By: Hanna Nakano
Davis is home to the best of the best in field after field. So it’s no surprise one of the official photographers covering the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is from Davis. Nor is it surprising that photography isn’t even his full time job.
Photographer James Rokop got a front row seat (with the best possible angle) to dozens of Olympic events, including the artistic swim competitions. Both of Rokop’s daughters are involved in artistic swim, something he’s photographed here at home for years.
We caught up with Rokop to get all The Dirt on his trip to Paris, and learn a little about what he does when he isn’t behind a camera.
Q: Official photography at the Olympics is a big deal! What was the experience like?
A: I was so fortunate to get a press pass and I didn’t even realize its value until I arrived at the Olympics. The press pass allowed me all access to all events in the best photo positions available. I was so close to the action that I almost had two wrestlers fall into my lap and I was literally feet away from the high flying action of skateboarders. I had applied for the press pass and associated myself with USA Artistic Swimming with their blessing. I was denied the press pass twice due to limited allocations and was waitlisted, but suddenly in April I was sent a gift from the Paris Accreditation Committee in the form of an email granting me accredited photographer all access status!
Q: Where did you stay?
A: Because I was waitlisted I didn’t have a chance to get into press designated housing but my wife was able to secure an Airbnb only a mile from the aquatic center, the main venue where I photographed artistic swimming, platform diving, and springboard diving. After navigating the credentialing process by securing my laminated press pass at the airport (which was a snap) and then official vest (which was not that easy), I slowly developed the confidence and courage to explore other events and venues that required navigating the metro system and the venue itself. Once arriving at the venue, it could still be another mile of walking through a labyrinth of walkways and security that took me to the actual spot where I photographed the events. The most challenging part was not upsetting the “photo manager” by following his/her rules of engagement which included when I could actually enter the “field of play.”
Q: What events did you photograph?
A: Because this was a new experience for me, my initial plan was to just photograph artistic swimming and to see how I felt about navigating to other sports. The way I ended up choosing other sports to photograph was completely spontaneous. I would wake up in the morning and my wife and I would look at the schedule of events and sports that day and then I would choose one or two to photograph before heading to the aquatic center at night to photograph artistic swimming. I photographed taekwondo, wrestling, skateboarding, track and field events, artistic swimming, platform diving, springboard diving, and rhythmic gymnastics. From an aesthetic standpoint, artistic swimming, platform diving, and rhythmic gymnastics were my favorites.
Q. How’d you get your start in photography?
A: My interest in photography began as a teenager with a cheap film camera that I would take on ski days to photograph the beautiful scenery on a typical ski day in the mountains where I grew up in Los Alamos, New Mexico. After graduating high school, I saved up all summer mowing lawns to buy my first SLR film camera and I began my career inspired by Ansel Adams and his black and white landscape photography. The two biggest influences in my life were where I grew up in beautiful New Mexico and having two daughters who were artistic swimmers. After my daughters joined the sport and swam for a couple of years I became the team photographer in charge of doing the team photos and portraits. But because I already had an interest in photography, I took it way farther and began to earn the coach’s and team’s trust to start experimenting with underwater and even drone photography. I also had lots of “mini-shoots” with the swimmers including doing studio portraits of “vintage swimmer” looks and having fun drone photography sessions on the grass outside Arroyo Pool. Over time, my techniques developed further, especially black and white underwater photography. This is what I am most known for and I believe is what led me to be noticed by USA Artistic Swimming on Instagram. I was invited to shoot some of their tournaments and then the National Teams’ media day, and the rest is history.
Q: Where’d you go to school?
A: My education is all in psychology. I have only ever taken one photography class as an undergraduate where I learned how to process film in a dark room. From that point on until the advent of digital cameras, I had a dark room in every apartment I lived in. Up until a few years ago, I just referred to myself as a hobby “dad” photographer because photography has never been a career for me. Although I do consider myself a professional, I still choose it mainly as a hobby and only make a little money shooting tournaments and the occasional family or senior high school student wanting photos. Keeping it as a hobby has allowed me the freedom I want to photograph what I want. To this day, I still photograph someone or something at least once per week. I currently shoot at a dance studio in town and have a group of amazing dancers to create with.
Q: Okay, so what’s your 9-to-5?:
A: My full time job is as a Chief Psychologist for the Department of State Hospitals and my undergraduate, master’s degree, and Ph.D. are all in psychology. I went to the University of Utah, San Francisco State University and the California School of Professional Psychology.
Q: How long have you been in Davis?
A: I have lived in Davis since 2007. We moved here from Salt Lake City, Utah to be closer to my wife’s parents. My wife Kristin grew up in Davis and attended UC Davis. We met in graduate school and we are both psychologists.
Q: Favorite thing about life in Yolo County?
A: All the natural areas I have discovered, which make for great photography. Whether it is the South Fork Preserve, the Manetti Shrem, or downtown, there are so many cool places to photograph subjects with my various photographic equipment. I have also been blessed to photograph artistic swimming in California because of the predominance of outdoor pools which make for the best lighting and photographs underwater.
Q: Favorite place to grab a coffee or beer in town?
A: My favorite coffee shop rotates quite a bit. It used to be Philz and the silken splendor blend but I really like Pachamama and their creative drinks. Dunloe is voted the best beer in town by me and my friends, but there really are a lot of good places including friend-owned Three Mile Brewing.
Q: How can readers connect with you?
A: Through my website: www.rokophotography.com or on IG at @rokop_photography.
