When Instaimage owner Jeff Mulvihill, Jr. takes a picture, the
last thing he wants is his subject standing still.
When Instaimage owner Jeff Mulvihill, Jr. takes a picture, the last thing he wants is his subject standing still. He prefers them to be running, kicking, racing, spinning – moving in some way.
“My goal is to give people images of themselves or their children in action,” Mulvihill said. “I’ll attend an event, such as a wrestling match or soccer game, take pictures and post them on my Web site. People can order copies from my Web site. Sometimes I’ll go to an event, set up a tent and equipment, take pictures and print out a sheet of small pictures. People can come by the booth and pick out the print of their choice. I can make them a 5-by-7 or an 8-by-10 or give them other choices. I can print it on the spot.”
Before Mulvihill got into professional photography, he spent years taking pictures, a real hands-on training. He also credits art classes in high school and college with helping him learn the art of photography and how to capture a good action picture.
“I’ve always loved photography,” he said. “I’d go down to Laguna Seca and shoot 10 rolls of film. There’s a nationwide BMW car club; I was the newsletter editor for the local chapter for awhile. I also took pictures for the newsletter. Just recently I covered a motor sports event in New Zealand, taking hundreds of pictures.”
A lifelong lover of sports and the outdoors, Mulvihill combined those passions with his love of photography to create Instaimage.
“The new digital cameras have given me a lot of flexibility. I used to be limited with the equipment I used,” he said. “When I started this business, I bought a camera specially designed for action photography. It gives me a lot of flexibility.”
Though organized sports offer the opportunity for a lot of action shots, Mulvihill doesn’t limit himself or his subject matter.
“I have one friend who wants me to come and take pictures of his golf swing,” he said. “Some of the pros have videos taken of their swing. When we’re done, my friend wants to have eight pictures showing his swing from start to finish. This way he can mount them on his wall. Tennis is another great sport to shoot. I know there are skateboarding events in town that I’d like to take pictures of. I don’t want a studio like other photographers. My interest is things that are moving, like we do in life.”
“I’m happy to cover any athletic event, for both kids and adults. I’ll do dog shows and animal shows. All too often at an animal show, the only picture you have is the owner holding the animal and a ribbon. I want to take pictures of the animal being groomed and shown. Not all animals win ribbons. Rodeos offer great opportunities to take action pictures, as do motor sports. Though I haven’t done any surfing pictures, I’m certainly open to it.”
Since starting Instaimage in January of this year, Mulvihill has attended many sporting events in the area. Pictures from these events are still posted on his Web site and he encourages potential customers who either play local sports themselves or have a child in local sports, to visit the site. If they see a picture they would like to order, it can be easily done.
“I played sports in high school and college,” Mulvihill said. “Yet all of the professional pictures we have of me during that time, I’m standing still. I would have loved to have had access to action shots of me playing sports. Those are the pictures I would have wanted on my wall. The emotion of the event is what I’m trying to capture.”
Local groups that would like to have Instaimage at their events are welcome to call Mulvihill at (831) 637-8301 or (408) 218-2110. They can also visit his Web site at www.instaimage.com or e-mail him at je**@in********.com.
