By Jenna Nyberg
Doug Sundin knows what he’s doing behind a camera, and he has the portfolio to prove it.
Sundin has been taking photos for years, but despite the creative complexity that his job demands, he remains simple in character. Sundin has been praised by his colleagues for having an eye for things that stand out, though as an individual, he does not. His soft-spoken personality and basic, plain attire allow room for innovative ideas and creative concepts to grow.
Taking photos has become second nature for Sundin, who spends most of his days planted behind a large camera lens. He has no problem holding a conversation while on the job—the sound of the shutter weaves its way through his sentences with ease.
“He captures many split-second moments in what seems like an effortless, natural way,” his UW Oshkosh Integrated Marketing and Communications co-worker, Mandy Potts, said. “I've seen this both professionally in emotional situations, like commencement, and personally in photos he has taken of my family and other colleagues.”
Sundin takes photos for a living, but taking photos is also his life. After growing up with photography and videography as his favorite hobbies, Sundin has finally made a full-time career out of exactly those things.
Sundin said he got his first taste of photography while he attended Winona State University, where he did athletics photography and a few other types here and there for five years.
“I really enjoyed that, so when I saw that there was an opening here, I had to jump at the chance,” Sundin said. “There aren’t a lot of openings at universities for photographers.”
Sundin’s position as the UW Oshkosh photographer and videographer is a one-man show. The only things that generally accompany him are the multiple camera bags that seem to be permanent parts of his daily wardrobe. Sundin covers anywhere from three to five events on a daily basis, but there could potentially be no events some days and as many as 21 on others.
“Basically, all you have to do is stand in front of something interesting and hit a button,” he said. “There are a lot of interesting things going on.”
But with so many events to cover and never enough time in a day, there is much room for error.
“I know I’ve lost great photos,” he said. “I’ve gotten great photos of the back of a ref instead. Or sometimes I don’t focus on the right thing and end up with a beautiful photo of the Polito’s pizza ad instead of a baseball player.”
Despite the small, daily frustrations that come with being a photographer, Sundin still chooses to continue doing it even when he’s not at work.
“I’m part of the Oshkosh Photography Group in town and the Wisconsin News Photographers Association,” he said. “I do some freelance outside of work as well.”
Sundin has had one of his photos appear in a 2008 feature story in PEOPLE Magazine. The story was about a woman with cerebral palsy who was crowned Miss Iowa. Sundin happened to be at the pageant and snapped some photos.
“I got published not because I was an especially good photographer, but because I was there and got the photo, which is honestly a lot of photography—if you’re there, and something important happens and you don’t mess it up, you’re set,” Sundin said.
Although he admits that a lot of photography is based on pure luck, people like Potts who have seen him in action and have seen the final products of his work, disagree.
“Perhaps the moment is luck, but his skill-set is based on knowing how to anticipate that moment, and Doug's definitely got it,” she said.
Potts and Sundin, who like to call themselves the “Dynamic Storytelling Duo,” have been working together for four years. During that time, Potts said she has developed a strong relationship with Sundin and has seen him break through his shy exterior.
“He's fun and funny once he's comfortable with his company,” she said. “He is definitely an introverted person, but not lacking knowledge or confidence in any way. He is extremely dedicated to his work and to our team.”
Sundin hasn’t always been as work-oriented as he is now. Up until he started working as a full-time photographer, Sundin was very involved with Boy Scouts and worked at a scout camp for a while.
“That’s something I always liked,” he said. “I love being outside. When working at camp, you’re outside for around nine weeks.”
Sundin said he still enjoys doing things outside when he’s able, although free time is not abundant in his profession. One hobby that he does find time for, however, is experimenting with 3-D printing.
“It definitely has some challenges, but I like it because it’s very different,” Sundin said. “Working with measurements and creating objects is much different than capturing visual things and I like it a lot.”
According to Potts, Sundin not only excels in creative scenarios, but in scenarios where there is an opportunity to teach—whether it is speaking to classes, working with students in the pre-college program or instructing the IMC team on how to do something technical.
“He is a really, really good teacher,” she said.
Potts said she has personally learned a great deal from Sundin, and is thankful for his inspiring, innovative ideas that push everyone else to be more creative.
“Not only is he an asset to our integrated marketing communications team, but he's also such an asset to the university as a whole,” Potts said. “It is him who captures and documents so many stories and moments.”
Sundin, however, remains humble. He insists that the products of his work are nothing more than a result of a love for what he does.
“I get the privilege of meeting new people and showing off their excellence and talents, and there’s a lot of it around here,” he said. “I just love to tell visual stories.”
