There are some people who have the kind of job that makes other people say, “Boy, I’d love to have a job like that. How’d he get that job?”
Ray Grabowski, 48, and his son, Rob, 26, have a job like that. The Roselle residents are the official team photographers for the Chicago Blackhawks. What hockey fan wouldn’t want to take pictures of his favorite team — and get paid for it?
Okay, the Blackhawks didn’t make the playoffs this year. It’s still a dream job.
So how did the Grabowskis get their jobs? It’s a long story, one that actually begins in the early 1960s. That was when Ray, who grew up on Chicago’s Northwest Side, began developing his two loves: hockey and photography.
“We played lots of rat hockey back then,” Ray said. “We didn’t have all the organized leagues like kids have today, but there was never a problem getting a game together. I loved the sport.”
Then, as a teenager, Ray got his first camera.
“Somebody — I don’t remember who — told me that to learn how to focus quickly I should shoot cars whizzing past on the highway,” he said. “So I’d take my camera down to Lake Shore Drive and take pictures of speeding cars. I’m what you call a self-trained photographer. But I’ll tell you, shooting cars was good practice for shooting hockey.”
Of course, to have a father-and-son photographer team, you have to have a father and a son. Ray and his wife, Marcia, had their only child, Robert Eric Grabowski, in 1972.
“Know who he’s named after? Two great Blackhawks: Robert Hull and Eric `Elbows’ Nesterenko,” the proud papa said.
“I liked the name Robert, so I didn’t complain,” Marcia said with a resigned smile.
The setting for the story’s next chapter is the Franklin Park Ice Arena. In 1987, Rob was playing in a youth hockey league at the rink, where the Blackhawks also occasionally practiced.
“I was working in the printing industry at the time, but I still loved photography and I still loved the Hawks,” Ray said. “So I’d shoot pictures of the players from the stands at Chicago Stadium. Some of the shots were pretty good.”
Rob picks up the story. “I’d take my dad’s pictures to the Franklin Park rink when the Hawks were there and get autographs,” he said. “Players like Eddie Olczyk, Doug Wilson, Darren Pang, Marc Bergevin, Gary Nylund, Dave Manson. Some of the players would say, `Who took this shot?’ Some of the players’ wives would ask for a photo, or maybe get the picture enlarged as a Christmas gift. I’d trade the players pictures for sticks.”
Rob helped his dad by enlarging the photos as part of the photo developing class he was taking at Taft High School in Chicago, where the Grabowskis lived.
“Hockey players love pictures, and Ray was so willing to help,” said Pang, who played goalie for the Hawks from 1984-90 and now works for ESPN. “He made every player feel as if he was working just for that individual. Both Ray and Rob have a real feel for the game of hockey. That’s why they can anticipate what might happen, really catching an expression on a player’s face, truly capturing the action. They get pictures few hockey photographers get.”
Ray’s reputation was being established with the Hawks, and when the team needed a photographer for the ’91 playoffs, he got a call from management. The Hawks were ousted in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota North Stars, but Ray got a chance to show what he could do.
“It was only one series, but I’ll tell you, I took a lot of pictures,” Ray said.
The official team photographer position opened up before the 1991-92 season, which was also the last season the Hawks played in the Stanley Cup finals. Rob joined up with his dad as the team’s second official photographer that same year.
“I talked with (Hawks public relations director) Jim DeMaria, and all of a sudden I was doing it full time that season,” Ray said. “Doug Wilson’s wife, Kathy, was a big help getting my foot in the door.”
Kathy Wilson, whose husband played for the Hawks from 1977 to 1991 and today is the San Jose Sharks’ director of player development, said it was easy to go to bat for the Grabowskis.
“You could see their love of hockey through their photos,” she said. “They really capture the players, capture the game and what it’s all about. And they’re very friendly people. From the start, they took photos for the love of it, not for the money. That showed in their work. I still treasure many of the photos Ray and Rob took of Doug and his teammates.”
Today the Grabowskis shoot thousands of photos for the Hawks each year, including head shots and the official team photo, along with photos for the media guide, Web site, yearbook, calendar, game program and poster giveaways.
They also shoot special team ceremonies, such as the recent jersey retirement for Denis Savard, along with the Hawks’ various charitable and community activities. Some of their photos have also ended up on hockey trading cards for companies such as Fleer/SkyBox, Pinnacle and Donruss. (The Hawks get first crack at the Grabowskis’ photos, then the two are free to sell the rest.)
The Grabowskis arrive at the United Center at around 3 p.m. for a 7:30 p.m. faceoff. There’s much preparation, including setting the strobe lights in the ceiling, putting film in the overhead camera and running electrical wires. Sometimes, starting at 5 p.m., there’s a “Junior Hawks” game between local youth teams for the Grabowskis to shoot.
Ray and Rob also discuss any particular players they need to snap for that night’s game. Once the game starts, Ray usually shoots on the Hawks’ offensive end, while Rob takes the defensive end, down by the goalie.
The Grabowskis occasionally go on the road with the team to get some shots with the red road jerseys (they wear white at home). They also spend a lot of time going through photos, organizing and updating files, reviewing slides and negatives, ordering prints and framing their work. Rob is learning more about digital imaging, using a computer to add color, alter backgrounds and, as he says, “spice up a photo.”
DeMaria said the Grabowskis’ investment in technology has made a big difference.
“Through digital imaging, they can take their photos and do things like improve the look of our program covers, making a photo more than just a (standard) action shot,” he said. “And they’re such good photographers, they create great material to work with. They have a knack of shooting the action, catching the players at full speed, the puck movement. They have a feel for the game.”
Ray said what he likes most about the job is the relationships he has built up over the years.
“I think Denis Savard Night was as emotional for me as it was for Denis,” he said. “You get to know the players as people. The work that Chris Chelios does in the community is unbelievable. All the Hawks are fun to hang with, and you get to know players from other teams, guys like Paul Coffey, Brett Hull, Steve Yzerman, Mike Modano. Hockey players are the best.”
Rob appreciates the work environment he and his dad have.
“The Blackhawks take very good care of us,” he said. “They give us the creative control to do the best job we can.”
So what makes for a great hockey photo?
“The guys love shots with blood, fight shots, pictures that show contact,” Ray said. Hanging on the wall of the Grabowskis’ den is a picture of former Hawk Jeremy Roenick with blood pouring down his face. Roenick signed the photo along with a personal message: “Ray — You always get that great shot!!!”
One of Rob’s early photos shows Chelios crunching the New York Islanders’ Steve Thomas. It’s blown up to fill a good-sized chunk of wall in the Fandemonium Store in the United Center.
“I’m proud of that one,” Rob said.
And Ray is proud that he’s able to work with his son in a job they both love.
“He’s not following in my footsteps, I’m following in his,” Ray said of his son. “We work well together. He knows what he wants to do. I know what I want to do. And it all works out.”
