Hi there. My name is Bob Holtsman. I’m a retired general contractor and have always had a healthy appetite for photography.
My love of photography started in 1978 when I inherited my grandfather’s Leidolf Wetzlar Lordomat rangefinder camera. The Lordomat was all manual so I had to learn about aperture and shutter speed and light metering long before YouTube and the internet. That early knowledge proved useful as my hobby evolved.
In 1984 my wife and I received a Pentax Super Program SLR for a wedding present. I loved that camera and although there were automatic settings, I never lost my desire to shoot manual. We enjoyed many happy years of SLR film photography and captured lots of wonderful family memories as our kids grew up. Our shelves are full of priceless travel and family photo albums.
I was an active triathlete and marathon runner from 1986-1998. My wife captured lots of great race day images with our Pentax. When injuries forced me to stop running in 1998, I became the unofficial photographer for local triathlons and multi-sport events and that's when I found my true calling. I loved sports photography and took every opportunity to hone my skills.
With the advent of digital photography I was drawn to the simplicity of automatic point-and-shoot cameras and the efficiency of shooting, viewing and printing at home. Sadly, our film Pentax was relegated to the closet. On the upside, we shot many thousands of digital images and continued to fill family albums.
It wasn’t long before I realized that point-and-shoot wasn’t going to cut it for sports photography. In 2011 I invested in a Canon Rebel XSi and a Sigma 18-250 “holiday” lens. I shot lots of great events with that setup. Images from that camera still reside on my website.
I was quickly bitten by the gear bug. My closet is now full of awesome professional gear including my workhorse Canon 5D3 and Canon 70-200 f2.8L, which provide me with the tools to capture some really solid sports and lifestyle images.
In 2014 I invested in a super-fast iMac and Lightroom photo-editing softwear. Once I started shooting RAW images and editing in Lightroom it opened a whole new world of photography to me. In 2018 I subscribed to the Adobe Photography Suite, which included Photoshop, another valuable tool.
In 2016, Dana Pihach, manager of Odeon Event Centre (now the Coors Event Centre), offered me the opportunity to shoot LUGO, a fund raiser for the Remai Modern Art Gallery. My images were good enough for Dana to ask me back on a regular basis to shoot bands playing her venue. Band/Event photography quickly became a staple of my business. I was fortunate to see, shoot and enjoy amazing acts, including, Bombargo, One Bad Son, I Mother Earth, Steel Panther, and many more.
I retired from construction in 2017 and since then have built a small business shooting Sport, Event and Lifestyle imagery. So if you’re looking for a photographer to capture you, your family, your business, or your event, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’d love to meet and discuss your photography needs.