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Celebrities Who Shoot

Barry Zito - Oakland A's Pitcher Oakland A's Pitcher An Ace Behind The Lens Interview by Mike Zeiler Article rating: 8.72

Oakland Athletics ace pitcher Barry Zito certainly exudes the laid back Californian personality.  The winner of the 2002 American League Cy Young Award grew up in San Diego in a family of musicians, pursuing interests of guitar, surfing, and yoga, taking snapshots all the while.  Nowadays, he has gotten more serious with his photography since purchasing a Canon EOS 1D three years ago.  In addition to his own exploration of photography, Zito has done assignments for Sports Illustrated, showcasing a player’s spring training experience.  Recently we had a chance to ask Barry a few questions about his photography.

Barry Zito (BZ):  I pretty much started about three years ago.  Michael Zagaris, who is a photographer for the A’s and is a pretty well known sports photographer told me “get this body and start screwing around and checking it out.”  So that’s what I did.

BZ:  Pretty much.  I mean I had some point and shoots growing up and I would take tons of pictures around San Diego and going to college.  But that was more your standard 35mm point and shoot, then go and get it developed at Thrifty’s just to have keepsakes and memories.  But when I got this camera, I thought the whole digital thing was cool, because it gave me instant feedback as to how to play with an exposure, changing the ISO, experiment with metering, and so on.

BZ:  No, I would say I probably prefer film, but I think digital helps me learn more.  Once I developed a strong base of knowledge from shooting digital, I started shooting more film.  Probably the opposite of most people in that sense.

BZ:  I have a Canon EOS Elan 7N.  My ex got me into shooting film and she explained a lot about it to me, which was really cool.  It was just like a whole other world.

BZ:  Howard Schatz is a guy that I really, I love what he does.  I had an opportunity to do a shoot with him in New York last year.  He was really helpful and said, “If you ever need anything, just let me know.”  I still haven’t taken him up on it, but since meeting him, I’ve studied up on his stuff.

BZ:  Hmm...  I don’t know.  I like shooting people.  I mean, I’m an extroverted person and I love capturing someone’s spirit through their eyes.  But I don’t even like to say I’m a photographer.  I just like to document my life and have experiences, some of which not everyone gets to enjoy and see, so I put it on film or digital.  I’ve already got 7,500 pictures just from the past three years with so much random stuff.  I’ll bring my camera with me to restaurants and bars and always have it on me because I never want to miss that shot.

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	Stay in the Bay Barry! Posted by: colin Dec 19, 2006 @ 8:19 PM EST
	The photos are kinetic. That's my visceral reaction. You have a beautiful aesthetic, although unconventional, but that's you. In San Francisco, you have a home, but with the GIants you need to find yourself again. It's not just all the team. In the recent photo frenzy, it's like one of those flip-book animations where you look more and more drained with every photo. Take some time to run naked in the woods. Posted by: Renee Hillaire Apr 3, 2007 @ 10:22 PM EST
	Barry, you seem to have accomplished So many things some of us could only dream about being able to do. When I'm in the city I use my little camera I always have on me to take photos of whatever I can, Sometimes it's all repeats. But if I had your time, your freedom, and most importantly your camera, I would be able to capture my life into picture like you seem to do. You do it like so many don't understand when it comes to photography. Most people don't understand that to some people as yourself, and even I, consider every moment in life is worth shooting. And you are so lucky to have the freedom, and wisdom, in being able to have advantage of the opportunity. Posted by: Tania R... Jul 8, 2007 @ 4:48 AM EST
	Got to be candid here - I'd suggest that Barry keep his day job. These pictures are passable - kinda like the songs that people "compose" on Casio's. Posted by: D Ashcart Oct 8, 2007 @ 12:1 AM EST

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