Check Out Parker Rice’s Story

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Parker Rice.

Hi Parker, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
When I was 15 years old, I took a photo class at my high school. The school provided us with cameras, and I can still remember the feeling of holding it for the first time, and instantly, I became obsessed. Every moment of free time was out shooting photos.

I’d skip lunch to go into the darkroom and print. That following summer, I got a job at McDonald’s and saved up just enough to buy a Nikon D50, a 6-megapixel DSLR. A local photographer took me under his wing and I began shooting weddings and senior portraits with him, which technically made me a professional!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’m extremely grateful for the path that I’ve gone down but smooth wouldn’t be the word I’d use to describe it. After college, I hit the ground running and had slow but steady growth.

One of the struggles with being a commercial photographer is that we are beholden to the state of the economy, and it seems when the markets aren’t feeling optimistic, companies’ first response is to slash marketing budgets. It’s very feast or famine.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
The work I do for a living is primarily corporate/commercial work. I’ve diversified my skillsets and do both photo and video, though photo is my main passion. I’ve had shoots with WD-40, Starbucks, Red Robin and so many more. I’ve had multiple billboard campaigns and for over a decade, whenever you went to buy WD-40 at Home Depot, you’d see my work.

That being said, people know me mostly for the photos I’ve taken of wild foxes in Silverthorne, Colorado. I’ve been able to capture these foxes on many occasions and have developed a pretty elaborate shooting set that allows me to use flashes and a remote trigger so they don’t have to get close to me. I’ve also had some notoriety from my dog portraits that I do for families that need to put their dogs down.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I am a commercial space suit technician. Many years ago, my business partner and I owned RED cinema cameras that, at the time, were groundbreaking pieces of tech and were very well-suited for scientific research.

We were sought out by a space program to teach astronaut candidates how to operate the camera while in a pressurized space suit. One thing led to another, and we became space suit technicians for the program. I have donned spacesuits on multiple people who have gone to space!

Contact Info:

• Website: parkerrice.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/riceparker/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parkerricephoto
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parker-rice-372230100/