograph of, of the stadiums that you go to Yeah. Inside and out. And I never forgot that. I never forgot that. I love that. And I do it every time now. I know. Like, like, you know, I don't pick a photo of Dodger Stadium every time I go to a Dodger game.
Ant Pruitt (00:57:13):
Well, you got it now.
Kevin Reece (00:57:15):
I've already got it. Right.
Ant Pruitt (00:57:17):
Wow.
Kevin Reece (00:57:18):
So that's one of the projects. And, and my other one is in fact, I'm gonna do a slideshow with my family. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> on Friday night a a photographer that I wanna give your, your, your fans a tip, your listeners mm-hmm. <Affirmative> and your viewers. A tip that somebody gave me many, many years ago mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. And I think I, I don't know, I think I sent you one, but to be honest, I look more for reaction than I do for action.
Ant Pruitt (00:57:54):
Right, Right.
Kevin Reece (00:57:56):
Okay. And somebody taught me that many, many years ago, that reaction. And if you think about it, it's really true. That reaction tells more of a story
Ant Pruitt (00:58:07):
That, and it, it, it would give you whatever emotion right then and there. There's no doubt about it. They're gonna, In
Kevin Reece (00:58:14):
Fact, in fact, we, as you're looking at me right now, in my office here, all the photographs behind me are reaction photos.
Ant Pruitt (00:58:27):
Yeah. Like
Kevin Reece (00:58:28):
That. None of 'em are action photos. <Laugh>. Okay. They're reaction photos. Mm. And, and, and a bunch of bobble heads too. <Laugh>, I'm
Ant Pruitt (00:58:37):
A
Kevin Reece (00:58:37):
Yankee guy. I'm a New York boy, so I'm
Ant Pruitt (00:58:39):
Of course. Of course.
Kevin Reece (00:58:41):
And so I've got a bunch of Yankee Bobblehead and, and my son works for the Dodgers, by the
Ant Pruitt (00:58:47):
Way. Oh, nice.
Kevin Reece (00:58:48):
Yeah. Yes, he does. And so he's been giving me some Dodge a bobblehead. But but all of the photographs behind me are reaction photos. And so because they tell so much more of a story. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> and, and I kind of look for that more than I, Cause I know I, I know I can get a quarterback fading back. I know I can get a picture mm-hmm. <Affirmative> pitch in. I can get a bat of swinging. I can get cup cup with a ball coming across or something like that. Or running back, coming through the hole. I can get that all day long. Right. You know, But the reaction tells really a story and tells so much more of a story. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>.
Ant Pruitt (00:59:32):
Now, now when you say reaction, do you necessarily mean alright, say going back to football, the reaction of the defensive back because Cooper Cup caught the ball? Or is it the reaction of the official right there in the frame? Or is it the reaction of the coaches in the back? What, what, what do you
Kevin Reece (00:59:50):
You know, I'm looking for really expression now. If, if, if you wanna, if you wanna break it down Okay. There's a photograph behind me mm-hmm. <Affirmative> that I, I didn't send it to you, but mm-hmm. <Affirmative> I think it's Super Bowl 40. Okay. I was at an the wide receiver for Pittsburgh scored on a double reverse, if I remember correctly. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> 40. Why
Ant Pruitt (01:00:30):
Centennial? Hines Ward. Hines Ward.
Kevin Reece (01:00:33):
Right. Hines Ward. And he scored it. And he is laughing at the defensive back in his
Ant Pruitt (01:00:42):
Face. Yeah. And he was skipping too, right? I think I, yeah, I remember him
Kevin Reece (01:00:47):
Skipping too. If I remember correctly, the play was a double reverse.
Ant Pruitt (01:00:52):
Yeah. Yeah. I remember
Kevin Reece (01:00:53):
Now as an
Ant Pruitt (01:00:56):
Intro, intro role, I
Kevin Reece (01:00:58):
Believe. No, no, no, no. The guy was at Kansas State. I remember that <laugh>. Oh man. Yeah. Yeah. But, but he passed the ball and like, completely fooled Seahawks and, and so it, it, it's really strong expressions like that. Was
Ant Pruitt (01:01:17):
It Randall l
Kevin Reece (01:01:19):
Yeah,
Ant Pruitt (01:01:19):
Anton. Randall L Okay. Right. There you go. I'm sorry, That was gonna drive me nuts. <Laugh>.
Kevin Reece (01:01:25):
Yeah, I, I remember he was at Kansas State. I remember that.
