Rangefinder Magazine
June 2006

On-duty Photographer: by Margaret Lane
Tom Sperduto’s Images of America

A cook and a U.S. Army soldier stare out at Ground Zero in New York City, Sept. 21, 2001.	A homeless man overcomve by emotion.

Photography is my passion. It is my way of expressing who I am and trying to make sense of the world around me. I strive to capture the beauty, frailty and strength of the people I encounter with my camera,” states Tom Sperduto, a full-time U.S. Coast Guard photojournalist based in Manhattan and owner of an eponymous studio. In just five years, Sperduto has parlayed an introductory course in photography into spectacular professional and personal journeys.

Firing Off a Career

Sperduto’s experiences as both a marine and police officer have greatly enhanced his sense of alertness. As a result, he is always conscious of his environment and always ready to snap pictures. “Working in public service requires that I be aware, observant and anticipatory. Marines and police officers must look at the world differently—become aware of the unusual and out of place. You learn to never stop looking. These skills have greatly aided my timing and ability to see and anticipate things as a photographer, things that others might not observe. I’m always looking for the next picture.”

Brien Aho, a Navy combat photojournalist, reflects and relaxes after being covered in mud during the making of the Eddie Adams Black Team Video at the Eddie Adams Workshop	com Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Timothy A. Beard of Port Security Unit 313 stands guard on the Mina al Bakr oil terminal in the North Arabian Gulf, off the coast of Iraq.

Sperduto started his professional career as a U.S. Marine Corps machinegunner, traveling to 29 countries during four years of service. He later became a police officer in Richmond, Virginia, and Charlotte and New Hanover County, North Carolina. By June 1998 he had joined the U.S. Coast Guard, first serving at a small boat station performing search and rescue and law enforcement, and later embarking on a path as a public affairs (PA) specialist.

Coast Guard PAs become the service’s photographers, and Sperduto attended his first Military Photography Workshop in the spring of 2001. He remarks that this training really opened his eyes to the possibilities and potential he had as a photographer. One of the workshop volunteers and a technical representative for Nikon, Anne Cahill, inspired him with her expertise and breadth of knowledge.

“She taught me how to better operate and understand my camera and how to see pictures and use light,” he says. “Back then, I was shooting on a Nikon F100. Today I am fully digital with a Nikon D2X and D1X. I use a D200 as backup to my D2X. Anne took me under her wing, giving me her time and friendship. She’s become one of my great mentors.”

“Seeking a Face”— A woman stretches her hands out in prayer during the “America for Jesus” rally at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Oct. 22, 2004.

By 2004 Sperduto was asked to be a member of the Black Team at the Eddie Adams Workshop, and he was delighted to fill a request to pick up New York based photographer Jay Maisel from the airport. Sharing the four-hour drive to the course’s location in upstate New York became one of the most educational and influential times in Sperduto’s life.

“Within the first 30 minutes of meeting Jay, I learned two of the most valuable lessons in my career: first, never let your gear leave your side, and second, always be ready to capture a moment with a camera. During this travel time Jay also reinforced my belief that the importance of understanding light, color, gesture and climax cannot be overlooked—these are the four things I’m always looking for through my camera lens.” According to Sperduto, Maisel stresses that gesture is the reason for the image; it can mean the difference between a photo of a person and a photo of who a person is. Gesture is the thing that makes the photo interesting and unique.

Other mentors who have inspired and touched him include Eli Reed from Magnum Photos, Joe McNally, Chip Maury and Ken Hackman. Wally Mc- Namee, Ralph Ginzburg, Vince Laforet, Keith Meyers, Howard Schatz. Two Coast Guard supervisors, CWO Steve Sapp and CWO Brandon Brewer, have also influenced Sperduto’s photographic career.

“Rise Up”—New York City Firefighters battle raging fires at Ground Zero, Sept. 13, 2001.

