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Celebrity Golf

Geoff Bolte, left, and his partner Mark Box, right, with former New England Patriots lineman Joe Andruzzi.  Bolte and Box photographed and videotaped Andruzzi’s Celebrity Golf Tournament. Courtesy photo.

 

 

By Ron P. Coderre

As a young man growing up in Thompson, Geoff Bolte was an active participant in sports.  At Tourtellotte Memorial High School he was primarily a baseball player, who enjoyed the luxury of being coached by the legendary Tom Auclair.  He did, however also run cross country and indoor track and even joined the Tigers’ football team during his senior year.

Following his high school graduation in 2001, Bolte left the confines of the northeastern Connecticut area for warmer climes.  He matriculated at little known Barry University on the sunny Miami Shores area of Florida, where he earned a bachelor’s of fine arts with a concentration in graphic design in 2005.

Parlaying his love of sorts and his degree, Bolte set out to combine his talents while finding a way to travel and even rub elbows with the stars of the sports world.  Working as a freelance photographer for South Creek Global of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Bolte was given some impressive assignments.

He was assigned jobs covering the Patriots, Red Sox and Bruins as well as Toronto teams in the professional ranks.  His camera also took him to such places as Tampa, Fla., where he covered the PGA Tour.  In the college ranks he was on the sidelines or courtside shooting photos of the likes of Boston College and the UConn men’s and women’s teams.

He’s proud of the fact that his photographs have appeared in such prestigious sports publications as Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine.  He’s also had photos in the world renowned Wall Street Journal.

The wanderlust began to fade a few years ago and Bolte, who is married to Jessica and has two sons, Payton and Callan, decided the freelance travel was keeping him away from home too much.

Joining forces with another photographer, Mark Box of Dudley, the pair teamed up to form CLARUS Studios, a photography outfit that still satisfies his sports urges as well as allows him to branch out more into the corporate world.  Along with his partner, Box, the pair has done extensive work at Thompson Speedway Motor Park and other sports venues.  In March CLARUS has been contracted to cover the Arnold Palmer Tournament in Orlando and will embark on corporate work in California.

Although his assignments still occasionally take him on the road, Bolte is satisfied with the fact that he’s taking care of his love of sports and photography, while being able to spend more time with the ones he loves, his wife and family.  He’s enjoying a scenario that’s the perfect picture.