Picture-Perfect Pustari
9/11/2017 3:42:00 PM | Men's Soccer
It's two hours before dawn during a quiet September night in Hamden, Connecticut. To most, the night is serene, but to Quinnipiac University men's soccer senior William Pustari, it is buzzing with possibility with just one look up into the sky.
Pustari's photography equipment is sprawled out in the backyard of his house that he shares with his teammates. Everything from his go-to camera, different lenses, a tripod and a speaker for music is ready to be assembled.
Five minutes later, everything is assembled and for the next hour or so, the only sounds that will be made will come from the shutter from Pustari's Sony A7ii and a light undertone of Jimi Hendrix playing on the speaker.
"I look for isolated spots away from towns and cities where there is no light pollution," Pustari said about his late-night photography adventures. "The darker the sky, the better."
This is just a snapshot of what Pustari's life is like, a life in what some would call a never-ending Kodak moment.
A self-proclaimed local boy, North Haven, Connecticut native, Pustari has seemingly always had his sights on dawning the Quinnipiac University blue and gold, and he has made a true mark on the pitch during his four years with the Quinnipiac men's soccer team. He now enters his final season as a Bobcat, but there is something that not many people know about the standout defenseman off the field.
Pustari has a passion for photography that stems from his childhood.
"My uncle was a professional photographer, and he was at a family party with this ginormous camera just firing off [pictures] all day," Pustari said. "It just blew me away."
When Pustari takes photos it's not with a smartphone, or a digital camera, but with a variety of high tech equipment that will make your head spin.
"I'd be at the peak of a mountain, and then I could just kind of send a drone a few hundred more feet higher and really catch everything."
And he does just that.
He catches everything a moment can provide him with, whether it is a dusk starry night, or the fresh powder off the slope of a mountain, Pustari captures the very essence of everything he sees.
His versatility transcends from the soccer field, to behind the camera, and even further than one can ever imagine, even leaving his head coach, Eric Da Costa, in awe about what his senior defender can do.
"I've been learning things about Will for the last four years," Da Costa noted with a grin. "The photography piece was just something we learned about recently, and he has some really really cool stuff that he has done."
For four years Pustari has been a "Jack-of-all-trades" both on and off the field, and fifth year midfielder and men's soccer captain, James Doig, says that might be one of the most valuable things Will brings to the team.
"It was really nice to have someone come in, like Will, and step up with his leadership," Doig said. "It's really helped a lot, and I can't express that enough. On and off the field this year he's found a voice, and he's using it. The team is really respecting it."
Pustari's voice is that of an upbeat nature. He almost always can find a way to keep the mood light in the lowest of times, and it's been that way since the first day he stepped foot on the field for Quinnipiac.
"The first day I met Will, he was very bubbly," Doig recalled, smiling. "He was telling me how he is a Liverpool supporter. [He] got on my good books straight away. He is just a great teammate."
Not a bad word can be said about Pustari. Whether on the pitch, or off it, the photographer continues to amaze the people around him.
"I just like making the people around me smile." Pustari said. "Whether that's with a photo, a well-timed joke, or a play on the field...I just like seeing other people happy."
It is the age old story of each time you peel back a layer, there just seems to be more and more underneath it. In a way, you could compare the various routes of Pustari's passions to that of dissecting a photograph.
At the first glance, you see the main subject. In this case, it's a defender, who sometimes doesn't always find himself on the score sheet.
Then, you notice the foreground. Pustari continued to play a variety of roles for the Bobcats as his function within the team grew in his junior year. The Xavier graduate played almost every single position on the field for the Bobcats during the 2016 season, coming up at big times for Quinnipiac.
Pustari played the full 90 minutes at center-mid, a different position for the usual defender, during the Bobcats' victory on the road at Fairfield last November that clinched the Bobcats' fourth MAAC regular season title in five years.
Finally, you see a wide background with so much variety, just like Pustari. Off the turf, he is an experienced skier who has been hitting the slopes in Killington, Vermont since he could stand, as well as a photographer whose pieces will make you look at so much more than just the photo in front of you.
"Sometimes you get wrapped up in this world and this bubble that we're in, and you sort of start look at guys as just soccer players," Coach Da Costa said. "We certainly have a lot of interesting people on this team, and Will is certainly one of those."
