Sports photog shoots to win

Special for the Green Valley News

Mike Turner has amassed thousands of photos taken by him and his crackerjack team of professional photographers.

A Green Valley winter resident and partner in Varsity Photos Inc. in Burnsville, Minn.,

Turner loves photos that capture the exact second when the thrill of the moment is etched on a player’s face.

How do you get just the right photo? Turner said one shooter he knows clicked 27,000 photos in three days.

The majority are high school competitions and sports events in the Midwest, but there are also shots of Dallas Cowboys running back Marion Barber, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Matt Spaeth and American League batting champ for the Minnesota Twins, Joe Mauer.

“The photos I like best are those where you can see the intensity of the sport on a player’s face,” Turner said.

There’s one posed photo that Turner cherishes. It’s of retired Minnesota Vikings defensive back Paul Krause, who was inducted into the pro-football Hall of Fame in 1998; it shows Krause on his gleaming, candy-apple-red, custom-built “bike.”

“It has signatures of 125 of the 145 Hall of Fame members... Paul holds the record for the most intercepts.

“He’s a great friend, an extremely caring person, a high-quality man,” Turner said.

One thing leads to another

Always intrigued by innovation, Turner opened the first One-Hour Photo shop in Minnesota more than 25 years ago.

“There were no repair people, we were isolated... I ran into a guy who did sports photography and he asked me to do the photo processing for him. One thing led to another and I started Varsity Photos in 1983.

“Digital photography has changed everything. Machines do all the work now; they can detect a scratch we couldn’t see.”

Though sports is a seasonal business, Turner said on any given day Varsity Photos has 40 photographers out shooting.

Basketball, football, baseball, hockey, soccer, gymnastics and high school all-star teams keep them busy.

Photographing the National AAU Girls’ Basketball game in 2007 and 2008, he said, “All the girls were under 12; it was incredible to watch them.”

More than having his photographers capture photos at the exact split second, Turner prides himself on outstanding customer service.

“Sales is about developing relationships and working with customers. You have to build a trust. I’ve always told our employees not to make promises they can’t keep. We’ll do what we have to do to make it right with a customer.”

While wintering in Green Valley, Turner keeps his skills sharp by photographing the landscape and hummingbirds in Madera Canyon and taking photos of the birds and wildlife at the Desert Museum.

And who’s the one sports figure he hasn’t nabbed yet?

“Interesting, interesting,” Turner said, pondering. “The first one who comes to mind is Michael Jordan of basketball fame. He’s not active anymore, but I would have loved to have photographed him.”

While enjoying winter in Southern Arizona, he works from home but doesn’t do any work-related photography. Coming up in early April is an all-star basketball game and two major hockey tournaments and Turner will return to chilly Minnesota to attend these events.

He loves the business he has created and in addition to being proud of the massive collection of photos, he’s also proud of the values and ethics he’s instilled in his team of photographers.

Ellen Sussman is a freelance writer in Green Valley. Contact her at ellen2414@cox.net.