By Rylan Oliver
Through a normal lens, Dr. Raymond Nanko can be seen at his medical office. But if you zoom in a little closer, you can see him doing what he loves most.
Dr. Nanko is a medical physician, specializing in pain management in the spine. He has been working in the medical field for 40 years now.
He retired in late January but will continue pursuing the hobby he picked up four years ago, photography.
“The reason why I got into all this is because my son played football,” Dr. Nanko said.
He started shooting pictures for his son, Kolton, when he was playing sports at Yorktown High School. Kolton graduated high school in 2023 and is now in his sophomore year at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He plays football as a wide receiver and also competes in track and field at Rose-Hulman.
In Kolton’s junior year of high school, Dr. Nanko started shooting for the entire high school team, sharing pictures with the players and their families.
Dr. Nanko loved sharing his photos and started doing it more often. He went to more high schools shooting more pictures, teaching himself along the way.
“I see him ALL THE TIME! He’s at most of our home games,” Delta girls basketball head coach Tyronda Benning said.
Dr. Nanko said he goes to about 10 sporting events a week. On nights when he goes to two different events, he can shoot up to 2,400 photos.
After shooting pictures, he goes home and reviews them. He sends his most exceptional ones to MaxPreps.
“MaxPreps is extremely difficult. I don’t know how I got selected,” he said.
MaxPreps is a news company that specializes in high school sports globally. They are owned by CBS Sports.
Although being a photographer can be fun, it isn’t easy by any means. Dr. Nanko heard about MaxPreps and sent in six photos, expecting to be denied like most of the rest of the people he knew who had submitted pictures. But later he got an email saying “congratulations” and he couldn’t believe it.
Out of the 2,400 pictures he could take a night only about 150 get accepted. This is because MaxPreps magnifies the photos by 1000 pixels to make sure the quality is exceptional enough to post.
The way he gets the quality so high might surprise you. He has three cameras, with each one costing about $10,000 with the lenses.
Even though photography can be expensive, Dr. Nanko makes up for that by selling the pictures he takes. However, he made it clear that money isn’t his reason for shooting. He said he does it because he enjoys making people happy.
“I like seeing their excitement and watching them play,” Dr. Nanko said.
Whether he is in the office or on the sidelines, Dr. Nanko is always seeking the joy he finds in others.
Now he has given one last prescription, a lifetime of thrill and satisfaction, capturing the perfect moments from the sidelines.