Doug Sundin knows what he’s doing behind a camera, and he has the portfolio to prove it.
Sundin has been taking photos for years, but despite the creative complexity that his job demands, he remains simple in character. Sundin has been praised by his colleagues for having an eye for things that stand out, though as an individual, he does not. His soft-spoken personality and basic, plain attire allow room for innovative ideas and creative concepts to grow.
Taking photos has become second nature for Sundin, who spends most of his days planted behind a large camera lens. He has no problem holding a conversation while on the job—the sound of the shutter weaves its way through his sentences with ease.
“He captures many split-second moments in what seems like an effortless, natural way,” his UW Oshkosh Integrated Marketing and Communications co-worker, Mandy Potts, said. “I've seen this both professionally in emotional situations, like commencement, and personally in photos he has taken of my family and other colleagues.”
Sundin takes photos for a living, but taking photos is also his life. After growing up with photography and videography as his favorite hobbies, Sundin has finally made a full-time career out of exactly those things.
Sundin said he got his first taste of photography while he attended Winona State University, where he did athletics photography and a few other types here and there for five years.
“I really enjoyed that, so when I saw that there was an opening here, I had to jump at the chance,” Sundin said. “There aren’t a lot of openings at universities for photographers.”
Sundin’s position as the UW Oshkosh photographer and videographer is a one-man show. The only things that generally accompany him are the multiple camera bags that seem to be permanent parts of his daily wardrobe. Sundin covers anywhere from three to five events on a daily basis, but there could potentially be no events some days and as many as 21 on others.
“Basically, all you have to do is stand in front of something interesting and hit a button,” he said. “There are a lot of interesting things going on.”
But with so many events to cover and never enough time in a day, there is much room for error.
“I know I’ve lost great photos,” he said. “I’ve gotten great photos of the back of a ref instead. Or sometimes I don’t focus on the right thing and end up with a beautiful photo of the Polito’s pizza ad instead of a baseball player.”
Despite the small, daily frustrations that come with being a photographer, Sundin still chooses to continue doing it even when he’s not at work.
“I’m part of the Oshkosh Photography Group in town and the Wisconsin News Photographers Association,” he said. “I do some freelance outside of work as well.”
Sundin has had one of his photos appear in a 2008 feature story in PEOPLE Magazine. The story was about a woman with cerebral palsy who was crowned Miss Iowa. Sundin happened to be at the pageant and snapped some photos.
“I got published not because I was an especially good photographer, but because I was there and got the photo, which is honestly a lot of photography—if you’re there, and something important happens and you don’t mess it up, you’re set,” Sundin said.
Although he admits that a lot of photography is based on pure luck, people like Potts who have seen him in action and have seen the final products of his work, disagree.
“Perhaps the moment is luck, but his skill-set is based on knowing how to anticipate that moment, and Doug's definitely got it,” she said.
Potts and Sundin, who like to call themselves the “Dynamic Storytelling Duo,” have been working together for four years. During that time, Potts said she has developed a strong relationship with Sundin and has seen him break through his shy exterior.
“He's fun and funny once he's comfortable with his company,” she said. “He is definitely an introverted person, but not lacking knowledge or confidence in any way. He is extremely dedicated to his work and to our team.”
Sundin hasn’t always been as work-oriented as he is now. Up until he started working as a full-time photographer, Sundin was very involved with Boy Scouts and worked at a scout camp for a while.
“That’s something I always liked,” he said. “I love being outside. When working at camp, you’re outside for around nine weeks.”
Sundin said he still enjoys doing things outside when he’s able, although free time is not abundant in his profession. One hobby that he does find time for, however, is experimenting with 3-D printing.
“It definitely has some challenges, but I like it because it’s very different,” Sundin said. “Working with measurements and creating objects is much different than capturing visual things and I like it a lot.”
According to Potts, Sundin not only excels in creative scenarios, but in scenarios where there is an opportunity to teach—whether it is speaking to classes, working with students in the pre-college program or instructing the IMC team on how to do something technical.
“He is a really, really good teacher,” she said.
Potts said she has personally learned a great deal from Sundin, and is thankful for his inspiring, innovative ideas that push everyone else to be more creative.
“Not only is he an asset to our integrated marketing communications team, but he's also such an asset to the university as a whole,” Potts said. “It is him who captures and documents so many stories and moments.”
Sundin, however, remains humble. He insists that the products of his work are nothing more than a result of a love for what he does.
“I get the privilege of meeting new people and showing off their excellence and talents, and there’s a lot of it around here,” he said. “I just love to tell visual stories.”