Rand Bleimeister, father of Isabel ’14, has logged close to 1,500 hours as Marlborough’s unofficial photographer.
It all started in 2008, when Isabel joined Marlborough’s 7th grade soccer team. Bleimeister had been photographing Isabel’s club team for years, and he felt inspired by Marlborough’s athletic program. He soon started photographing Marlborough’s Varsity soccer team as well.
In the past three years, Bleimeister has photographed every Marlborough sports team and virtually every Marlborough event, from theatre productions to dance shows.
Bleimeister is grateful for all that Marlborough has given to his family and is happy to photograph as many School events as he can.
“I enjoy it because it allows me to give back. It’s important to give back to Marlborough because Marlborough has given so much to my daughter and her friends and all the girls and their parents,” Bleimeister said.
Bleimeister is a self-taught photographer. He learned most of his technique from online forums such as Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com), a website where amateur photographers like Bleimeister share tips and insights.
Bleimeister says that he started shooting “in earnest” six or seven years ago. His focus and interest have always been in sports photography, which requires specialized techniques and equipment.
According to Bleimeister, good sports photography is all about anticipating action and capturing the relationships between the players. For example, to capture a goal in a soccer game is great, but it is also important to capture the celebration after the goal.
The four to five hours Bleimeister typically spends at school events are only the beginning. After shooting, he spends hours processing the images.
First, Bleimeister loads the 1,500 to 2,000 images he takes per shoot onto his computer. Then, he discards 90% of the images, keeping only the very best ones. Finally, he goes through each of the remaining images one-by-one, cropping out the unnecessary parts and adjusting the light balance in the image.
When Isabel graduates from Marlborough this May, the School will have to bid a fond farewell to Bleimeister and his incredible photography. Bleimeister hopes that another parent will take on his role to continue the tradition of capturing the “talented girls” at Marlborough.
“Lots of girls work really hard building sets, playing sports, and performing. It’s so exciting and a great tribute to them to capture them in action. It gives me great joy to be able to capture special moments for the girls and the School,” Bleimeister said.
“I will always love shooting sports and the performing arts. The last six years of Marlborough photography have been a blast!”
Marlborough students have grown accustomed to seeing Bleimeister around campus with camera in hand, and they will miss both having him around and seeing his photographs.
“It gives the Marlborough community great joy to look at all the gorgeous photographs the remarkably generous and talented Rand Bleimeister has produced these past six years. He is a cherished member of the community and is going to be missed very much in the years to come,” Parker ’14 said.