Ant Pruitt (01:01:28):
No, he was ATD Indiana. He was at Indiana an Antwan, Rendell was in Indiana, Hoosier on their football team.
Kevin Reece (01:01:36):
Okay. Okay. He was quarter, I thought it was Kansas State and, and, and so that, and, and so I, I, those are the ones that are really I look for, but now, and as far as, No, I'm not looking for ref or mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. you know, I go, Okay, I got one this Sunday. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, I got one on Pete Carroll. Oh yeah. Cause he, he
Ant Pruitt (01:02:01):
Ties
Kevin Reece (01:02:02):
<Laugh>. Yeah. Yeah. And so he really freaked out. He really, when they score, I, I, I don't remember the, they went up like by like 15 points or something like that mm-hmm. <Affirmative> and, and, and he really, he really ran, he, he almost ran out on halfway onto the field and he was Yeah.
Ant Pruitt (01:02:22):
You know, he's always been animated.
Kevin Reece (01:02:24):
<Laugh>. Yeah, yeah. Right. Even his USC days. Yeah. Mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, you know, cause I got plenty of shots for him his USC days mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, so that I'm looking for more of that. Right. Then just I got a really good one. Boy, Deebo when they
Ant Pruitt (01:02:39):
Oh man, <laugh>,
Kevin Reece (01:02:40):
When they beat the Rams in that last season game mm-hmm. <Affirmative> coming off the field mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. So and that, that's, that's the kind the ones I'm looking.
Ant Pruitt (01:02:50):
Yeah. Now I got one last question. It's just popped in my head because you've been there, done that not this past Sunday, but the Sunday before, or maybe it was a Monday night. It was the Las Vegas Raiders and the Kansas CD Chiefs, I believe. And at the end of the game, the Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Devonte Adams.
Kevin Reece (01:03:15):
Oh yeah. I've seen the tape.
Ant Pruitt (01:03:16):
Yeah. He's coming off the field angry, you know, because they should have, they should have won that game. They, they should have. But again, we're dealing with, you know, air quotes gladiators in this sport here. It's a lot of emotions, a lot of testosterone. And, and I get it, you know, that they, you lose like that, it's, it's gonna piss you off. The story, as most people may know, is he's coming off the field at the end of the game to go into the locker room, goes into the tunnel, and there's a photographer the media was saying he was carrying a, a camera or something else. He was carrying a C stand.
Kevin Reece (01:03:53):
I, I don't think he was carrying, He was, he was, It
Ant Pruitt (01:03:56):
Was a C stand. Yeah, it was, it looked like a c stand in his hand. Okay. So he was someone of, of doing some type of media production, just there to do his job. He's walking in across the tunnel as Devonte Adams was going into the tunnel. And Devonte Adams pushes him just like, Man, get outta the way and pushes him violently pushes him, and it knocks him down, you know? And a bit of the heat of the moment, Devonte Adams clearly was out of his mind, clearly is in the wrong on this. Let's say that was you or or another photographer that's there just to do their job in covering this sport. What are your thoughts on that scenario? Is it, it, how would you have handled that if it's, if it's ever something that would happen to you because you're, again, it's, it's a lot of emotions, <laugh> between those lines from those players in the game and after the game. And these emotions can be very, very high, or they can be very, very dark and low, like those were for, for Adams. What are your thoughts?
Kevin Reece (01:04:59):
You know, I, it, it, it hasn't happened to me. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> I, I've had, I, I've had run-ins with PR people, but <laugh> not, not athletes. Right. and I mean, mean, you know, I I've been, I've been hit by foul balls.
Ant Pruitt (01:05:24):
Ouch.
Kevin Reece (01:05:25):
Yeah. Yeah. <laugh>.
Ant Pruitt (01:05:27):
Yeah.
Kevin Reece (01:05:29):
My shin hurt for about a week. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I, I had Derek Fisher fell on me one night mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. And they stopped the game, actually. Wow. Yeah, they did. They so help me. God. They did. Whoa. Yeah, they, Yeah. Derek Fisher fell on me and it kind of halfway knocked me out. Oh, man. And, and in fact, he and Kobe came over and asked if I was okay. And, and I was, I I was seeing stars at the time. Yeah. But then I kind of like, I, I remember looking over at the bench also, and like Bill Jackson <laugh>, they stopped the game. They did, they did stop the game for, for a moment. Wow. And, and then I kind of came to, and I was okay for the rest of the night, but my, my wife called it about 15 seconds of fame, fame,
Ant Pruitt (01:06:31):
15 seconds of fame, <laugh>. Yeah.
