Adrian Valenzuela Finds His Way to Roll
Adrian Valenzuela is the most recent winner of the Profoto Assistants’ Photo Contest. Following the screen capture below, please enjoy a detailed profile of a new shooter specializing in an old pastime.

During the infancy of television broadcasting, networks were starved for programming. Live broadcasts were needed to fill hours, and the nascent industry offered Laurence Olivier and Peter O’Toole performing Shakespeare live. On the other end of the cultural spectrum, roller derby matches were also televised as they happened. Reports of the American-invented roller derby go back to at least 1885, and the long races were easily adapted to the television medium. Currently undergoing a nation-wide resurgence, all-female roller derby teams are once again drawing crowds like they did in the first half of the 20th Century.

Santa Cruz Roller Girls vs Tucson Roller Derby ISO 500 1/200 @ f/8. ©Adrian Valenzuela
San Francisco Bay Area-based Adrian Valenzuela has had his eye on a photographic career for a long time. Originally influenced by his parents’ hobby of shooting photos, he explored video production in high school. That was followed by a four-year stint in the U.S. Marines. When discharged, he returned home to attend Academy of Art University in San Francisco. His original goal was to become involved in music videos and television commercial production.
As a Cinematography major, Valenzuela discovered an affinity for working with cameras and lighting, in particular. Responsibilities to family in the area convinced him not to move to Los Angeles to become a camera operator and eventually, a director of photography. What some may seem as a loss of his original dream, Valenzuela turned into a career opportunity. “Still photography you can pretty much do anywhere,” he says.

©Adrian Valenzuela
Using the Internet to research photography options, he joined the Walnut Creek branch of the Northern California Professional Photographers. Meeting many professional photographers there, “It pushed me into still photography even more. I started to take what I had learned about cinematography and applied it to still photography,” Valenzuela explains.
A photographer at one of the monthly PPA meetings was involved with a local roller derby team. Realizing he could connect with the roller derby world to help build his portfolio, Valenuzela wanted to shoot them, but had no connections or contacts. Fortuitously, a skater on a derby team saw some his photographs hanging in his cousin’s tattoo shop, and he soon found himself shooting a team belonging to the Sonoma County Roller Derby League.

ISO 1600 1/60@ f/4.0 28mm. ©Adrian Valenzuela
In short order, Valenzuela found himself shooting roller derby teams all over California. “I sell my photos to the women on the teams, and I also sell to the leagues themselves,” he explains. “They use my work for their marketing, products, and anything else they want. There’s 40 to 50 members per league, and there’s at least 24 leagues in California alone. And then there’s their fans,” he laughs. As the roller derby resurgence grows, Valenzuela notes players know each other from state to state, which helps his photographic marketing.

Silicon Valley Roller Girls vs OC Roller Girls. Profoto Pro-8 2400 ISO 400 1/200 @ f/8 85mm. ©Adrian Valenzuela
This is not the roller derby your parents might remember. “It’s been around a very long time,” says Valenzuela. “In the sixties and seventies it was a little more choreographed, like the WWF. Now it’s a lot more sports-oriented. There’s rules and competition and a lot of practice.” Between the action on the track and the portrait work of the players, Valenzuela typically shoots two very different types of photography.

Natascha, Elfindale Mansion ISO 800 1/60 @ f/2.8 200mm. ©Adrian Valenzuela
“At first I didn’t know what I was getting into,” he says. “I brought a bunch of lights, but I quickly found out a lot of these older rinks are not up to the proper electrical code. Getting power is often a problem. The first one I shot I had to have one light way up by the DJ booth. It was very difficult, but it enabled me to get some very dramatic lighting. I now set up different zones around the whole track. This way I can move around the track and get completely different shots. The girls know me now, and before the game, they’ll go out and run power for me. It’s all rigged up for me when I show up,” he laughs.

Silicon Valley Roller Girls vs San Diego Derby Dolls ISO 400 1/200 @ f/11 70mm. ©Adrian Valenzuela
His many contacts across the league are suggesting he publish a book of his roller derby photos. “By the end of this year I should have enough portrait work to combine with the action shots,” he says.

©Adrian Valenzuela
Senior portrait photography makes up another large portion of Valenzuela’s business. “It’s huge in the South and Midwest,” he reports. “It’s not as big in California, but if people know there’s talented photographers out there, it’ll become more popular.” Valenzuela proves doing his homework pays off with these customers. Typically, he’ll scout locations the day before a client’s shoot, often in their neighborhood. “If you light it nicely, it’ll look totally differently than how they’re used to seeing it, and the client can’t believe it.”

Katelynn ISO 150 1/200@ f/14 90mm. ©Adrian Valenzuela
Mostly shooting digitally these days, Valenzuela’s main camera body is a Canon EOS 5D Mark II. A Profoto Pro-8a is used to power his lights. “What I like about the Profoto gear is it recycles incredibly fast. For the roller derby games, you have to have the ability to shoot quickly because different things happen always. There’s ten girls on the track at the same time, and things are going on all over. If your lights aren’t ready, you’re going to miss shots. I’ve had it turned up to seven and it still doesn’t slow down at all. You can’t have the lights right up at the track. You have to have them farther away, so you have to have a lot of power turned up, and they still don’t stop. They recycle very fast,” he says. “I also use an old Sekonic Cinema light meter and PocketWizard Plus II’s to fire my strobes,” he adds.
In the future, Valenzuela would like to continue both in the directions he’s pursued and explore some new projects. Being a Marine himself, he’s interested in documenting returning combat veterans. Until then, senior portraits and the roller derby leagues keep him busy earning a living as a photographer. Riding the wave of the rebirth of American roller derby action, we look forward to his book and his other upcoming projects. Roll on, Adrian!














