Meet The 'Tonka Paparazzi'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota is not normally a place where we deal with paparazzi -- unless you are on Lake Minnetonka.
The "Tonka Paparazzi" has been snapping away for the last four years. But instead of avoiding the camera, boaters cannot wait to get in front of it.
There is an unspoken etiquette on the water; a friendly wave to a passerby is part of the boating culture.
"Out on the lake the stress goes away and it seems like there's always happy people," said Tom Palm, owner of Tonka Paparazzi.
For Palm, the greetings he receives are always more enthusiastic than most because he is capturing each "hello" through the lens of his camera.
Palm's hobby is a combination of his passion for pictures and love of water.
"Every boat has a personality. The pontoon boats are fun people, the jet skiers are the daredevils, the extroverts if you will," Palm said.
He spends fair-weather weekends with camera in hand on Lake Minnetonka. His boat allows him to drive from an elevated perch and snap 3,500 pictures a day. By noon the following day, about 700 will be posted on his website.
"Everybody who's out on the lake knows Tonka Paparazzi now. Everybody stops, smiles and yells, 'paparazzi!'" said boater Jeff Twidwell.
His photos are not always candid moments. Often times, boaters pose for the camera when they see his white and yellow ranger bay boat decked out in a Tonka Paparazzi banner. However, the majority of his photos are considered rare for boaters.
"You can get pictures of your friends in your boat, or on your boat, but never do you get a moving picture of the boat with everyone on board," Twidwell said.
Palm said it is that very fact that inspired his hobby.
"My daughter was in her aluminum boat and I was in my bass boat. She took a picture of me. It was unique because growing up on the lake my whole life I never had a pic of me in a boat moving," Palm said.
It is why his website has grown over four years from a few thousand views to more than 850,000.
And in the last two years, sponsorship from local businesses has allowed boaters to download the photos for free.
"They get a picture they can't get anywhere else," Palm said.
He expects website views to hit the million-mark this year, as he captures lake life in action.
Palm says only one person has asked him to take the photo down in the four years that he has posted pictures.
He says most people who do not want their pictures taken make it clear.
"I have an unwritten rule: if they ignore me, I ignore them," he said.
Click here to view or download Palm's pictures.
