Event Heroes of Tampa Bay

My name is Donald V. Stokely Jr. and I am a photographer serving the Tampa Bay Area since 2007. I am a military brat who was born and raised in the Philippine Islands. The Philippines is where I honed my creative art skills as I enjoyed completing the many arts and craft projects during my elementary school years. I graduated in 2001 with an Associates Degree in Digital Graphic Arts from Tampa Technical Institute, where I discovered my love and passion for still photography. I worked for Sadies Portrait Studios in Tampa until I decided to venture out and open my own photography business in 2007.

I enjoy wedding photography because it encompasses all phases of photography (Photojournalism, Fashion, Portraiture, etc.). There’s never a dull moment and every wedding presents a unique challenge every time. I use Nikon cameras to shoot stills and video, and my favorite lens is my 70-200mm f2.8 because I love to take close up portraits of people and see their raw emotions during an event. When people ask me what is my style of photography, I struggle to answer this question because I don't want to be limited by being placed in a specific box or category as an artist.