The older of these two guys is leaving the school sports photo biz. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Diet Coke in hand, he’s hitting the road.
Photographer John Fisken, who has haunted Whidbey Island sporting events for the past two decades, is moving on to different pursuits.
“It’s been a fun ride, but time to end,” he said.
Fisken publicly confirmed Tuesday that he is retiring from sports photography at the end of April, taking to Facebook to offer a farewell.
“My original plan was to hang up my camera at the end of the 2025-2026 school year,” he said.
“Circumstances have changed, and except for the few commitments that I already have on my calendar, I’m retiring at the end of the month.”
Fisken expressed his thanks to those who have been along on his ride.
“It’s been a lot of fun, and being around the young people has helped keep me young,” he said.
“I’ve enjoyed watching the growth and success of various teams, as well as felt their pain over the past two decades.”
His website, JohnsPhotos.net, will remain active through the end of the year for those who want to continue to purchase prints
Meanwhile, he plans to dive deeper into researching his family history, then travel extensively once wife Diane retires from teaching in the Oak Harbor school district.
After graduating from Seattle’s Roosevelt High School in 1980, Fisken served in the US Navy for 24 years, landing on Whidbey in the early 2000’s.
After videotaping games with a camcorder early on, first in Hawaii, then Oak Harbor, he morphed into a photographer, following an interest which had first sprouted when he was in high school.
From covering Wildcat games, at the middle and high school level, Fisken later expanded to snapping pics in Coupeville, and, eventually, South Whidbey.
Fisken’s favorite football photo features Hunter Smith plunging into the end zone for a touchdown.
Fisken ran a blog, Oak Harbor Sports Report, from 2008-2016, and his photos have appeared frequently both on Coupeville Sports and in the Whidbey News-Times.
Along the way, he expanded his photo snapping to include parades, military ceremonies, graduations, dances, and breaking news, such as cars and trucks plowing through buildings and raging fires.
Coupeville Sports 