Photographer, photojournalist, digital artist, documentary author – Thomas Porter is a man with an eye for detail. It’s the little things – capturing a subtle sidelong glance, maybe preserving a tearful father’s smile. It’s also the big things – the crescendo of a dance number or the roar of an overtime goal.
Shining with the glitter, just outside the glare of the spotlights, beneath the roar of the engines … there is a click, then another. He’s hard to spot sometimes, but he’s there. He’s always there - on the sidelines, in the shadows, behind the curtain or in the crowd. He’s constantly clicking, recording moments, making history. He’s capturing history - your history, my history, our history.Thomas Porter studied Fine Art photography and Physical Geography at the University of Lethbridge through the mid 1990s. While in southern Alberta, the fledgling photographer worked with his local and student newspapers, the school’s Art Department, various tourism publications and handful of private and corporate clients. Just before the turn of the century, he accepted a post with the daily newspaper in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, CANADA. Four years later, a rapidly growing clientele base forced the young photographer to leave the newspaper completely and venture out on his own. Thomas Porter Photographics was born in 2003 and now boasts a healthy and diverse national portfolio.With a signature documentary style, Thomas Porter Photographics covers everything from civic celebrations to private functions. The company also accepts assignments for advertising, documentary and promotional work. Editorial work still ends up in the mix as well, says Porter. “Telling a story…it’s in the blood.”Fully digital and fully mobile, Thomas Porter Photographics can be “anywhere, anytime” providing high resolution digital images for print and the web.“Hanging out of the back of airplanes, jumping out of them, driving through flames, getting shot at…. you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do,” says Porter of his adventures. “Yeah, some people think it’s a little nuts, but it’s about getting the shot.” An avid outdoorsman, Porter seems to be most at home in the wild. Although there is a lot less money to be made in the nature and wildlife market, Porter says he will continue to be out there with his camera as often as time permits. “It’s therapy, photo-therapy,” says Porter. “When you’ve taken one too many wedding pictures, one too many product shots … it’s time to get out in the bush and rediscover why you love the camera so much.”
Porter’s work can be seen across the prairie provinces in regional trade publications, Saskatchewan tourism publications, special interest magazines and online.
