Deacon, motorcyclist, consultant. This Knoxville photographer has more stories than Forrest Gump
If Forrest Gump lived in Powell, he’d be a former newspaper photographer, a Sports Illustrated photographer, a deacon in the Catholic Church, a chaplain for the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and current consultant for Sony Digital Cameras.
That’s been Patrick Murphy-Racey’s path from the south side of Chicago, then Marquette University, through a journey that was hard to land a real job, to a hectic life today that the 58-year-old wouldn’t have any other way.
And … a lot of it hinged on a heavy downpour in 1991.
Once out of college, Murphy-Racey had trouble finding a full-time job. He had photo internships at several major newspapers, but couldn’t land that first real job until 1988 at the Knoxville News Sentinel. His goal was to work at the Pittsburgh Press, a photographer’s dream back then, but his sports portfolio was weak. He got good in Knoxville, primarily at University of Tennessee games.
“One game (in ’91) there was a huge downpour,” Murphy-Racey said. “I understood the wind. I figured out how I could shoot and keep the rain from ruining my equipment.”
Murphy-Racey said by halftime most of the photographers were unable to shoot because their cameras were soaked. He was able to finish the game.
A day or so later, Sports Illustrated called. Their photographer couldn’t finish the game. They needed his film from the second half.
From News Sentinel to Sports Illustrated
Once the bosses at Sports Illustrated got eyes on his work, they were impressed. After that, he started getting regular assignments. On June 18, 1992, he couldn’t juggle things any longer. He quit his stable News Sentinel job and went with the more lucrative magazine.“Ever since then, I’ve been on my motorcycle,” Murphy-Racey said. “That’s freedom.”
For the next 10 years, he was constantly on the road. He would earn a free round-trip ticket on Delta Air Lines every 8-9 days.
Life changed when he and his wife had their daughter.
Growing up, he attended the Catholic Church with his parents, but by high school didn’t see the need for attending Mass. He enjoyed his theology minor at Marquette, but didn’t see the use for regular worship.
They baptized their daughter and began regular attendance. A priest at St. Therese in Clinton persuaded him to go to an information meeting for deacons.
In 2003, he had to give up shooting the NFL on Sundays so he could work at the church. By 2007, he was ordained a deacon and became a minister at Knoxville Catholic High School.
“I would catch fly balls,” he said. “I’d stand in the halls and see if there was a student crying or a teacher that looked stressed. That’s where I’d help.”
Sony finds Murphy-Racey
Fast forward to 2013. Photography was still his passion. A friend from college persuaded him to give the mirrorless camera from Sony a try. He bought a used one for $300, and attached his existing lenses to it.
“I got a call from St. Norbert’s (a small college in Wisconsin),” Murphy-Racey said. “They wanted me to do a story on three guys for their alumni magazine.”
They were able to offer only $700 for the job. It normally wouldn’t be enough for him to even consider, but he said if he could ride his motorcycle there and use that mirrorless camera, he’d do it.
“I shot a whole magazine spread – cover and all,” Murphy-Racey said. “It made better pictures than my cameras that cost $5,000 or $6,000.”
Soooooo…. what’s the first thing a photographer does with a find like that? If it’s Murphy-Racey, he blogs about it. Identifying himself as a “gear guy,” he had a regular blog that gave the good and bad of the innovations.
“I got a call after that from (an executive) at Sony,” Murphy-Racey said. “He said every time I’d blog something, he’d get 200 to 300 emails from around the country.”
By 2014, he became a consultant for Sony. He’d be on hand for new product releases – whether it’s New York, Hawaii, Toronto or anywhere in Europe. He will sit down with the engineers and go over the product and its practical applications.
A photographer's focus shifts
Giving back is front and center on Murphy-Racey’s mind now.
On April 15-16, he’s doing a workshop for young professional shooters (and heavy, heavy amateurs) at Maryville College.
Forty years ago, Maryville dropped its track program. It was revived this year. April 15 will be its first home meet at its new facility.
“Our two-day workshop will be one day of shooting at the meet, then one day of working with the production part of it,” Murphy-Racey said. “We will give our best stuff to their archives and the rest to their sports information office.”
His priorities have changed somewhat.
“In the first part of my career, I’d measure success on the high-profile, high-paying assignments I’d get,” he said. “Now, my focus is making other people successful.”
When he’s not shooting, blogging or developing young photographers, Murphy-Racey is spending 75-100 hours a month riding with Knox County Sheriff’s Officers in his role as chaplain.
Income from several North Knoxville rental properties he bought during that 10-year, big-money stretch, is making life easier. Also, the $1,200 in Apple stock he bought in 1992, and a hefty Amazon purchase 10 years ago, are supplementing things.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: This Knoxville photographer has more stories than Forrest Gump
