Meet Pat Battellini | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Pat Battellini and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Pat, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I always loved to watch the light and the shadow of everything that was around me, and tried to understand how things (and people) could actually look so different depending on the balance of light and shadow that was around them. Also understanding that it was a question of point of view what made things look beautiful or not, through the lens and in life. It was also the passion about colors and what feelings they arouse in human beings. I could stare at a place or a situation or a person’s eyes and feel captivated by their meaning and what they transmit deep inside me. All those things made me want to capture images and showed them to the world. That was when I understood the power of a Camera, and was then, 24 years ago, when I jumped into my carrier as a photographer. After that I started to dive into the concepts of compositions, movement, and the different techniques that made an image possible.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Being a Freelance photographer is like being a solo climber. You are always on your own, taking decisions, and having the pressure that all that big production weights on your shoulders, and depends on your capacity to press the button on the right moment, and manage the energy of the team, and whats most important connecting with your talent that is in front of the camera to give you that look that the client wants/needs. You got to trust on your decisions and show confidence to the team. I faced many difficult situations where things got complicated, like not having the right weather on an specific shooting day, or having to manage the bad temper of strict clients or bad attitude of snobbish models/celebrities and I got to the conclusion that always having good energy and staying calm in any disadvantage situation was the best spirit to face take kind of challenge.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
In my opinion LA is the most vibrant, spicy and colorful city of the world. Because of the interesting people you can meet from all over the world, and variety of things that you can do in just one day. Starting from the city vibes of Korea Town, Echo Park and SIlverlake and obviously my favorite area West Hollywood, to the beach vibes of the ocean from Venice to Malibu. If I would have to plan an itinerary for an awesome weekend I would start the day hiking at the Runyon Canyon, or if the swell is good, surfing at Topanga Beach, which is my favorite spot on Earth, because of the energy and the perfect waves. Another one of my favorite beaches is Heavens, 1 hour north right after Leo Carrillo. At midday, as Im a big fan of Italian food, I would recommend “LA Puglia”, an amazing restaurant in Santa Monica with real Italian food ran by a Pugliese couple, every single dish on the menu is absolutely delicious. After lunch I like to hang around the Venice Boardwalk full of energy and sports, roller skate or ride a bike till the sunset. At night I love the vibes of West Hollywood and walk through the strip. And if there is some energy left, I totally recommend hiking to the Hollywood Sign during the night and enjoying the night views of LA city lights.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I am very thankfull with all the people who helped me during the path of my career, from clientes who trusted me and gave the job, to my family and friends that always lended me a hand to keep it on, but most of the credit goes to my wife who helped to have the strength and courage and confidence, to work harder in the good and in the bad times, and the most important was that she took care of my kids when I was traveling a lot through the world from one shooting to another.

Website: www.patbattellinistudio.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patbattellini/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pat-battellini/

Other: https://vimeo.com/patbattellinistudio