Photographer Eric Nalpas
BY JAIMIE LUNA
NNB Student Reporter
SARASOTA – With a sense of adventure and $500 in his pocket, he bought a round-trip ticket to Queensland, Australia.
His plan? To stay for two weeks.
He stayed for a year, making surfboards to pay the bills.
During that time Eric Nalpas began to discover his love for photography. And by the time he was 25, he had turned that love into a career.
“I realized with photography, you really have to give it 100 percent to make anything happen,” says Nalpas.
He became a part-time correspondent photographer for the Sarasota Herald Tribune, covering Red Cross efforts during Hurricane Katrina and the San Bernardino wildfires.
Nalpas, 37, is now the photographer for the Sarasota Polo Club in Lakewood Ranch. During polo season, he covers up to nine games a week. Sunday is his busiest day.
After the first year, he started playing polo himself. “I think if I didn’t start playing, I wouldn’t still be there,” says Nalpas.
His skill in the game helps him predict what is going to happen next, capturing the best moments with his Nikon D800.
His assistant, 23-year-old McKenzie Chadwell, is pleased to be working with him.
“I see life in angles and so does he,” says Chadwell. “It’s nice to be able to see our work together through a camera lens. I give him my own perspective on things, all while he’s teaching me how to become a professional in this field.”
On top of everything, Nalpas has taught Chadwell it doesn’t matter what kind of photography equipment you have. What matters is what you do with it.
His favorite part about being a photographer is interacting with people and traveling. He says he’s always had a thirst for travel.
“I love it. I love every minute of it,” he says.
Before becoming full-time photographer, Nalpas was shaping surfboards around the world for famous surfboard builder Juan Rodriguez.
“I used to joke and say I made surfboards for the life and the style,” says Nalpas. “Turns out I didn’t have a life or style. I wanted more.”
When he’s not working at the Sarasota Polo Club, Nalpas is an independent photographer, part-time bartender at the Selva Grill, and dad to 6-year-old Logan Nalpas.
Nalpas also recently dove back into making surfboards.
“It’s my familiar getaway,” he says.
Despite his successes, Nalpas strives to be a better photographer.
“I don’t think I’m the best,” he says. “On a scale of 1 to 10, I give myself a 6. I want to be better; that’s what keeps me going.”