BRADENTON
For home football games at Manatee High, where the Hurricanes are a local obsession, there might be a half-dozen photographers prowling the field.
Then there’s Billy D. — the D stands for Dzwonkowski — who stands out on the sidelines.
He’s the young photographer racing back and forth with curly blonde hair bouncing off his shoulders. He’s the young photographer kneeling down, lying down, getting dirty, getting muddy. He’s the young photographer trying anything he can to find a new angle or fresh perspective.
Billy Dzwonkowski is a Bradenton photographer who tries to stand out from the crowd of shooters at Manatee High football games. His latest thing is using a drone to shot overhead images. (Photo by Randall Tosch)
Which is why, this season, Dzwonkowski is the young photographer flying a drone over Hawkins Stadium.
Yes, a drone. A quad-copter, to be precise, that weighs just 2 1/2 pounds. This flying gadget is just big enough to carry a GoPro camera that captures never-before-seen images of the Friday night football scene.
“We’re always looking for an edge, a way to set ourselves apart,” says Dzwonkowski, a 26-year-old Bradenton native. “Some people worry about the privacy issue, the Big Brother thing, but everybody I’ve talked to thinks it’s cool.”
On the Facebook page for Billy D. Photography, Dzwonkowski has posted overhead photos and video of the marching band and the coin toss just before the kickoff. Nothing during a game, yet, but he’s captured the attention of Manatee High fans.
“Amazing photography,” says Nick Browning, a senior tuba player with the Marching Canes. “And we were the first to see it. We were doing a rehearsal on the field and he came out to practice.”
Jason Montgomery, Manatee High athletics director, appreciates Dzwonkowski trying new things.
“Oh, Billy’s a piece of work,” he says with a smile. “Super-energetic. Great guy. He has so much neat stuff and the kids love it.
“There’s such a passion for Manatee High and somebody like Billy is a perfect example of that.”
Montgomery adds that he has already learned something from the overhead photos. The red-and-blue M for Manatee at midfield? Well, it looks a little small.
“I’m going to double it,” Montgomery says. “Probably for the Palmetto game.”
The photo business
Dzwonkowski’s best friends are the same kids he grew up with in the Pine Lakes neighborhood. He went to Manatee High and played trombone for the Marching Canes.
After graduation, he kept working with the band as a volunteer.
Billy Dzownkowski has been using a drone to photograph Manatee High football games. (Photo by Billy Dzwonkowski)
This kind of alumni support is what makes Manatee High such an institution. Many of the athletes, cheerleaders and musicians are second- and even third-generation Hurricanes.
Dzwonkowski attended the State College of Florida. He started working with the father of a friend who happened to be a Bradenton photographer. He decided that would become his career, too.
“I don’t remember ever wanting to be a photographer,” he says, “but I saw this capstone project from my senior year and I wrote that I was going to be a photographer. That was kind of cool.”
Dzwonkowski worked for a photo imaging business before starting Billy D. Photography.
“I was terrified,” he says. “I was scared of it. It was like taking that leap of faith and walking away from that steady income.”
During his first year, Dzwonkowski earned more working for himself. He worked hard and earned a reputation. Three times he’s been named Photographer of the Year by the Bay Professional Photographers Association.
“You’re always learning something on the business side,” he says. “Just something like always having a contract, or shooting everything right the first time. And it’s more than just pictures. It’s an experience for people.”
Dzwonkowski shoots weddings, real estate and corporate events. He does portraits and class photos. And he shoots sports, which now includes drone photography.
Jim Bruce, director of the Marching Canes, has made use of Dzwonkowski’s overhead photos. It helps the band check its formations and routines.
He isn’t surprised that Dzwonkowski turned into such an enterprising photographer.
“He always stood out,” Bruce says. “He’s got the energy of a teenager, still.”
Drone photography
When he’s not working, Dzwonkowski enjoys music and movies. He stays in shape. He plays with a Tampa tournament team in the disc sport of Ultimate.
He can throw a Frisbee, but he was not a natural at flying a drone.
A drones-eye view of Manatee High football. (Photo by Billy Dzwonkowski)
“There’s definitely a learning curve,” he says, laughing. “I’ve crashed it. My very first flight, I crashed it into my neighbor’s tree.”
His drone cost just $470, which is why he was willing to take a chance on it.
Practice has helped him become a better pilot and overhead photographer. He doesn’t have a monitor for his camera, so all he can do is point his drone and hope for the best. Only after a flight does he see what kind of images he captured.
It’s tricky. It’s frustrating. It’s rewarding.
Dzwonkowski will never forget a wedding he shot at the Lakewood Ranch Country Club. He had the idea for this overhead image of the bride coming down a staircase. He set up his drone and gave it a try.
“Sure enough, I had it hovering and the light was just right and it came out perfect,” he says. “That was my first ‘wow’ shot.”
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