World Events Shape a Career

A few months after completing his first Military Photography Workshop, Sperduto was assigned to Ground Zero in New York for three months—just seven blocks from his U.S. Coast Guard office in Manhattan. As a Coast Guard liaison, he was tasked with documenting Coast Guard and rescue efforts. Relying on a Nikon D1X, an F100, plus a Tamron 28–105mm f/2.8 lens and a Nikon 80–200mm f/2.8, he recorded hundreds of images later used in magazines, books and other media. A career-defining assignment, he recalls the raw emotion waiting to be captured on camera—images were everywhere. Reflecting upon this time, Sperduto was most moved by the powerful closeness and brotherhood that prevailed after 9/11. One of his favorite photographs, an image of the American flag created in spray-paint by children from a Greenbrook, New Jersey, park, was shot just a few days after 9/11 (shown on page 122). For Sperduto, this autumnal street art with its scattering of dry leaves offered powerful and contemporary symbolism for the time: the fall of America. “In many ways I feel I grew up as a photojournalist at Ground Zero.” Sperduto’s photos are clean and well balanced, recording the passion and feelings of the moment. He cleverly positions focal points for maximum impact.

He uses natural lighting and avoids major image-editing and retouching except where absolutely necessary. A good example of Sperduto’s style is a photo taken from a Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat manned by a U.S. Coast Guard team. Shot handheld with a D1X and 17–35mm f/2.8 lens just below the Brooklyn Bridge at the break of dawn, the portrait’s natural balance of texture and pattern, plus the contrast of light, shadow and color create a powerful image of that time.

“I shot that image the day after escorting Vince Laforet from the New York Times on a Coast Guard story. Vince is one of my favorite photographers, and he spent the morning mentoring, as well as photographing, Coast Guard Homeland Security missions. This image means a lot to me. After it was published in USA Today, I received an email from a citizen of New York, saying that she felt safer knowing the Coast Guard was guarding the city. I am glad I was able to show the heroism, dedication and strength of the U.S. Coast Guard in a picture.”

Many of Sperduto’s 9/11 photos have been published worldwide. Books include: September 11: A Testimony, In the Line of Duty: A Tribute to New York’s Finest and Bravest and America’s Heroes: Inspiring Stories of Courage, Sacrifice and Patriotism. His images have also appeared in such publications as Time, People, Newsweek, and the New York Times.

Washington Redskins punter Bryan Barker (4) tackles New York Giants safety Omar Stoutmire (23) after a 14-yard run following a blocked field goal during the fourth quarter of a Giants/Redskins game. (AP Photo/Tom Sperduto)

Scoring From the End Zone “There’s no doubt that being a Coast Guard photojournalist has opened many doors for me,” says Sperduto, recalling other projects he’s tackled. Early in his career he accepted an assignment for the U.S. Army to cover the military Color Guards during an NFL game’s opening ceremonies at Giants Stadium. These were always quick assignments that required being on and off the field in less than 20 minutes: Once the national anthem was complete, non-game photographers were asked to leave the field. But one day Sperduto decided to experiment by firing off a few environmental portraits of the security guards during the national anthem using an 80–200mm f/2.8 Nikon lens.

On his next visit to the stadium he returned with prints for the guards. “In gratitude, they let me stand in the tunnel and shoot the action during the first quarter. Eventually, and a few prints later, they allowed me to shoot full games from the end zone. I created a portfolio and sent it to a contact at the Associated Press who knew me through my Coast Guard work.

He hired me as a freelancer, thereby giving me a great introduction to the world of professional sports. I owe much to the kind security guards who gave me that break.” Professional sports images shot by Sperduto have landed in national newspapers, including the front pages of USA Today and USA Today Sports Week. His U.S. Coast Guard photojournalism images taken in Iraq and other locales have lead to editorial and commercial placement with the Associated Press, New York Times, Baltimore Sun, Olympus, Johns Hopkins University, Instinct magazine, Bandag Tires and the Thomson Media Group.

