By Karim Farahat
Don Collier is a former photo editor of The Guardsman and a current photography student at City College. He is the Spring 2025 recipient of the Yefim Cherkis Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship awards one student per semester with a cash prize and an exhibition in Gallery Obscura. Collier aspires to be a full-time sports photographer and is fresh off a photography internship with the San Francisco Giants. The Gallery Obscura will be displaying Collier’s photos until Dec.13.
How did you get into photography?
I got into photography when I was in the military. I was stationed overseas in Europe, and I remember when I was in Rome, and I had an iPhone, and it felt weird taking photos on a crappy phone. I had a coworker who was a photographer, so I asked him a couple of questions about it, and I bought my first camera in Rome.
What made you gravitate towards sports?
I’ve always loved sports. This was after I left the military. I found out about a photography school in Montana with no general education, so it was just focused on photography for 9 months. I used to do more outdoorsy photos when on hikes, but my advisor suggested that I pursue sports and do a bit of both. I got a press pass to a college football game in Montana, and I loved it, and I’ve been going ever since then.
What do you shoot on?
I shoot with a Canon. I have a Canon R6, Canon R5, a 1DX, and I just bought a Canon R3.
What are the shots you took that stand out?
Two of the recent ones are from my internship with the Giants. One of them was Dave Flemming, a broadcaster for the Giants, and his brother, who works for the Red Sox. Once a year, they come together, and on that day, they called an inning together. They only see one another a few times a year, and I caught them sharing a good laugh, which I loved because of the genuine reaction.
The other one is during a meet and greet for some of the Young Giants, they were meeting Hunter Pence and Sergio Romo. The kids have limited time, so they are usually told to get the photo and then bounce, but the kid in the photo asked Sergio Romo something. I didn’t really know what it was because I was looking through my camera, and then I saw Sergio Romo reach his hand out and give him advice. I quickly caught the moment, and I loved that. There was a lot of meaning in terms of a child looking up to his idol and getting advice, so it was dope.
Any projects in the works?
Now that the Giants’ Season is over, I have been back to freelancing. I freelance with Cal Athletics, but other than that, nothing major, just shooting sports across the Bay.
What is next for you in photography?
I had the opportunity to attend an Eddy Adams workshop earlier this month, and I won a sports assignment with Getty Images, where I will have the chance to shoot an NBA game. It will be with a Getty Photographer, so I will spend the first game with him as my mentor and shoot the second game by myself.
I would like to work as a full-time team photographer for a sports team. I will finish school next semester, and I would like to continue baseball because that’s where I got my in. Baseball jobs open at the beginning of the year, so we shall see.
Favorite City College Course?
Beginning Photojournalism (J36) with Jessica Liffland. I never had the opportunity to take Intermediate Photojournalism (J37), but she was a great teacher, even though it was just one semester; I learned a lot from her.