Last November I was huddled in the north end of Schmitz-Maki Arena at a girls' hockey game with my Fisher-Price brand digital camera hoping to get at least one usable photo to accompany the story I would write and post on this website the following day.
Sitting to my left was a gentleman holding a camera roughly the size of a bazooka. An inquiry as to what publication he was shooting for elicited an unexpected response.
"Oh, I'm just getting some shots of my grandson," he said. "He's in the Farmington mites program and he's skating between periods."
The man's name was Jim Lindquist and after noticing my minimalist photographic gear, he volunteered to take a few shots of the game and e-mail them to me for my story.
When the photos arrived on my desktop the following day I was blown away by their quality. Not only were they all crystal clear but every one had a puck in it. Mine were lucky if they found a player.
One e-mail led to another and pretty soon, Jim had volunteered his services to supply photos for all the FHS winter sports. He even put them up on a website so that players and parents could access them. He did the same thing in the spring and has continued to do so this school year.
Lindquist's interest in sports was spawned during his high school days in Richfield where he was a football player and wrestler back in the days when that school was one of the state's largest.
He got his first camera while in college and has enjoyed photography as a hobby and part-time work endeavor ever since.
"I got particularly serious when my son was in his junior year playing college hockey," Lindquist said. "I realized his playing days were about done and I only had an average bunch of photos of him.
"That's when I upgraded my equipment and I have been shooting ever since. With the help of my wife, I have expanded beyond sports to do portraits, weddings and other events."
A retired federal law enforcement worker of 28 years, Lindquist said that his volunteer photo work for the Farmington Schools is a joy.
"I have been blessed to be able to acquire a collection of top-level equipment," he said. "I don't mind using it to provide a small service to the Farmington school system that my grandkids attend.
"People try to help out in many ways to make a school district great, things like tutoring, chaperoning and monitoring. I try to use my talents in photography in a similar way."
Farmington High School athletic director Jon Summer has been especially impressed with Lindquist's contributions.
"I am truly grateful for the time, energy, and professionalism that Jim has provided covering Farmington Tiger athletics. He is an amazing photographer and his pictures of Farmington student-athletes are incredible!
"Jim’s commitment has far exceeded my expectations for someone who is volunteering his time. I cannot thank him enough for all he has done to assist us in promoting Tigers athletics."
Lindquist has his own website (http://sidekick.smugmug.com/) and this year is offering photos at a nominal fee, a portion of which he would like to go to the FHS athletic program.
"I had hoped that I could send a good chunk of money to the athletic department," he said. "Unfortunately, that has not happened yet because the site is relatively obscure. That's probably due to my poor advertising skills!"
Whether or not the plan to help fill the athletic coffers ever comes to fruition, Jim Lindquist's photography has already made a significant contribution to the support and promotion Tiger sports.