As for Pustari, who majors in Finace at Quinnipiac, it is all staying creative and trying new things.
Pustari's photography equipment is sprawled out in the backyard of his house that he shares with his teammates. Everything from his go-to camera, different lenses, a tripod and a speaker for music is ready to be assembled.
Five minutes later, everything is assembled and for the next hour or so, the only sounds that will be made will come from the shutter from Pustari's Sony A7ii and a light undertone of Jimi Hendrix playing on the speaker.
"I look for isolated spots away from towns and cities where there is no light pollution," Pustari said about his late-night photography adventures. "The darker the sky, the better."
This is just a snapshot of what Pustari's life is like, a life in what some would call a never-ending Kodak moment.
A self-proclaimed local boy, North Haven, Connecticut native, Pustari has seemingly always had his sights on dawning the Quinnipiac University blue and gold, and he has made a true mark on the pitch during his four years with the Quinnipiac men's soccer team. He now enters his final season as a Bobcat, but there is something that not many people know about the standout defenseman off the field.
Pustari has a passion for photography that stems from his childhood.
"My uncle was a professional photographer, and he was at a family party with this ginormous camera just firing off [pictures] all day," Pustari said. "It just blew me away."
When Pustari takes photos it's not with a smartphone, or a digital camera, but with a variety of high tech equipment that will make your head spin.
"I'd be at the peak of a mountain, and then I could just kind of send a drone a few hundred more feet higher and really catch everything."
And he does just that.
He catches everything a moment can provide him with, whether it is a dusk starry night, or the fresh powder off the slope of a mountain, Pustari captures the very essence of everything he sees.
His versatility transcends from the soccer field, to behind the camera, and even further than one can ever imagine, even leaving his head coach, Eric Da Costa, in awe about what his senior defender can do.
"I've been learning things about Will for the last four years," Da Costa noted with a grin. "The photography piece was just something we learned about recently, and he has some really really cool stuff that he has done."
For four years Pustari has been a "Jack-of-all-trades" both on and off the field, and fifth year midfielder and men's soccer captain, James Doig, says that might be one of the most valuable things Will brings to the team.
"It was really nice to have someone come in, like Will, and step up with his leadership," Doig said. "It's really helped a lot, and I can't express that enough. On and off the field this year he's found a voice, and he's using it. The team is really respecting it."
Pustari's voice is that of an upbeat nature. He almost always can find a way to keep the mood light in the lowest of times, and it's been that way since the first day he stepped foot on the field for Quinnipiac.
"The first day I met Will, he was very bubbly," Doig recalled, smiling. "He was telling me how he is a Liverpool supporter. [He] got on my good books straight away. He is just a great teammate."
Not a bad word can be said about Pustari. Whether on the pitch, or off it, the photographer continues to amaze the people around him.
"I just like making the people around me smile." Pustari said. "Whether that's with a photo, a well-timed joke, or a play on the field...I just like seeing other people happy."
It is the age old story of each time you peel back a layer, there just seems to be more and more underneath it. In a way, you could compare the various routes of Pustari's passions to that of dissecting a photograph.
At the first glance, you see the main subject. In this case, it's a defender, who sometimes doesn't always find himself on the score sheet.
Then, you notice the foreground. Pustari continued to play a variety of roles for the Bobcats as his function within the team grew in his junior year. The Xavier graduate played almost every single position on the field for the Bobcats during the 2016 season, coming up at big times for Quinnipiac.
Pustari played the full 90 minutes at center-mid, a different position for the usual defender, during the Bobcats' victory on the road at Fairfield last November that clinched the Bobcats' fourth MAAC regular season title in five years.
Finally, you see a wide background with so much variety, just like Pustari. Off the turf, he is an experienced skier who has been hitting the slopes in Killington, Vermont since he could stand, as well as a photographer whose pieces will make you look at so much more than just the photo in front of you.
"Sometimes you get wrapped up in this world and this bubble that we're in, and you sort of start look at guys as just soccer players," Coach Da Costa said. "We certainly have a lot of interesting people on this team, and Will is certainly one of those."
As for Pustari, who majors in Finace at Quinnipiac, it is all staying creative and trying new things.
"My dream is to never get stuck in a routine," Pustari said. "Routine kills creativity and without the ability to be creative I'll go insane."
Players Mentioned
Midfield
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