Off-duty Shooter

When not shooting for the Coast Guard, Sperduto operates a photography business with his wife, Jen, from their New Jersey home. She runs the studio and manages the business; he shoots. “We take on weddings and portrait work and love working together as a team. Each of us approaches projects with an eye to giving it a photojournalistic flair and telling the story of the day. We never shoot a wedding without first getting to know the couple and doing an engagement session.” They recently hired an assistant who had approached Sperduto after seeing his website and asked if he would mentor her. It was her persistence, energy and passion that helped her win a spot on their team.

Don and Alexis Dykstra pose for a portrait in their New Jersey bedroom May 12, 2005.

Inside the photo studio things are kept lean, with half a dozen backdrops, Epson Stylus Photo R2400 and 1280 printers, Nikon cameras, and numerous lenses including a 300mm f/2.8, 70–200mm f/2.8, 28–70mm f/2.8, 17–55mm f/2.8, 12–24mm f/4, 60mm f/2.8 Macro and 50mm f/1.8. Workspace lighting features include: a Profoto 7b power pack with two 7b heads, an Elinchrome softbox, a Profoto Pro Globe, a beauty dish with cone, PocketWizards, three Nikon SB- 800 Speedlights (one on camera, the others remotely triggered), and Gary Fong’s Lightsphere (used with on-camera SB- 800). With the ease of Nikon’s wireless setup, Sperduto notes that he can spend more time being creative rather than technical. The team relies on an Apple PowerMac G5 with a flat screen monitor and a PowerBook G4, both calibrated monthly using Monaco color management software.

A simple digital workflow prevails both in studio and from the field. After a location shoot, Sperduto downloads files from his Lexar 2GB cards to a 40GB Epson P-2000 multimedia storage viewer. Back in the studio, he transfers files to his G5. Camera Bits’ Photo Mechanic 4 is used for initial viewing, before bringing the images into Photoshop CS for minor touchups and color balancing. Once images are edited, Sperduto burns a DVD of all RAW images for archiving, preps a second DVD with selects and edits, and then saves edits to a dedicated folder on a 160GB LaCie hard drive. Client images are delivered per request: newspapers generally prefer an FTP site, most commercial clients request high-res via DVD, and some accounts visit his online Digital Railroad image archive account. For studio portraiture and wedding work, Sperduto will use an FTP site to send digital files to Miller’s Professional Imaging in Pittsburg, Kansas, for printing before sending to the client.

Using Digital Railroad Online albums and archiving solutions for organizing, marketing and selling photographs are being used by more and more professional photographers. Tom Sperduto displays and markets photos via a branded online photo archive powered by Digital Railroad. Accessible from anywhere in the world, Sperduto can shoot, then connect to upload and display images within minutes, giving him a two-way connection between the global marketplace and his online storefront. National Geographic Photographer Stephen Alvarez “It’s the answer to many of the problems that plague my business: How do I deliver pictures to clients across the globe? How do I share photos with the scientists, assistants and subjects I deal with?” (www.digitalrailroad. net/alvarezphotography) Going beyond the static online image album and archiving model, Digital Railroad’s technology actively notifies potential buyers/subscribers. A unique Photo Feed push technology empowers professional photographers with an ability to market directly to one or many buyers, customers and editors. Photo Feeds can be customized by image category, keyword or source archive, and are delivered via RSS, Atom and Javascript. Subscribers are issued a single password granting them access to thousands of high-resolution images in online archives of member photographers. Image buyers/subscribers can also tap into the power of a personal online lightbox—an image management workspace for viewing and comparing photos from multiple albums and/or photographers. Mountain and Motor Sports Photographer Warwick Patterson “I can FTP my full-res files to a personalized Digital Railroad site and direct my commercial and editorial clients to go view images. They’ll make an online lightbox, and once approved, I grant them permission to download their selection.” (www.digitalrailroad.net/formulaphoto) Digital Railroad uses a secure SQL database and Linux storage systems that automatically resize uploaded files to multiple resolutions, along with servers that automate repetitive non-creative production tasks such as batch-captioning groups of photos and setting-up FTP syndication to handle transmission of images to multiple clients. Austria-based Photo Artist Eva Schimmer “Instead of spending five months building and programming my own website, I use Digital Railroad, so I can concentrate on taking pictures. I can recoup my investment within a very short time through online image sales.” (www.digitalrailroad.net/evatronix) Membership-based, each photographer receives their own website address and ample storage (10GB with an option to add more) for homepage and archival. Use Digital Railroad for a homepage or link to sections on an existing website where image archives are featured. The service provides options for site customization.

