Peter Pezzella
Photographer
ARTIST BIO
I was the kid who tinkered with things. When I found something mechanical and interesting, I played with it to see how it worked. This is how my interest and career in photography developed. When I was 15, my father brought home a 35mm camera that he used for his job. I found the knobs, lens, and how it worked intriguing. I began to “play” with it on the weekends, thinking, “This is cool”.
While playing High School football I sustained an injury and was sidelined. I started bringing the camera with me to take photos from the sideline. And then “IT” happened, a player saw a photograph I took of him on the field and wanted to buy it. “What?”, I can make money from this?” I sold it to him for $5.00, and that was how my lifelong career in photography began, despite my father’s concerns about becoming a “starving artist”. I went to a photography school and started my 1st job as an assistant to a fashion photographer in NYC in 1984. After a few years in fashion photography, I realized I was more interested in product photography. Since then, I found myself working in product photography, catalogs, weddings, youth sports, and school portraits, as well as school sports photography, always adjusting to the changes in the business and the economy. I was busy all the time, working hard to support my family, but I loved what I was doing! When I reached my 50s, I realized I spent years doing photography for everyone other than myself. I always enjoyed working as a photographer, but it had become just a job. It wasn’t a bad thing, but it also wasn’t fulfilling me creatively. I felt I needed more.
I began searching for what originally inspired me to become a photographer in the first place. I needed to get back to my roots, get back my “eye,” as they say. It wasn’t just about selling that first $5.00 picture. It was about creating an image that stirred up an emotion in someone, a feeling that gave me a sense of satisfaction. I love being outdoors, in nature, exploring the world around me. When I look at an object or scene and capture it with my camera, I enjoy altering it to evoke a different emotion from its reality. I look to capture not only the larger picture but also all the smaller details. Even when I don’t have a camera in my hand, I find myself looking at the world, the scene in front of me. Seeing the light and how it plays on a tree trunk, watching the clouds move. Mentally, I’m always capturing a photo in my head, and many times they do make it into my camera’s lens.
This is my life; I’m photographer Peter Pezzella. There’s a good chance this is not our first encounter. Many people may not know me by name, but have heard of my company, Memorable Moments Photography. I ran a Wedding studio in Rockland and Westchester counties for over 10 years. I also covered all the Port Chester HS yearbook portraits, sports, and all other events that appeared in the yearbooks for 10 years. I also photographed different sports leagues in the Port Chester/Rye Brook area.