Kevin Reece (01:06:34):
But that's
Ant Pruitt (01:06:35):
Just a little subtle jab from her.
Kevin Reece (01:06:37):
Yeah. They're definitely and it wasn't, you know, it wasn't his fault he got hit in midair and he just kept on.
Ant Pruitt (01:06:44):
Right. There was no malice there. But this No, no, no. Certainly not what Adams did that was just, that's just flat out wrong. Yeah. You know, he, he literally, I mean, some places is gonna call that assault, and I wanna say the city of Kansas City did put it down as assault.
Kevin Reece (01:07:01):
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. You're right. And, and in fact, I think he, didn't he get they didn't arrest him, but I think they
Ant Pruitt (01:07:14):
They, they filed a suit.
Kevin Reece (01:07:16):
They filed a suit. Right,
Ant Pruitt (01:07:17):
Right. Yeah. They filed a suit.
Kevin Reece (01:07:18):
Right, right. You know, again, I've been in that situation. Yeah, you're right. You know, when, when coaches and, and, and, and players are coming off the field and you just have to, you know personally, personally, I, I, I don't believe in getting in anybody's personal space mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, you know mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, unless I personally know you. Right. You know if I know you well, then that's a little different, you know? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, but frankly, with, in that situation, you know, you're strangers and I, I don't know. I, to, to be honest with you, and I, I, I probably would not have run up on him like that. You know, I, I probably wouldn't have done that. And when, when, when I do those post game things when they're coming off the field like that mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, I tend to use my 70 to two 10. Yep. Okay. So at least I've got a little bit of space there. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> and like the, like the shot I got of of a Deebo last year, I was a reasonable distance from he wasn't the game.
Ant Pruitt (01:08:40):
Yeah. But see, all of that makes sense. What, what you're saying makes total sense. But this scenario that, that that equipment person, because he wasn't holding a camera, that equipment person No. Was mind in his own dagum business. He was going across, he wasn't going towards the player. He was going across the tunnel to go do whatever job that he needed to do at that time. Yeah. Like I said, it looked like he had a c stand in his hands. Yeah. and just happened to be there at the wrong time. You know, That's, that's my problem with it. He didn't go towards the player that just lost, he went across the same plane just at the same time.
Kevin Reece (01:09:21):
Now I've seen, you know, I, I've seen security guys now, you know the one, the one that is like a bear is I mean they all, they all have security and college coaches have mm-hmm.
Ant Pruitt (01:09:36):
<Affirmative> a they have the troopers with them
Kevin Reece (01:09:38):
Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. Yeah. You know and I, I've had, I've had a run in with that also too mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, but you know, the, the one that's really the bear is beeks security. Yeah. And now, now they have a history of knocking over photography.
Ant Pruitt (01:09:57):
Yeah,
Kevin Reece (01:09:58):
Yeah. You know, I'm so, you know, I I, I, Yeah, you're right. I was surprised when I saw that. And, and then, and then I hear all these, you know, reports on Devonte, Devon Adams, correct.
Ant Pruitt (01:10:12):
That's right. Mm-Hmm.
Kevin Reece (01:10:13):
<Affirmative>, right. That this guy's a upstanding citizen and this guy, you know, he was loved in Green Bay.
Ant Pruitt (01:10:20):
Yeah. Squeaky clean
Kevin Reece (01:10:21):
<Laugh>. Yeah. And, and, and really, frankly, Aaron Rogers ain't too happy that he's gone.
Ant Pruitt (01:10:26):
Exactly. <laugh>. Yeah.
Kevin Reece (01:10:28):
So so I, I was a little surprised at that, you know? And so I mean, cuz immediately I, I, the man apologized for the situation. He
Ant Pruitt (01:10:40):
Did
Kevin Reece (01:10:41):
So on and so forth. He did. But then, then you, you know, you read all these stories about people who take advantage of celebrities and, you know, they get some slick lawyer talking and Oh, you know, we can do this guy. Yeah.
Ant Pruitt (01:10:57):
It's, I'm, I'm sure it's gonna be about a quarter million dollars spent, I'm
Kevin Reece (01:11:02):
Pretty sure. Yeah. You know, and so I'm kind of 50 50 on that one, you know, but Yeah, I've seen, I've seen the tape.
Ant Pruitt (01:11:09):
Mm. Sweet. All right. Well, Mr. Kevin, I'm not gonna hold you up any longer here, sir. This has been, I ain't got nowhere to go in an absolute blast. This has been so much fun talking to you and just, just picking your brain and, and hearing the great stories. I seriously, seriously appreciate you being all with me today. This, this is, this is awesome. Now, if, if folks are trying to find some of your work and things that you, that you got going on how do they, how do they find you? How do they, they they contact you and check out some of the things that you're doing?
