MEDICAL BULLETIN

About the photographer: Jeff Blatnik

Sports Illustrated, Upper Deck trading cards among student’s clients

Jeff Blatnik finds time for photography during medical school.

As a sixth grader, Jeff Blatnik watched his father fight a long and difficult battle with Hodgkin’s disease.

His father’s suffering made a deep enough impact on him that he is now pursuing a medical career as a member of the School of Medicine’s Class of 2007. And while he shares in his classmates’ rigorous and demanding schedule, he’s also carving out time to pursue his other passion: photography.

As a freshman at Miami University of Ohio, Blatnik picked up his first camera at the urging of a fellow classmate. He took a job at the university newspaper, eventually working his way up to photo editor. That work led to a friendship with a Cincinnati-area shooter, Brett Hansbauer.

Hansbauer connected Blatnik to bigger contracts with Sports Illustrated, Upper Deck trading cards, and the universities of Cincinnati and Dayton. When Blatnik came home to Cleveland to pursue his medical education, he approached Creg Jantz, Case’s sports information director, and started shooting sports photos for the university. He took the photo of Mollie Manley that appears in the article about her in this issue.

His newer clients include Cleveland State University, Notre Dame College and two race companies: Brightroom, Inc., and Action Sports International. He’s also done work for the U.S. Army, various newspapers and colleges, and individuals.

“A lot of schools I have shot for have been by convenience; I was in the area, and they were looking for a photographer,” he said.

“I have been guilty of giving photography more time than I should,” he said, adding, “I am fortunate in that I can take jobs around my medical school calendar, as opposed to having someone tell me when to work.”

Blatnik typically shoots one to three jobs each weekend, and sometimes weeknights. He said he enjoys photography because it gives him a chance to exercise his artistic side.

“Sports has always been what I enjoy. It is unpredictable, challenging, frequently outdoors, and I am good at it,” he said. It doesn’t hurt that the extra work has paid the bills. Last year, Blatnik said, he was able to pay all of his living expenses through his photography work. That’s a change from his first couple of years of shooting, when every dollar he made was invested in more photography equipment.

“It is nice to have an income to fall back on, especially when the cost of medical school is so high,” he said, adding that he tries to learn something about what he’s shooting each time he goes out.

But a medical career is first and foremost on the student’s mind. With clerkships right around the corner, Blatnik said he’d likely have to cut down on his shooting schedule.

Blatnik said there always will be room in his life for photography, but the impact of his father’s struggle with cancer remains a driving force behind his pursuit of a medical degree. He remembers watching his father undergo a stem cell transplant, a last-ditch effort at the time.

“He was lucky to survive, and his doctors at the Cleveland Clinic really made a strong impact on me. If I could save the life of someone the way they saved my father’s life, I don’t know what other career could be nearly as rewarding,” he said. “Photography is a relaxing alternative to school for me, and I would like to keep it that way.”

—Kimberly Bonvissuto