Photo Motions looks at pictures in different light

Hobby 'snowballed' into business, owner says

MOSES LAKE — David Hector has an interesting take on those pictures of some poor store Santa clutching a teary-eyed infant.

He thinks even they can be a good photograph.

"Sometimes, we'll see a baby cry, someone will say, 'Oh, that's so cute, come on, that works too!'" he said. "We've had a couple of parents that were like that: 'Just get them when they're crying — they look so funny when they do that.' Even though you think it's hard to get a baby to smile, some of the crying shots are cool too, so it's not all bad."

Hector is owner of Photo Motions, located at 309 E. Broadway Ave., which opened in Moses Lake in October 2003, and moved to its present location in August.

"One thing that I keep hearing when people call after they've had their photo shoots is, (Hector) is not limiting on time," employee Karen Cobb said. "You pay for his time to take your pictures, you pay for your sitting fee, but it's not just a roll of film and that's it. He does it until he gets the good shots."

Hector says he tries not to limit himself to a one-hour session, especially with children. He and Cobb both try to make their customers feel comfortable.

Photo Motions does both portrait work and commercial work. Hector moved his business to Moses Lake from Everett last year to be closer to friends, including longtime friend Cobb and her family, and to get away from the hustle and bustle of large city life.

"I've been coming here for a lot of years to vacation," he explained. "It's so competitive over in the Seattle year, and it's not as competitive over here with the photography business."

Hector said he likes to emphasize lighting effects, whether the subject of his photos be dogs, portraits of people or wildlife, which he started out as a specialist despite the difficulty of capturing the right moment.

"I used to cruise down the highways and just pull over if I saw a hawk sitting on the fencepost, trying to get close to it," he remembered. "Sometimes you couldn't."

Hector takes photos both digitally and using film. Photo Motions also does graphic design work, including business cards, restaurant menus, advertising banners, posters, and TV commercial work.

Hector said he originally started out with photography as a hobby, until he got the idea to do a calendar of barista girls, which garnered him plenty of attention. From there, it progressed into small weddings and, upon moving to the area, senior class photos.

"It just started snowballing," he said.

He also takes fast-action sports photos, especially water sports. And, of course, there are the pictures with Santa. At another recent event, Photo Motions arranged for Santa to come riding in on a Harley.

"It was a big hit," Hector said, adding that it's nice to garner attention for the businesses with events like that.

"He tries to do something different, like the Harley Davidsons we offered at Halloween on Third," Cobb said. "They got to choose between two settings. Most kids picked the Harley."

Photo Motions will be taking pictures of children with Santa at Baby, Naturally!, located at 123 W. Third Ave., today and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.