Rob Arra

Rob Arra

"Wow I wish I had your job."

Rob Arra and Loring Holtz have heard that familiar refrain countless times. They respond with a kind nod. They enjoy their work immensely. It seems, however, what is often over looked is all the time, energy and money spent to capture the perfect sport's image at the historic game.

Rob Arra is the premiere panoramic sport's photographer in the world. Meticulous with his attention to detail, he refuses to sell some of the over 200 world-wide stadiums he's done because they subjectively fail to meet his expectations.

"Perfection," is how long-time business partner Loring Holtz describes Rob's photographs. After pursuing many of the works and comparing them to the competition, it's easy to see why. Arra's photographs do not suffer from "striation"-- the blurring that often accompanies many panoramic photographs Arra sunk the price of a home into perfecting his photographic system and his rare camera just to be prepared to capture the perfect shot of a stadium.

After looking, through each of the 200 plus baseball, hockey, soccer, tennis, football, and basketball stadiums and arenas Rob has done, as well as NASCAR events, it is easy to see why his work is featured in frame shops and galleries all over the world. Each gives you the feeling that you are sitting in the stadium watching history unfold before you the attention to detail, developing and color allows ticket holders to easily pick themselves out in a crowd of over 100,000 people. In fact, his work impressed NBC Sports so much, they asked Arra and Holtz to design the existing backdrop 60 foot photo of Giants Stadium for their NFL Live studio program. His work also appears in the Baseball and Football of Fame.

Arra/Holtz recently captured a breath-taking shot of the New Jersey Devils hoisting hockey's Stanley Cup in front of 20,000 adoring fans. Last year. the two captured the relief of long-suffering Rangers fans in a shot titled, "Victory On Ice. " As hockey's popularity rises, Rob adds more images to the many different hockey arenas he has previously done.

Arra and Holtz have over 30 stadiums on the docket for the fall season. The schedule remains frantic. They constantly glance at the Weather Channel to see where they are.going that morning. It's not unusual to find them in Monte Carlo on Friday hanging out of helicopters riding alongside 100 mph power boats and Paris Saturday, London Sunday for soccer and on to NY or LA for Monday Night Football.

Although the pace is hectic., they love their work So next time you're watching a history making sports event, chances you are being captured for history by the men whose job you want.