William Garnett is a teacher at East High School, and an avid supporter of the sports and other programs there. He uses his photography skills to provide the student athletes with some amazing Sports Illustrated-level images through his Instagram and Facebook feeds.

WG: I do photography, mostly sports. I began by taking photographs to document the activities of an organization I was the adviser for at East High School and progressed to photographing a variety of activities from sports to theater. I have been called the school photographer and I guess that fits.

Tumble
Every once in a while, I am shooting the right place at the right time to get some amazing action. This shot of Ryder Donovan flying over the goalie at the state tournament is one of my favorites from that event.

I have been taking pictures for over 20 years, but have really become serious about getting more than just snapshots in the last 7 or 8 years.

Redpoll in Snow
I took this picture of a redpoll on my backyard feeder, just as a snow squall hit. The poor bird looks so miserable, just like many of us during a storm.

I face many different lighting situations including bright sunny days, sporting events at night under the lights, indoor events with many different types and lighting and theaters with stages that are dark in one scene and brightly lit in another. I have been fortunate to have access that allows me to be close to the action at the events I photograph. I enjoy getting a great action shot and being able to share with my students and their parents. It’s fun for me to see how many of my pictures become someone’s profile picture on social media or are on the picture boards at a grad party. Knowing that my pictures are preserving special memories for my students, parents and families makes it worth the time I put in.

Wacipi
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Souix hold a Wacipi each year. This was one of the dancers demonstrating her Fancy Shawl dance at the Mall of America.

Geese
I took this in the fall at Rock Pond on the UMD campus. The reflection of the changing leaves gives a surreal appearance to the water.

Future projects include the spring sports season coming up, and I have a trip to Europe scheduled for next spring and am looking forward to doing some travel photography. I just finished shooting Duluth East at the State Hockey Tournament. I would love to get media access to photograph a Twins game some day.

I like capturing the emotions of players and these two are a couple of my favorites. This is a group of East players celebrating their section championship

An East football player urging on his teammates.

Instagram Link:
@wegarnett