(By PETE RAMIREZ)
During the summer of 2020, the comet Neowise was making a once-in-a-lifetime appearance in the night skies of North America and local amateur photographer, Rudy Ramirez, 32, was determined not miss this opportunity.
Ramirez, who works as an email marketer by day, ventured out of the bright city lights and into the darker rural outskirts of Central Texas on the hunt for the perfect shot of Neowise.
The comet hunter ended up in the tiny community of Cranfills Gap, Texas, where he chose an old Lutheran church to place in the foreground of his photos of Neowise. This location is where Ramirez says he captured his best photo yet.
The photo immediately draws the viewer’s eye directly to the shining comet as it races across a starry night sky. The rare cosmic object hangs in the center of the frame and appears to be on a direct path toward the historical, pristine church which sits in the foreground.
Ramirez sees the image as another magic moment to add to his ever expanding portfolio. Practicing photography for more than three years, Ramirez’s Instagram account, @rudyramirezphotos, is a tour of Central Texas’ most photogenic places and has garnered more than 3,000 followers.
“I want to get all these shots. It’s like Pokemon,” Ramirez said. “I want to collect them all.”
From sunsets behind the Texas Capitol to moon rises behind the Austin skyline, it’s hard to stop scrolling through Ramirez’s numerous eye-catching images.
The photos Ramirez captures are crisp, clean, and vibrant with color. The professional quality photos are a testament to the journey Ramirez has taken from a new photographer to an accomplished local amateur.
Three years ago Ramirez noticed his smartphone photos from a trip to Big Bend National Park did not capture the true beauty of the sunset, so he decided to purchase an entry-level Canon camera.
“I wanted something to try remember what these things looked like,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez, whose family has lost a handful of members to Alzheimer’s disease, finds comfort in using his camera to capture memories that will stand the test of time.
“It kind of makes me feel safe,” Ramirez said. “It makes me want to take pictures, like I’m preparing ahead of time just to help me remember if [it happens to me].”
Ramirez exhibits a drive to pursue the image he sees in his head and bring it to life with his camera.
Christy Blackmor, who has been dating Ramirez for almost six years, said that when her partner is involved with something he goes all in.
“He really goes full-throttle into making sure that he learns everything so that when he goes out there he knows exactly what he is doing,” Blackmor said.
Ramirez has upgraded his camera to a full-frame Sony a7R III which captures some of the highest quality images on the market, is now selling prints online and pushing himself to get more creative in the future.
“My goals are to come up with different things,” Ramirez said. “Like, okay, get the Pokemon. I got it, but then also, how do you switch it up for something different that no one has seen?”
(Editor’s Note: The writer of this story, Pete Ramirez, is Rudy Ramirez’s younger brother, and submitted this piece as part of ACC’s News Reporting 1 course during the COVID-19 pandemic, with safety protocols encouraged.)
