A few minutes with Victor Sailor - photographer

A few minutes with Victor Sailor - photographer

I first meet Victor Sailer at the1996 Atlanta U.S. Olympic Track and Field - Team Trials. Over the years I have been at a number of track meets, such as the Sacramento Trials and National Championships in Indianapolis where we both have been taking pictures. Victor use to shoot pictures at the Clarksburg 10km, Parkersburg Half Marathon and the Columbus Marathon, but those races cut back their coverage and Victor has not been to those races for three years. Victor has a contract with The Running Network which allows the various publications to use his pictures in our magazines and on the web. For a number of years Victor and his wife Lisa have attended the Running Network winter meeting at the Disney Marathon and I have had the opportunity to get to know them better.

Victor and Lisa are rooming two doors down from me in the Learning Life Center (which is across the street from Hayward Filed) for the duration of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track and Field - Team Trials. Last night I went out to dinner with Victor and Lisa. Today I had the opportunity to ask Victor a few questions.

RUNOHIO
How did you first get involved taking photos at track and field meets?

Victor
Well I was a decathlete in college (East Stroudsburh), my old girlfriend had a camera and I thought it would be cool to take pictures at the meets and stuff. So I bought a camera and I started playing around at the meets. Then I realized one of my college roommates was in the photo club so I said I will take pictures of all of the sports. So I started taking pictures of all of the sports, then I realized all the guys I knew, it was the best way to get invited to all of the parties, cause everyone wanted pictures of themselves. So the football player like the pictures I took and I would get invited to every party there was.

RUNOHIO
When did you first start getting paid to take pictures? Did the university pay you or was it more like a hobby?

Victor
It was more like a hobby. It was a learning experience, everything is a learning experience. I don’t know if I ever got paid for taking pictures for quite awhile. It is not an easy business. No one wants to pay for pictures. (Victor laughs).

RUNOHIO
When did you go to your first U.S. Olympic Track and Field - Team Trials and be able to market your pictures that way?

Victor
My first Olympic Trials was ’88. So it was pretty cool. That was one of the best ever. That was where Jud Logan was standing there and Ken Flaggen came over and ripped his shirt off and then threw the hammer. So that was a lot of fun, it was a good time.

RUNOHIO
Who do you take pictures for and where do you market your pictures?

Victor
I work for myself. We have our own company and our web site is www.photorun.net
net (Victor laughs). That is why we put the big capital letters on net.

RUNOHIO
I know the Running Network can use your pictures, who else do you sell pictures to or have a contact to take pictures for?

Victor
I think we have a deal with every shoe company. Maybe one or two shoe companies we don’t deal with, so it works out very well. It works out good for them and it works out good for us. A lot of time we are working for the organizers of major races and stuff, such as the USA Track and Field. So it works out well for everyone across the board.

RUNOHIO
How many events do you go to in a year?

Victor
Somewhere between 60 and 70. Some weekends it double or triple and it is almost every single weekend.

RUNOHIO

Besides yourself how many other people take pictures for/with you?

Victor
My wife, Lisa, does the web site and helps with the photos and we have an alliance with a group in Italy and an alliance with a group out of Japan and Paris.

RUNOHIO
What pictures have you taken which was used for future marketing or promotion?

Victor
Uh, that is a tough one. Had a lot of posters out there and stuff like that. I don’t know. There has been a quite a few of them, but not one that has been used more than anything else.

Information from the www.photorun.net site –

Photo Run, based in New York, was founded and established by Victor Sailer.
Although Photo Run was established in 1992, Victor has been photographing
since 1978. Prior to Photo Run, it was first Sailer Ltd; Then Sailer/McManus.
Victor has a NY/Brooklyn accent and was thus humorously named by the
New England Runner founder, John McGrath, as "Victah" from "Noo Yawk".
The name has stuck, along with his New York accent.

Victah, a runner and an Archbishop Molloy HS graduate, completed the NYC
Marathon in the years of 1973, 1976 and 1978; A former decathlete at
East Stroudsburg State College of Pennsylvania who studied Health and
Physical Education. In Feb of 2002, Victah retired from the FDNY after serving
20yrs and has continued to dedicate his talent to Athletics after many years of
juggling his FireFighter responsibilities with Athletics Photography.

Photo Run is recognized as the official photographer of Running USA, and many
major marathons including: Berlin, Boston and Chicago as well as other major
road races. In addition, Photo Run's work is viewed all over the world
through major running magazines, various websites and other publications.

www.photorun.net , was established in Oct of 2003. It's primary purpose is to provide
the best of best shots to all of you track & field fans with the option to purchase
prints for personal use at an affordable price. This site, also, acts as a portfolio for
those in need of images for Commercial use in which case usage rates are handled on
an individual basis. Please email your request - webmaster2@photorun.net

Photo Run's Team includes:
Victor Sailer, since 1992
Lisa Coniglio, since 1999, the webmaster