Today we’d like to introduce you to Ian Patzke.
Ian, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Growing up I was lucky to have parents that enjoyed traveling and they wanted my sister and I to experience different places and understand different cultures. My father was a lawyer by trade but he also was a fantastic and enthusiastic hobby photographer. His home office in our basement was full of shelves filled with slides. During our family travels, I developed my love for art and architecture while also creating an understanding for photography, trying to capture moments, the architecture of the cities, and other strange things a 6-year-old would want to capture pictures of!
In addition, I spent many of my childhood years at summer art camp at the Milwaukee Art Museum which fueled my ambition and passion. Attending college at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, I started out pursuing my interests in Art History which further led me to San Diego where I studied architecture at the New School of Architecture and Design. After graduating and working in an office for a few years, I realized I needed to find my way back into spontaneous creativity.
Architecture, though an amazing profession, can be very drawn out due to ever-changing client needs and the final product can take many years to finally come to fruition.
Needless to say, I can be a bit impatient. This brought me to really start focusing on my understanding of architecture and my love of photography. I started doing this in my free time, applying my passion, as well as skill sets from my education in architecture, to feed the craving for those instantaneous results I greatly enjoy.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has been anything but smooth! When you pursue something it’s because you believe in yourself, because you want something and it’s something you enjoy. I came to the realization, as I started to look for clients, that there is a reason I look up to other photographers and I’ve used this to structure how I go about my photography and interacting with clients. I’ve realized photographers that they are really good and skilled at what they do, is because they have been around to build a relationship with their client. You come to an understanding of how important it is to the client when you are in charge of such a tall task of documenting a piece of their work that has taken so much effort. You want that documentation to speak specifically to each client.
Like many arts, Architecture is a community that demands excellence in every aspect. Just scratching the surface on what they expected was very challenging and sometimes very discouraging. The progression of impressing my friends with my work in impressing clients to pay good money was a very frustrating and labor-intensive process. It was an effort that involved a lot of personal work, not getting paid-just practicing, but learning something new, getting shot down, going back again, practicing more, learning something new, getting shot down and so on.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Ian Patzke Photography – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Ian Patzke Photography is a fine art photography/film studio that specializes in the documentation of build space, architecture, and art.
I am very proud of what I can do for my clients! It is amazing to show them the final products. To be able to complete their vision through photography and show their work off as they had envisioned it throughout their process. What I am even more proud of is how my pictures affect the everyday person not associated with architecture.
Being able to spark an interest and open up people’s eyes to how beautiful our built environment can be, what well-designed architecture is, and how it can dramatically change our lives for the better. This is what I am truly after!
What role has luck (good luck or bad luck) played in your life and business?
I have not had any luck in my photography career other than people still willing to answer my phone calls. What I do have is the drive to keep pursuing, the people that saw my talent, and those who have trust in my work (my clients). I will say that the team at The San Diego Architecture Foundation has been one of my biggest influencers.
Without their trust in me to run their photography for their award’s program, I really don’t think I would be where I am today. I am forever grateful to them and so many other people for trusting and believing in me!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ianpatzkephotography.com/
- Email: Ian.Patzke@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ian.patzke/
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