Rising Stars: Meet Rick Meinecke of Chandler, East Valley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rick Meinecke

Rick, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born and raised in Cleveland and moved to Arizona in 1993 where I graduated from ASU with a BS in Electrical Engineering. A child of German immigrants, art and music were a big part of my upbringing with my mother and my aunts singing each weekend at my grandparents’ home. I think this early exposure to the arts has had the biggest effect on where I am now in my life. Growing up thinking that everyone danced and sung in their family gatherings was something I thought was perfectly normal. Though my mother and sister were very good artists, my brother and I never were good at it. So, I figured, if I can’t draw pictures, I’ll take photos instead! My parents brought me a Kodak 110 camera and I started taking pictures of as many things as I could. It wasn’t until High School when my mother brought me my first SLR camera. In High School I took pictures of our basketball team mostly and got some shots into the yearbook. I had no idea what I was doing as far as the science of photography goes, but it was a lot of fun and I learned that I really enjoyed taking pictures of action. After High School, I really didn’t pick up a camera until I moved to Arizona. I brought a Minolta film camera and started pictures of places I would travel to throughout the Southwest. Deserts and mountains were something completely different from a boy from Cleveland. The pictures were ok, but it wasn’t until I picked up a free image manipulation software program that I became obsessed with photography again. My thought was, sure this picture of a mountain looks nice, but what if I change the color of the sky or the ground? What if I could make it look like a painting? In 2012 after hearing about the Arizona Renaissance Festival for years, I finally decided to go to see what it was all about. I instantly fell in love with it with my camera in tow. I couldn’t believe all the photo opportunities, but more importantly I think, was the connection that I made with the performers. Here were people that sang, danced and created art as a normal way of life. I was sort of re-living my childhood in a way. Since then I’ve been to many Faires around the country taking photos. Through the people I’ve met at faire, I’ve had the opportunity to take pictures from rooftops in Flagstaff, dams in California, scrambled around Hollywood taking photos outside landmarks and telling security guards, “No, sorry, I didn’t know I needed a permit, where do I get one?” Countless times, but only after I got the shot. In BC (Before COVID) times, I found another passion. Live dance performances. Since the pandemic has stopped most of the performances, I’ve managed to shoot a few outside small performances. For me, there’s nothing better than spending the day with amazing people, taking pictures of their performance, then sitting down at a computer, listening to Sigur Ros and working on images. It’s a team effort though. I wouldn’t have the images without the amazingly talented people.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Working and going to college at the same time was about the biggest challenge I’ve faced. It took me 8 years to get a 4-year degree. I often tell people I got twice the education that way!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I work at Intel in the Planning department. Though it’s a far cry from Engineering proper, I’m able to use my background to work with data and make our work easier. The work is challenging, but I work with great people which makes it more bearable. The fact that I work 14 days/month provides for me the time to spend time taking pictures let me get away from the monotony of “cube life”

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I think I’m very lucky to have met the people I have through photography. I never take that for granted.

Contact Info:

• Email: rick@lightsviewphoto.com
• Website: lightsviewphoto.com
• Instagram: @lightsviewphoto

Image Credits
@yumilarosa – Flamenco dancer in red @sorpiusdance – Scorpius Dance Theatre (woman being lifted up) @sarahmarie.7 – Fairie picture @halomovementcollective – Dancers in scaffolding