Kevin Reece (01:11:42):
Well, right now well, the, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm really only on Facebook. I'm, I'm on, or mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, but it's under Kwr Photography. I think it's Kwr Photography. Okay. on Twitter. And, but I'm, I'm regular Kevin Reece on Facebook. Okay. Just regular old Kevin Reece,
Ant Pruitt (01:12:06):
Regular old Kevin Reece. Give holler on Facebook <laugh>. Yeah.
Kevin Reece (01:12:10):
You know, and, and like I'm a member of a lot of groups. You can see my work on a regular basis. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> at, on, on Antelope Valley Press. Just about every, not every day, but <laugh> most days. Nice. from, from, from games here in Los Angeles. And I'm, what I'm really trying to do, I, I have a book currently mm-hmm. <Affirmative> and what I'm really need from one of your PR people. Like you say you got <laugh>
Ant Pruitt (01:12:45):
<Laugh>
Kevin Reece (01:12:49):
With a, with another, I'm really looking for a publisher. I have quite a few book ideas and I, and I've got a huge, I archive, excuse me, that I, I would love to share with people and I've got quite a few book ideas that I think would sell, but I don't know how to approach. Well,
Ant Pruitt (01:13:14):
I, well, I know a couple people that have written books. I will reach out to them, get, get the information and resources that they are able to offer up, and I will get that back to you, I promise you. Okay. Cause I know a couple people that have published several books and someone Well, but,
Kevin Reece (01:13:30):
But, but you said, Right, But you said, Right, But we're talking about a man, I can't write my way out of a paper bag.
Ant Pruitt (01:13:35):
Well, two of two of them are photographers, so ok.
Kevin Reece (01:13:41):
Gonna say it's gotta be a coffee table photo.
Ant Pruitt (01:13:43):
Yes. Two of them are photographers and one of them has written I believe he has done over 40 now, and they're photography books. So Yeah. I'll get information and I promise you I will, I will let you know what, what they let me know <laugh>. Okay.
Kevin Reece (01:14:02):
Okay.
Ant Pruitt (01:14:03):
Thank you again, Mr. Kevin. This has been so much fun.
Kevin Reece (01:14:06):
I appreciate it. And, and I'll keep in contact with
Ant Pruitt (01:14:09):
You. Definitely, Definitely. Okay. All right, everybody, folks, that was Mr. Kevin Reece here on the show, Man, what a, a wonderful wealth of knowledge. It's just, Oh, I'm so glad he's been on and, and was able to share these stories and share this information. Hey, I, it helped me out. I hope it helped you. The hands on photography, listener and viewer. Again, if you want to send in any comments, feedback, or, or questions, image critiques, shoot me a message, shoot an email over@hoptwit.tv. Again, the email address is hop twit.tv. I love hearing from you all, and I answer every single one of 'em as fast as I can. As we heard on the previous episode, it took me a little while to get one of these answered, but I did answer it <laugh>, so just bear with me. So shoot your questions over comments and, and feedback and so forth.
(01:15:00):
And if you are fine with your image being shown on the show to the other viewers and listeners, please mention that in the email that, that, that you give me the consent to do such. Cuz I don't wanna do that without your consent. Give me a follow over on social media. I am an underscore Peru on Twitter. I am an underscore Pruitt over on Instagram. I have a lot of fun on, on social media just chatting with everybody and just tag me on those platforms. And I like seeing images that you all capture and share with me. It's some pretty good stuff shared with me. So thank you all for reaching out on social media. Thank you to my man, Mr. Victor, the editor that makes me look and sound good every dagum week. And yes, Mr. Victor, we talked about your Raiders. Yes, we did. I don't know if we're gonna do that ever again though, sir. Sorry, <laugh>. All right, everybody. Hey, safely, safely, create it, dominate, keep sharing out the show and I will see y'all next time. Take care.
Mikah Sargent (01:15:59):
Is that an iPhone in your hand? Wait a second. Is that an Apple watch on your wrist? And do I, do I see an iPad sitting there on the table? Oh my goodness. You are the perfect person to be watching iOS today. The show where Rosemary Orchard and I,m Mikah Sargent, talk all things iOS, tvOS, watch os, Home Pod os it's all the OSS that Apple has on offer, and we show you how to make the most of those gadgets. Just head to twit.tv/ios to check it out.