Edits and changes to images are rare, but sometimes creative touches using Nik Color Efex filters are desirable for wedding or portrait work. “As a rule I try to shoot as perfectly as possible and only use editing software when it doesn’t change the meaning of the photo. However, I do spend a lot of time tweaking color management tools and systems.

American flag created in spray-paint by children in Greenbrook, New Jersey,

Profiling can be tricky and complex, but I know that mastering this can really make images pop.” Case in point: He recently delved into learning more about color management for his Epson 1280. “A week later I was at the store purchasing a new Epson R2400. If the images were that good off the 1280, I couldn’t wait to see what the R2400 could do. I was simply blown away by the prints. It’s amazing what a slight change in paper, ink, input or learning the latest tips in color management will yield.”

Getting Around For work outside the 9–5, Sperduto relies on leads from his website and word of mouth. He’s recently won several awards, placing in the top three for such competitions as Feature Category, Military Photographer of the Year 2004, and the Illustration Category, Military Photographer of the Year 2001. He’s landed the Coast Guard Photographer of the Year; the Alex Haley Award in 2001, 2002 and 2003; and his most outstanding accomplishment, the Meritorious Service Medal, which was bestowed as recognition for being one of the most published photographers in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.

With that little bit of spare time left in this studio owner/new father/ full-time Coast Guard photojournalist’s day, Sperduto enjoys pursuing personal photography projects. His lifelong undertaking, “Seekers of the Spiritual,” is a poignant study documenting how people seek spirituality. To date he’s captured images of Wiccans, Christians and Muslims practicing their faith. A second endeavor is a book to be titled Bedroom Borders, a collection of environmental portraits featuring couples and families in bed together.

With just five years of professional photography under his belt, Sperduto is quick to compliment those who have helped him. “I attribute everything I am today to the military and civilians who volunteer their time every year at the Military Photography Workshop.”

Grateful of the benefits he’s received from this course, Sperduto makes it a point to donate his time and talents to the workshop every year.

“It’s my way of giving back by mentoring and teaching. It’s a great personal honor. At the last session I had the opportunity to work with my close friend Eli Reed, assisting him in training a team of five photographers. I learned as much as I taught.” Sperduto has also served as a photojournalism instructor at the Defense Information School.

Recent Project: Broadway House

Tom has recently taken portraits for a photo project called “Who I Am.” Jeanine Reilly, executive director of the Broadway House for Continuing Care in Newark, NJ, where this project took place, says, “This photo project was born of a desire to emphasize the individuality of residents living with HIV at the Broadway House.”

Tom became involved with the “Who I Am” photo project after volunteering to photograph events at Broadway House. Tom says, “My wife is coordinator of psychiatric rehabilitation at Broadway House and expressed to me how much pictures would mean to the residents. After photographing life at Broadway House to update their website, I photographed a fashion show and made prints for the residents. Following the fashion show, I set up a small studio in the church and shot portraits of each of the models.”

Shortly after giving prints to the residents, Tom was asked to work on the grant project “Who I Am: Personal Images,” consisting of around 70 portraits. He says he is honored to be part of this project, which is meant to be a legacy of the residents and a way to show them in a different light.

To see images from this and other projects visit www.tomsperduto.com.

Margaret Lane is a freelance writer and amateur photographer. She has more than 15 years experience as a corporate communications professional for non-profit, photography and technology clients.